NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce discusses the upcoming total solar eclipse, highlighting its beauty and how to prepare for it. Topics include eclipse viewing safety, alternative methods, personal anecdotes, and the impact on eclipse chasers. Families eagerly anticipate the rare event, emphasizing the excitement surrounding this celestial phenomenon.

Science correspondent and ant enthusiast Nell Greenfieldboyce shares the fascinating world of ants, discussing their limb amputation practices, medical treatments, and unique survival strategies. Learn how ants exhibit cooperation, lack of distress, and self-sacrificing behaviors to ensure colony survival, revealing the intricate evolutionary adaptations of these tiny creatures.

Nell Greenfieldboyce, an NPR science correspondent, dives into the strange invasion of a European ant species in New York City. She reveals how this seemingly unremarkable ant has adapted and spread across the urban landscape since 2011. Nell discusses its ecological implications, including potential threats to local wildlife. Listeners learn about the importance of citizen science and how they can contribute to research efforts on these little critters that are quietly making their mark on the city.

For the past few winters, researchers have been intentionally flying into snowstorms. And high in those icy clouds, the team collected all the information they could to understand—how exactly do winter storms work? With more accurate data could come more accurate predictions about whether a storm would cause treacherous conditions that shut down schools, close roads and cancel flights. NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce recently took to the skies for one of these flights and shares her reporting with us today.Read more of Nell's reporting on this NASA effort: https://n.pr/3lk9utHWant to hear about other storm chasing happening in the name of science? Email us at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Pull out your art supplies because it's time to get crafty—with agar! We're beginning Arts Week at the intersection of biology and art. Therein lies a creative medium that's actually alive. Scientists and artists practice etching designs on petri dishes with bacterial paint that can grow and multiply. This encore episode, Aaron talks with science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce about her foray into the agar art world. Love the science powering another craft? Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Nell Greenfieldboyce, NPR's science correspondent renowned for her insightful coverage of climate change, dives into the fascinating world of rock glaciers. She reveals that there are over 10,000 of these formations in the western U.S., often overlooked despite their significance. The discussion highlights their role in water supply and biodiversity, as well as the challenges researchers face in studying these hidden wonders. Nell also shares her hiking adventures to Utah’s rock glaciers, emphasizing their resilience amid climate change.

Voyager 1, the farthest human-made object in space, encountered a glitch threatening its mission. The spacecraft carries a golden record with sounds from Earth to potentially communicate with alien life. NASA is working to restore its communication. The podcast explores Voyager 1's journey beyond the solar system and NASA's plans for future interstellar missions.

Inside the mountaintop glaciers of the Pacific Northwest lives a mysterious, and often, overlooked creature. They're small, black, thread-like worms that wiggle through snow and ice. That's right, ice worms! Little is known about them. But one thing scientists are sure of? They can't really handle freezing temperatures. In this episode, NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talks to Emily about how ice worms survive in an extreme environment and why scientists don't understand some of the most basic facts about them.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

The common box turtle is found just about anywhere in the continental United States east of Colorado. For all their ubiquity, it's unclear how many there are or how they're faring in the face of many threats—from lawn mowers to climate change to criminals. So today, science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce presents the researchers hunting for turtles—and for answers. They're creating a century-long study to monitor thousands of box turtles in North Carolina.Heard about other ambitious research? We want to know! Reach us by tweeting @NPRShortWave or emailing shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In movies, asteroids careening towards Earth are confronted by determined humans with nuclear weapons to save the world! But a real NASA mission wants to change the course of an asteroid now (one not hurtling towards Earth). The Double Asteroid Redirection Test, or DART, launched in 2021 and on Monday, September 26, 2022, makes contact with the celestial object. In 2021, NPR science correspondent Nell Greenfieldboyce talked about what it takes to pull off this mission and how it could potentially protect the Earth in the future from killer space rocks, and that's what you'll hear today. And stay tuned - when NASA has the results of contact in a few weeks, Short Wave will bring Nell back to tell us all about it!Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy