NPR News: This week in science: Exoplanetary salt clouds, ancient families and laughter's origin

This week in science: Exoplanetary salt clouds, ancient families and laughter's origin
Hosts from NPR's science podcast Short Wave talk about an exoplanet with pink, salty clouds, the surprising social structure of ancient human relatives and the origins of laughter.

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NPR News: A volunteer otter watcher helped make a scientific discovery

A volunteer otter watcher helped make a scientific discovery
A man who volunteered as an otter spotter made some scientific discoveries along the way.

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NPR News: Leading Lebanese conservationist dies after Israeli airstrike on her home

Leading Lebanese conservationist dies after Israeli airstrike on her home
Mona Khalil died Friday after an Israeli airstrike hit her beachside home two weeks ago. She's credited with creating a conservation movement in southern Lebanon to protect sea turtle nesting grounds.

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NPR News: Butterflies may hold clues to longer lives

Butterflies may hold clues to longer lives
Why do some butterflies live for months while others survive only weeks? Tufts University researcher Jessica Foley explains what Heliconius butterflies can teach us about aging.

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NPR News: A new app could help streamline loon data by enabling citizens to log observations

A new app could help streamline loon data by enabling citizens to log observations
Loons, beloved American waterbirds, face threats from climate change and pollution. An oil spill settlement funds a new phone app helping non-scientists to aid research on these birds.

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NPR News: A new study rewrites the history of the plague

A new study rewrites the history of the plague
A new study looks at one of the most prolific pathogens in human history — the plague.

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NPR News: How to map quadrillions of miles of underground fungi

How to map quadrillions of miles of underground fungi
NPR's Adrian Florido speaks with ecologist Justin Stewart about mapping the complex network of fungi connecting the Earth's plants.

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