Short Wave Folgen

As the U.S. continues to grapple with systemic racism, some in the medical community are questioning whether the diagnostic tools they use may be contributing to racial health disparities.As NPR science correspondent Maria Godoy reports, that debate is playing out prominently in the world of kidney medicine — specifically, in the use of estimated glomerular filtration rate, or eGFR. The diagnostic formula most commonly used to assess the health of patients with chronic kidney disease may be unintentionally contributing to poor outcomes — and reinforcing racist thinking. Read Maria's piece here.Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Meet the CubeSat: a miniaturized satellite that's been growing in sophistication. In the last 20 years, over 1,000 CubeSats have been launched into space for research and exploration. We talk about three CubesSat missions, and how this satellite technology ventured from college campuses to deep space. (Encore) Tweet to Emily Kwong at @emilykwong1234 and talk #scicomm with Joe on @joesbigidea. And you can reach the show by emailing shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy

Fifteen-year-old Gitanjali Rao is a scientist, inventor, and TIME Magazine's first-ever 'Kid Of The Year.' She shares why she didn't initially think science was for her, what motivates her now, and a bit of advice for other budding innovators. Email the show at shortwave@npr.org.Learn more about sponsor message choices: podcastchoices.com/adchoicesNPR Privacy Policy