Welcome to the “Science: NPR” update from Hawaii Science Digest.

Views expressed in this science and technology news summary are those of the reporters and correspondents.

Content supplied by National Public Radio (NPR).

Accessed on 16 January 2020, 1535 UTC.

Source:

https://www.npr.org/sections/science/

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NASA

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Scientists Sent Mighty Mice To Space To Improve Treatments Back On Earth

Forty mice spent more than a month in orbit to test two approaches to strengthening muscle and bone in microgravity conditions. The results could help people with muscle and bone diseases.

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Science Photo Libra/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Embryo Research To Reduce Need For In Vitro Fertilization Raises Ethical Concerns

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2019 Was The 2nd-Hottest Year On Record, According To NASA And NOAA

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Daniel Pockett/Getty Images

SPORTS

Bushfire Smoke Causes Player To Forfeit Her Qualifying Match For Australian Open

January 14, 2020 • Slovenia’s Dalila Jakupovic was trying to make the first round of the tournament set to open next week. She had trouble breathing and later told reporters, “I was really scared that I would collapse.”

smartboy10/Getty Images

REPRODUCTIVE SHIFTS AND WOMEN’S MENTAL HEALTH

How Puberty, Pregnancy And Perimenopause Impact Women’s Mental Health

January 14, 2020 • NPR’s Morning Edition explores the key reproductive shifts in women’s lives — puberty, pregnancy and perimenopause — and how the changes during those times could impact mental and emotional health.

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Cassie Trotter/Getty Images

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COLLABORATIVE

Australia’s Wildfires Are Releasing Vast Amounts Of Carbon

January 12, 2020 • The Australian bushfires are emitting huge amounts of climate warming carbon into the atmosphere. Normally, new vegetation that grows back would recapture it, but that may be changing.

Sam Mooy/Getty Images

ENVIRONMENT

With Their Land In Flames, Aboriginals Warn Fires Show Deep Problems In Australia

January 11, 2020 • As massive fires continue to consume Australia, aboriginal elders like Noel Butler say officials need to listen to natives about fire control.

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Lauren DeCicca/Getty Images

GOATS AND SODA

What You Should Know About The New Strain Of Coronavirus In China

January 10, 2020 • The first case outside of China was just reported. What is China doing to stem the outbreak? And what do virologists say?

Anna Maria Barry-Jester/Kaiser Health News

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Sweeps Of Homeless Camps In California Aggravate Key Health Issues

KAISER HEALTH NEWS

January 10, 2020 • Cities have tasked police and sanitation workers with dismantling homeless camps that they say pose a risk to health and safety. But that’s meant some displaced people are losing needed medications.

Angela Hsieh /NPR

HIDDEN BRAIN

Tell Me A Story: What Narratives Reveal About The Mind

January 9, 2020 • We live in a world of stories. They’re in movies, books, and plays. They’re even in the things that we buy.

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Polly Share A Cracker? Parrots Can Practice Acts Of Kindness, Study Finds

January 9, 2020 • Researchers found that African grey parrots voluntarily helped a partner get a food reward by giving the other bird a valuable metal token that could be exchanged for a walnut.

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John Keeble/Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

The Link Between Kitchen Countertops And A Deadly Disease

January 9, 2020 • It’s called silicosis, and it’s been known about for decades. So why is it now emerging in new numbers among workers who cut kitchen countertops? NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce explains. More of her original reporting on silicosis is here. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Saeed Khan/AFP via Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

What’s Behind Australia’s Historic Fires

January 8, 2020 • Biologist Lesley Hughes from Macquarie University in Australia explains why the recent bushfires there could change the country forever. Hughes is a former federal climate commissioner, and has been the lead author on two reports for the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Australian Fires Prompt Questions About Protecting Houses From Embers

January 7, 2020 • Massive Australian wildfires are sending embers high into the atmosphere. When they rain down, they can start new fires far from the original source, and some buildings are more flammable than others.

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HIDDEN BRAIN

On The Knife’s Edge: Using Therapy To Address Violence Among Teens

January 6, 2020 • What would drive someone to take another person’s life? When researchers at the University of Chicago asked that question, the answer was a laundry list of slights: a stolen jacket, or a carelessly lobbed insult. It made them wonder whether crime rates could be driven down by teaching young men to pause, take a deep breath, and think before they act. In this 2017 episode, we go inside a program that teaches Chicago teens to do just that. We also explore what research has found about whether this approach actually works.

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Malcolm Park/Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

A Star In Orion Is Dimming. Is It About To Explode?

January 6, 2020 • Okay, it wouldn’t technically be an explosion. And if it’s “about” to happen, it already happened. About 650 years ago. We’ll explain, with astronomer Emily Levesque, who studies massive stars at the University of Washington. Follow Short Wave’s Emily Kwong on Twitter @emilykwong1234. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Boris Austin/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Hope, Happiness And Social Connection: Hidden Benefits Of Regular Exercise

January 4, 2020 • A new book, The Joy of Movement, offers more motivation to exercise. It’s not just about getting fit or looking good: Exercise can give you courage, pleasure and better friendships.

Johnathon Kelso

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Effort To Control Opioids In An ER Leaves Some Sickle Cell Patients In Pain

WABE 90.1

January 2, 2020 • People with sickle cell disease aren’t fueling the opioid crisis, research shows. Yet some ER doctors still treat patients seeking relief for agonizing sickle cell crises as potential addicts.

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Joseph Sandt

A Knotty Problem Solved

January 2, 2020 • We know that some knots hold better than others, but the why of it hasn’t been so clear. Special fibers that change color under strain are providing some answers.

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ENVIRONMENT

In Australia Wildfires, Scenes Of Smoke, Sparks And Chaos

January 1, 2020 • Fires are blazing across southeast Australia. Scenes of smoke, sparks and blazing red capture the destruction happening in towns around the country.

From left: John Poole/NPR; Jason Beaubien/NPR; Courtesy of Be Girl Inc.; SAIH Norway/Screenshot by NPR; Marc Silver/NPR

GOATS AND SODA

Reporters Pick Their Favorite Global Stories Of The Decade

December 31, 2019 • The topics range from a ticking time bomb in the Arctic to the art of taking selfies in an ethical way. Here are the stories selected by our contributors.

Michael Driver for NPR

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Start Fresh: 6 Tips For Emotional Well-Being In 2020

December 31, 2019 • Joy can be cultivated. Hostility often masks depression. As one year ends and another begins, these six insights and tips from psychologists offer hope for a good new year.

SVF2/Universal Images Group via Getty

SHORT WAVE

Tennessine’s Wild Ride To The Periodic Table

December 31, 2019 • There are rare chemical elements, and then there is tennessine. Only a couple dozen atoms of the stuff have ever existed. For the 150th anniversary of the periodic table, NPR science correspondent Joe Palca shares the convoluted story of one of the latest elements to be added.

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Russ Roberts

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