SCOTT DETROW, HOST:
It is time now for our regular science news roundup with our friends at NPR's Short Wave podcast, Regina Barber and Emily Kwong. Hello to both of you.
EMILY KWONG, BYLINE: Hey.
REGINA BARBER, BYLINE: Hello, Scott.
DETROW: So here's how this works. You have brought us three science stories that caught your attention this week. What are they?
KWONG: Yes, indeed. We have a pair of lion brothers who made a record-breaking swim in Uganda.
BARBER: The glass skin care trend among preteens that is worrying dermatologists.
KWONG: And we have for you a planet outside our solar system that smells like rotten eggs.
DETROW: I am into all of these. I think I most want to hear about the rotten eggs, but we will save that for later.
KWONG: OK. OK. OK.
DETROW: Let's start with the record-breaking lion swim. Where was this clocked?
KWONG: OK, so this swim was recorded in Queen Elizabeth National Park in Uganda. It's a place just rich with different ecosystems, diverse wildlife. And these conservationists are tracking on animals all the time, and that's how they know about two lion brothers named Jacob and Tibu.
BARBER: And using heat detection cameras on drones, researchers spotted these lions making a record-breaking swim, nearly a mile long across a predator-infested channel.
DETROW: I'm invested because who are predators to lions? Like, tell me more.
BARBER: Right.
KWONG: Right.
BARBER: So one of the co-authors of the study, Alex Braczkowski, told us that the channel splits the national park in two, and it's filled with Nile crocodiles and hippos. And in video footage, Alex could see the lions make a few attempts to cross and then turn back when something started following them in the water.
ALEX BRACZKOWSKI: It's just incredible, like, the sort of bravery in the face of diversity that these lions show, you know, taking on these croc and hippo waters to try and make the swim.
BARBER: So yeah, for context, previous water crossings by African lions have been recorded at most a couple hundred feet, plus the brothers have done this swim at least six times.
KWONG: They're real pros.
DETROW: Seems like it.
KWONG: Yeah. And Jacob the lion is particularly famous among researchers because of all he has survived. Alex calls him...
BRACZKOWSKI: Probably the most interesting lion in Africa because he's probably the most resilient individual out of the whole population.
KWONG: Jacob has gotten caught in a snare. Then he had one of his legs amputated in a poacher's trap. Then some of his family members got poisoned by poachers. And then he got gored by a buffalo.
DETROW: Do lions have the nine lives guarantee that smaller cats have? They're cats. Yeah.
KWONG: Jacob might. Jacob might, yeah.
DETROW: Though, I mean, this is clearly risky. Why were the lions making the swim?
KWONG: Yeah.
BARBER: So most likely to find a mate. Researchers think that because of, like, human-wildlife conflict, poaching in the park, changes in the habitat, there are, like, fewer females than males. So males like Jacob and Tibu are having to make, like, tough choices to try to reproduce.
KWONG: We talked to an ecologist named Craig Packer about this. He led the Serengeti Lion Project for 35 years. And he said the lions' swim was impressive, but unsurprising, given all that human and mating pressures these lions face in the park. And everyone we talk to just ultimately wants a better relationship between scientists and local communities to protect the lions and other wildlife, so they don't have to resort to journeys like this.
DETROW: That makes sense. So let's stick on Earth.
BARBER: Yeah. For now.
DETROW: Before we go to the smelly planet.
BARBER: He's really excited about the smelly planet.
KWONG: Yeah. I'm excited.
DETROW: I really am.
BARBER: Thank you. Thank you. As an astronomer, I am touched.
DETROW: But let's talk about this glass skin craze. I mean, you can tell based on my glowing skin.
BARBER: I can.
DETROW: I know what it is.
BARBER: I was hit by it as soon as you walked in.
DETROW: But for those of us who aren't radiating the way I am, what is it?
KWONG: So glass skin is the skin care trend from South Korea that is being copied all over TikTok.
BARBER: Yeah, it's all in this pursuit of this, like, dewy, poreless and almost glowing complexion, clear as glass. That's achieved by apparently laying on multiple products.
DETROW: How many products are we talking about?
KWONG: It varies, but starts with cleansers, then an exfoliant to clear dead skin, and then a whole slew of stuff - toner, essence, serums, a lot of which have active ingredients. And preteens are following all of these steps.
