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Shells, composed mostly of invasive zebra mussels pile up at Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore in Michigan. The Nonindigenous Aquatic Nuisance Species Control and Prevention Act of 1990 and the United States Geological Survey's Nonindigenous Aquatic Species database were created in response to this mussel. corfoto/Getty Images hide caption

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corfoto/Getty Images

Here's what's missing from the invasive species narrative

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Many people get into their phones when they're bored, then scroll through social media in the hopes of alleviating that boredom. But new research suggests that swiping from video to video might increase boredom, not alleviate it. Tippapatt/Getty Images hide caption

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Tippapatt/Getty Images

Researchers glued cameras and tracking instruments to small pieces of neoprene, that they then glued to the fur of the sea lions Nathan Angelakis hide caption

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Nathan Angelakis

There are over eight hundred species of leeches, but researchers estimate that only ten percent of all leeches are terrestrial. Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images hide caption

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Auscape/Contributor/Getty Images

Two chimpanzees groom each other — a behavior that can involve several gestures. Anup Shah/Getty Images hide caption

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Anup Shah/Getty Images

Once completed, India's National River Linking Project will transfer an estimated 200 billion cubic meters of water around the country each year. STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images hide caption

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STRDEL / Stringer/Getty Images

Some ants, like the Florida carpenter ant, treat the injured legs of comrades, and will even perform medical amputations when necessary. Zen Rial/Getty Images hide caption

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Zen Rial/Getty Images

Reconstruction of a Lokiceratops rangiformis being surprised by a crocodilian in the 78-million-year-old swamps that would have existed in what is now northern Montana. Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution hide caption

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Andrey Atuchin/Museum of Evolution

Joro spider sits in the middle of a spider web. GummyBone/Getty Images hide caption

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GummyBone/Getty Images

Later this year, the FDA plans to decide whether MDMA can be used to treat PTSD Eva Almqvist/Getty Images hide caption

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Eva Almqvist/Getty Images

Harlan Gough holds a recently collected tiger beetle on a tether. Lawrence Reeves hide caption

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Lawrence Reeves

To escape hungry bats, these flying beetles create an ultrasound 'illusion'

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A sea otter in Monterey Bay with a rock anvil on its belly and a scallop in its forepaws. Jessica Fujii hide caption

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Jessica Fujii

When sea otters lose their favorite foods, they can use tools to go after new ones

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Lauren Hill, a graduate student at Cal State LA, holds a bird at the bird banding site at Bear Divide in the San Gabriel Mountains. Grace Widyatmadja/NPR hide caption

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Grace Widyatmadja/NPR

On this unassuming trail near LA, bird watchers see something spectacular

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The inside of a cell is a complicated orchestration of interactions between molecules. Keith Chambers/Science Photo Library hide caption

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Keith Chambers/Science Photo Library

AI gets scientists one step closer to mapping the organized chaos in our cells

As artificial intelligence seeps into some realms of society, it rushes into others. One area it's making a big difference is protein science — as in the "building blocks of life," proteins! Producer Berly McCoy talks to host Emily Kwong about the newest advance in protein science: AlphaFold3, an AI program from Google DeepMind. Plus, they talk about the wider field of AI protein science and why researchers hope it will solve a range of problems, from disease to the climate.

AI gets scientists one step closer to mapping the organized chaos in our cells

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NASA's Solar Dynamics Observatory captured this image of a strong solar flare on May 8, 2024. The Wednesday solar flares kicked off the geomagnetic storm happening this weekend. NASA/SDO hide caption

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NASA/SDO

Esther Nesbitt lost two of her children to drug overdoses, and her grandchildren are among more than 320,000 who lost parents in the overdose epidemic. Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images hide caption

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Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis via Getty Images

A survey shows that doctors have trouble taking full vacations from their high-stress jobs. Even when they do, they often still do work on their time off. Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images hide caption

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Wolfgang Kaehler/LightRocket via Getty Images

Weliton Menário Costa (center) holds a laptop while surrounded by dancers for his music video, "Kangaroo Time." From left: Faux Née Phish (Caitlin Winter), Holly Hazlewood, and Marina de Andrade. Nic Vevers/ANU hide caption

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Nic Vevers/ANU

'Dance Your Ph.D.' winner on science, art, and embracing his identity

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Researchers in a rainforest in Indonesia spotted an injury on the face of a male orangutan they named Rakus. They were stunned to watch him treat his wound with a medicinal plant. Armas/Suaq Project hide caption

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Armas/Suaq Project

The federal government says it has taken steps toward developing a vaccine to protect against bird flu should it become a threat to humans. skodonnell/Getty Images hide caption

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skodonnell/Getty Images