Short Wave Folgen

We're taking the day off for the Labor Day holiday! We hope you're also able to get some rest. We'll be back with another episode tomorrow.You can now chat us up on Twitter @NPRShortWave. We'd love to hear from you! You can also reach us by emailing shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

In the toxic waters of Sulphur Cave in Steamboat Springs, Colo. lives blood-red worm blobs that have attracted scientific interest from around the world. We don special breathing gear and go into the cave with David Steinmann, the spelunking scientist who first documented the worms, along with a trio of science students from Georgia Tech, to collect worms and marvel at the unique crystals and cave formations (ever heard of snottites??) that earned Sulphur Cave a designation as a National Natural Landmark in 2021. Then we learn about how extremophiles like these worms are helping scientists search for new antibiotics, medicines, or in the case of the Georgia Tech team, models for worm blob robots that can explore uneven, dangerous terrain, like caves on other planets.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

It may seem obvious now that other galaxies lie beyond the Milky Way, but less than 100 years ago, some astronomers held a view of our universe that was a little more ... self-centered. In the 1920s, astronomers were locked in the "Great Debate" — whether Earth was center of the universe and if the universe was just the Milky Way. Today, Scientist in Residence Regina G. Barber talks to Dr. Vicky Scowcroft about the stars that ended astronomy's Great Debate. Follow Short Wave on Twitter for more on everything science.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy