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 21 April 2020, 0615 UTC.

Source:

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

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Eric Risberg/AP

Climate Change Undercuts Air Pollution Improvements

More Americans are breathing unhealthy air, even though overall air pollution has decreased in recent decades. In the tug-of-war between air regulations and climate change, global warming is winning.

JIM WATSON/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS DAILY

Why Testing Is Still So Far Behind

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HIDDEN BRAIN

A Social Prescription: Why Human Connection Is Crucial To Our Health

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Jim Watson/AFP via Getty Images

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

Coronavirus Latest: Trump’s Fight With Governors Is One He Can’t Win

April 20, 2020 • President Trump is passing the buck on testing and plans to “reopen” states, and many of governors don’t like it.

Mandel Ngan/AFP via Getty Images

SHORT WAVE

Coronavirus Models Aren’t “Wrong”. That’s Not How They Work.

April 20, 2020 • Scientific models of disease don’t predict the future. They’re just one tool to help us all prepare for it. NPR global health correspondent Nurith Aizenman explains how scientific models of disease are built and how they’re used by public health experts. We also look at one influential model forecasting when individual states might begin to reopen.

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David Allen Sibley/Knopf

REVIEW

BOOK REVIEWS

Ever Wonder ‘What It’s Like To Be A Bird’? David Allen Sibley Has Some Answers

April 19, 2020 • David Allen Sibley’s name is synonymous with his bird field guides. In researching this volume, he became convinced of something new: Birds make complex decisions and experience emotions.

Connie Hanzhang Jin/NPR

The Killer At Home: House Cats Have More Impact On Local Wildlife Than Wild Predators

April 18, 2020 • They may look cute and fluffy, and they don’t go far, but cats are deadly stalkers who rule concentrated areas of their neighborhoods.

ANDREW CABALLERO-REYNOLDS/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS DAILY

Testing Holds States Back; Vaccine Timeline

April 17, 2020 • According to new White House guidelines, a state, city, or county has to show a decreasing rate of confirmed coronavirus cases for 14 days before reopening their economy.

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Simon & Schuster

AUTHOR INTERVIEWS

Learning Lessons From Inspiration, Despite Complexity, In ‘Why Fish Don’t Exist’

April 17, 2020 • Former NPR journalist Lulu Miller was inspired by a scientist who started again when his life’s work was destroyed. Now, she writes about what she can take from his story, even when it’s not all good.

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ICHIRO/Getty Images

GOATS AND SODA

Coronavirus FAQs: Can Sunlight Kill The Virus? How Risky Is An Elevator Ride?

April 17, 2020 • In this week’s installment, we also look at how to handle that inevitable moment — you need a plumber or electrician or another repair person to come to your home.

MBARI

Deep Sea Squid Communicate by Glowing Like E-Readers

April 17, 2020 • By making their bodies glow, Humboldt squid illuminate the changing patterns on their bodies to communicate in the depths of the Pacific Ocean.

Mammoth Biosciences

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

CRISPR And Spit Might Be Keys To Faster, Cheaper, Easier Tests For The Coronavirus

April 17, 2020 • Researchers are racing to develop quick, home-based tests for the virus that could deliver test results in minutes. None do that yet, but several under development hold promise, scientists say.

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ANGELA WEISS/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS DAILY

New White House Guidance for When States Can Move To Reopen

April 16, 2020 • The White House Thursday offered a blueprint for states to re-open. It starts with a decline in confirmed cases of COVID-19 and includes extensive testing that does not yet exist. Johns Hopkins epidemiologist Jennifer Nuzzo told NPR’s Rachel Martin that the lack of testing means the outbreak is still largely unpredictable.

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Evan Vucci/AP Photo

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Long Before COVID-19, Dr. Anthony Fauci ‘Changed Medicine In America Forever’

FRESH AIR

April 16, 2020 • New Yorker writer Michael Specter covered Fauci’s early work in the AIDS epidemic. “He’s always taken an open-minded approach to the problems,” Specter says of the infectious-disease expert.

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Justin Sullivan/Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

San Francisco Ramps Up Back-To-Basics Contact Tracing To Stop COVID-19

April 16, 2020 • Citing concerns about privacy and civil liberties, the city’s not relying on a smartphone app to track cases. Instead, it’s recruiting public health staff, librarians and med students to make calls.

Kevin Frayer/Getty Images

THROUGHLINE

Buzzkill

April 16, 2020 • In the whole of human history, no predator has killed more of us than the lowly mosquito. And this killing spree, which we still struggle in vain to stop, means the mosquito has been an outsized force in our history — from altering the fate of empires to changing our DNA. This week, three stories of the quiet legacy and the potential future of the mosquito.

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CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES

Trump, Republicans Are ‘Exploiting’ Coronavirus To Ban Abortion, New Ad Alleges

April 15, 2020 • A six-figure digital ad buy from the abortion rights group NARAL accuses President Trump and his allies of using the pandemic to restrict abortion.

Peter Steffen/dpa/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES

Bring Home The Tarantulas? As Research Halts, Scientists Face Difficult Decisions

April 15, 2020 • With research projects on hold due to social distancing guidelines, many scientists are being forced to decide what to do with the creatures that they study.

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Ray Chavez/MediaNews Group/The Mercury News via Getty Images

SHOTS – HEALTH NEWS

Antibody Tests For Coronavirus Can Miss The Mark

April 15, 2020 • Antibody tests to detect past exposure to the coronavirus will soon be everywhere. But even the best ones can provide wrong answers surprisingly often — and give false assurance.

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Justin Ng/Linfa Wang

SHORT WAVE

Where Did This Coronavirus Originate? Virus Hunters Find Genetic Clues In Bats

April 15, 2020 • Bats are critically important for ecosystems around the world. But they also harbor some of the toughest known zoonotic diseases, and are the likely origin point for this coronavirus. Short Wave reporter Emily Kwong talks about leading theories on where this coronavirus came from, the work of virus hunters, and the rise of emerging zoonotic diseases.

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Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES

New Survey Highlights Racial Disparities In The Coronavirus Pandemic

April 14, 2020 • People of color and lower-income populations are more concerned about contracting coronavirus and spreading it unknowingly to others.

Stephen Groves/AP

THE CORONAVIRUS CRISIS

How One City Mayor Forced A Pork Giant To Close Its Virus-Stricken Plant

April 14, 2020 • Smithfield Foods didn’t want to stop slaughtering hogs at its Sioux Falls pork plant, even after hundreds of workers got sick with the coronavirus. Then the city’s mayor forced the company’s hand.

Andy Buchanan/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES

Carbon Emissions Are Falling, But Still Not Enough, Scientists Say

April 14, 2020 • The global slowdown could create a historic drop in carbon emissions, but it’s still not enough to avoid the worst impacts of climate change.

Johannes Eisele/AFP via Getty Images

CORONAVIRUS LIVE UPDATES

Coronavirus Vaccine? Two Pharmaceutical Giants Collaborating To Develop One

April 14, 2020 • Pharmaceutical companies GSK and Sanofi are partnering to work on several vaccine candidates to fight the coronavirus.

For the latest trends in science, technology, medicine, health, the environment, and artificial intelligence, please check the blog sidebars and links.  These news feeds are updated daily.  Thanks for joining us today.

Until next time,

Russ Roberts

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