CAROL CHENG: Unfortunately, that can backfire and causing it to be more irritated, so causing redness, peeling, flaking, burning.
BARBER: This is Carol Cheng, a pediatric dermatologist at UCLA, speaking to our colleague Maria Godoy, who reported the story for the NPR Science Desk. And Carol says that patients as young as 8 or 9 are coming in with rashes or bad reactions to these products.
DETROW: And is that because of the products themselves or the fact that these kids are so young and using them?
KWONG: It's the fact that certain products like chemical exfoliants, or retinols, contain active ingredients that are just too harsh for people in this age group. Preteen skin is much thinner. It is more sensitive to those chemicals. These products are designed ultimately for older people. So what can happen to these preteens is that their skin barrier, their stratum corneum gets compromised, so their skin is more sensitive and prone to irritation.
DETROW: So clearly, teens and preteens are going to stay interested in this, especially given these trends on TikTok. What is an appropriate skin care routine for a preteen?
BARBER: Yeah. So Maria asked Dallas-based dermatologist Elizabeth Houshmand, and her advice was to keep it simple, like a gentle cleanser, some moisturizer and sunscreen, and that's it. That's what I do.
KWONG: Yeah. And if you are battling acne, like I did as a teenager and you're listening to this story with your parents in the car, fear not. Like, over-the-counter products are fine, ones with say, benzoyl peroxide. Elizabeth just stresses that you talk to a pediatrician or a dermatologist if you're not sure. And then, of course, there's just taking care of yourself on the inside too - eating a balanced diet, exercising, getting a good night's sleep. All of that goodness will show up on your skin.
DETROW: All right. I'm just going to reveal the curtain here and say that the next line was written as such without my approval. Let's end with the fart-smelling planet.
BARBER: Let's do it.
DETROW: Quote, "as a gassy guy myself, I'm very invested."
BARBER: And me, too.
KWONG: Glowing skin and gassy hosting.
(CROSSTALK)
BARBER: What a brave thing to admit to millions of Americans, Scott. Let's talk about this exoplanet, which means a planet found outside of our solar system. And in this case, this exoplanet is 64 light years away, which is actually pretty close in astronomical terms. And this swirly blue exoplanet is a gas giant just like Jupiter, and it's pretty close to the same size as Jupiter, but it's way closer to its own star. And it's so close to its own star that this planet's year is roughly 48 hours.
DETROW: That's wild.
KWONG: Yeah.
BARBER: Yeah. It's so close to its star that the surface temperature on this planet is 17,000 degrees Fahrenheit, which is way hotter than any planet in our solar system.
DETROW: So to recap. It smells like farts. It has very fast years. And it's 17 - this does not sound like a pleasant planet.
KWONG: It's so hot, it could melt your face off - immediately.
DETROW: You don't need the skin care.
KWONG: (Laughter) All skin care is rendered useless in this world. These kinds of exoplanets have a name. They're called Hot Jupiters.
GUANGWEI FU: If your nose could work for a second before it melts, it will smell quite stinky.
BARBER: So that's Guangwei Fu, and he's the lead author of the study that just published in Nature. And he and his team studied this planet's atmosphere using light from the star it's orbiting, memorably named HD189733. And so we're looking at the star's light as it's passing through the planet's atmosphere. And that can tell us what the atmosphere is made out of because different particles block different wavelengths of light.
DETROW: OK
BARBER: And here, they could tell that carbon dioxide, water and our smelly friend hydrogen sulfide are blocking some light.
DETROW: Why does the sulfur matter so much?
KWONG: Yeah, it's just that this is the first time that this kind of hydrogen sulfide molecule has been detected outside our solar system. Like, before that, scientists had only confirmed it inside our solar system.
BARBER: Yeah. And so learning more about what's in exoplanet atmospheres can tell us more about how planets formed. Is it unique or is maybe formation similar across our galaxy?
DETROW: That is Regina Barber and Emily Kwong from NPR's science podcast Short Wave. Every Tuesday this summer, you can hear their Space Camp series looking at all things out of space, including what it is like for astronauts to live out there. Thank you. That was both informative and unhinged. I enjoyed it.
KWONG: Our specialty.
BARBER: Thank you.
DETROW: And special thanks to our friends at the U.S. Space and Rocket Center, home of Space Camp. Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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