Short Wave

How a single flu shot could protect you for decades

Every year, tens of millions of people in the U.S. get the flu vaccine. That’s because the virus changes year-to-year and protection only lasts around six months. Adolfo Garcia-Sastre [https://profiles.icahn.mssm.edu/adolfo-garcia-sastre] wants to change that. He’s one scientist working on a universal flu vaccine that could provide decades of protection against all flu illnesses – but only if his team can find the resources that disappeared when U.S. funding dipped. If you liked this episode, listen to our episode on a vaccine trial that could end HIV [https://lnk.to/BcnTUp]. Interested in more medical innovations? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Your DNA is changing all the time. Here’s why

We tend to think of the DNA strands that contain our genetic code as consistent, stable units. But in reality, the cells that make up our bodies are constantly replicating and changing. Even as you read this sentence, in fact, the genes within your cells are mutating. So, what causes these mutations and what’s the impact? Science writer Roxanne Khamsi examines the answers in her new book, Beyond Inheritance [https://roxannekhamsi.com/beyond-inheritance/]. Today on the show, she gets into how scientists examine these mutations, how they’ve shifted our understanding of disease and what the future of genetic therapy could entail. Interested in more biological and life sciences? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Inner monologues are still a mystery

Emily Kwong [https://www.npr.org/people/767284140/emily-kwong] is pretty sure she lacks an inner monologue, while the inner monologue of producer Rachel Carlson [https://www.npr.org/people/1112796909/rachel-carlson] won’t stop chatting. But how well can a person know their inner self? And what does science have to say about it? We dig in in this encore episode of Short Wave. To learn more about Charles Fernyhough’s research on voice hearing, visit the project website [https://hearingthevoice.org/about-the-project/].   If you liked this episode, check out our episode on when your brain is actually an "adult." [http://lnk.to/Frh1Lg] Interested in more science inside your brain? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

Prepare to be baffled by what we don't know about eels

More than a century ago, all that people knew about European eels was that they lived in the rivers and streams for decades — until they swam out to the ocean and never returned. Eventually, tiny eels would show up and the cycle would start again. Where did the adult eels go? Where did the baby eels come from? Did they even reproduce at all or just spontaneously emerge into being? Science now has some — but not all — of the answers to these questions. Today on the show, Regina G. Barber [https://www.npr.org/people/1082526815/regina-g-barber] talks to fish physiologist Arjan Palstra [https://www.wur.nl/en/persons/drir-ap-arjan-palstra] about this mystery and how close scientists are to solving it.  If you liked this episode, check out our episode on the Pacific lamprey [about:blank]. Interested in more science mysteries? Email us your question at shortwave@npr.org [shortwave@npr.org]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]

This common garden plant summons wasps as bodyguards

In our latest science news roundup: how nature adapts, for better or worse. When faced with pests, plants may not be able to run away – but that doesn’t mean they’re defenseless. Some have thorns or spines, others have poisonous leaves or berries, and still others have…elaborate chemical defense alarm systems? In a recent study [https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aec3229], researchers discovered that the common bean plant, P. vulgaris, has a particularly innovative response to hungry caterpillars: a compound in the caterpillar's spit causes the plants to release a chemical signal that attracts wasps. Those wasps then eat the caterpillars or lay eggs in their bodies, effectively removing the threat. Today on the show, we’re diving into plant science and a round of other new scientific studies with All Things Considered host Sacha Pfeiffer. If you're interested in the fibermaxxing episode Han mentioned, check it out here [http://lnk.to/PcSZyC]. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at plus.npr.org/shortwave [http://plus.npr.org/shortwave]. See pcm.adswizz.com [https://pcm.adswizz.com] for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. NPR Privacy Policy [https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy]