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 31 January 2020, 0530 UTC.

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Kari Saari/University of Helsinki

SPACE

A New Form Of Northern Lights Discovered In Finland – By Amateur Sky Watchers

It was the members of a Facebook group who noted that the auroras they’d seen didn’t look like any that had been previously catalogued. So physicists asked them to take a few carefully timed photos.

Becky Harlan/NPR

LIFE KIT

Picking A Lightbulb, Made Easy

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SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Worried About Catching The New Coronavirus? In The U.S., Flu Is A Bigger Threat

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Muotri Lab/UCSD

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Scientists Find Imperfections In ‘Minibrains’ That Raise Questions For Research

January 29, 2020 • Brain organoids grown in the lab look a lot like developing human brains. But a new study finds some important differences that could affect how scientists use them.

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Science Photo Library/ Getty Images; South China Morning Post/Getty Images

GOATS AND SODA

Face Masks: What Doctors Say About Their Role In Containing Coronavirus

January 29, 2020 • Can a mask really keep you from catching the virus? To answer that, it helps to clarify which kinds of masks we’re talking about.

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japatino/Getty Images

HIDDEN BRAIN

Secret Friends: Tapping Into The Power Of Imagination

January 27, 2020 • Where is the line between what is real and what is imaginary? It seems like an easy question to answer: if you can see it, hear it, or touch it, then it’s real, right? But what if this way of thinking is limiting one of the greatest gifts of the mind? This week, we meet people who experience the invisible as real, and learn how they hone their imaginations to see the world with new eyes.

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Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images

GOATS AND SODA

Coronavirus Case Confirmed In Arizona, Bringing U.S. Total To 5

January 26, 2020 • The CDC expects the number of confirmed cases of Wuhan coronavirus in the U.S. to increase — but says the overall health risk of disease transmission in the country is low.

AP

SPACE

Astronauts Finish Spacewalk For Final Fix Of International Space Station Device

January 25, 2020 • Two astronauts aboard the International Space Station made their fourth foray outside the spacecraft to prolong the lifespan of a cosmic ray detector.

Luis Davilla/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Drug To Prevent Premature Birth Divides Doctors, Insurers And FDA Experts

KAISER HEALTH NEWS

January 24, 2020 • An expert panel convened by the FDA says the drug Makena should be withdrawn from the market because a review of its effectiveness shows it doesn’t work. But OB-GYNS who prescribe the drug disagree.

Roslan Rahman/AFP via Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

China’s Coronavirus Is Spreading. But How?

January 24, 2020 • A deadly virus believed to have originated in China was found in the US this week. NPR global health correspondent Jason Beaubien explains what we know and don’t know about the disease — and the likelihood it will continue to spread.

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Eva Hambach/AFP via Getty Images

NATIONAL SECURITY

The End May Be Nearer: Doomsday Clock Moves Within 100 Seconds Of Midnight

January 23, 2020 • The two-minute warning that had held over the past two years has now shrunk to 100 seconds before midnight on the Doomsday Clock set by the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists.

Angela Hsieh

HIDDEN BRAIN

How To See The Future (No Crystal Ball Needed)

January 23, 2020 • When disaster strikes, we want to know, who screwed up? This week we explore the psychology of warnings: Why some warnings get heard, and why some of us are better at seeing what lies ahead.

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Allison Aubrey/NPR

THE SALT

Ready For Meat Grown From Animal Cells? A Startup Plans A Pilot Facility

January 22, 2020 • Memphis Meats, a startup company that has just raised $161 million, says it has a “clear path” to bringing cell-based meats to market. Yet the company and its competitors face challenges.

SPL/Dr. Klaus Boller/Science Source

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

How Much Should The Public Be Told About Research Into Risky Viruses?

January 21, 2020 • The U.S. government this week is pondering how much the public needs to know about funding decisions for studies and experiments that involve tinkering with already dangerous viruses.

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Nick Youngson/ImageCreator

PLANET MONEY

More Data On The Midlife Crisis

January 21, 2020 • An economist uses a broad range of data from 132 countries to understand why middle age is such a drag.

Se-Jin Lee/PLOS One

SHORT WAVE

Mighty Mice Return From Space

January 21, 2020 • Some very unusual mice with big muscles are back on Earth after a month on the International Space Station. NPR science correspondent Jon Hamilton shares the story of the two researchers behind the experiment. What they learn could help people with disabling bone and muscle diseases and another group with muscle problems, astronauts. Follow host Maddie Sofia on Twitter @maddie_sofia. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.

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Angela Hsieh

HIDDEN BRAIN

Warnings, Warnings Everywhere: Why We Sometimes Ignore Looming Disasters

January 20, 2020 • After a disaster happens, we want to know whether something could have been done to avoid it. Did anyone see this coming? Many times, the answer is yes. So why didn’t the warnings lead to action? This week, we revisit a favorite 2018 episode about the psychology of warnings. We visit a smelly Alaskan tunnel, hear about a gory (and fictional) murder plot, and even listen to some ABBA.

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Gary Waters/Ikon Images/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Patients Still Struggle To Balance High Costs Of MS Treatment, Despite Generic

January 20, 2020 • Drugs to treat multiple sclerosis can run $70,000 a year or more. Patients hoped competition from a generic version of one of the most popular brands would spur relief, but prices went up. Here’s why.

Wilfredo Lee/AP

ENVIRONMENT AND ENERGY COLLABORATIVE

Kids’ Climate Case ‘Reluctantly’ Dismissed By Appeals Court

January 17, 2020 • The court said the nearly two dozen young people who were trying to force action by the government on climate change did not have standing to sue. The judges said climate change is a political issue.

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Eric Rojas/Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

2020 So Far: Fires, Floods, And Quakes

January 17, 2020 • Already this year, natural disasters have wreaked havoc in Australia, Indonesia, and Puerto Rico. We look at some science behind the wildfires, floods, and earthquakes in those places with NPR reporters Rebecca Hersher and Jason Beaubien.

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Lentink Lab/Stanford University

‘PigeonBot’ Brings Robots Closer To Birdlike Flight

January 16, 2020 • Birds change the shape of their wings far more than planes. The complexities of bird flight have posed a major design challenge for scientists trying to translate the way birds fly into robots.

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Christina Hansen Wheat

Fetching With Wolves: What It Means That A Wolf Puppy Will Retrieve A Ball

January 16, 2020 • Some wolf puppies will unexpectedly play “fetch,” researchers say, showing that an urge to retrieve a ball might be an ancient wolf trait and not a result of dog domestication.

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Se-Jin Lee/PLOS One

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

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

January 16, 2020 • 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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