Meet the Third Ever (!!) Interstellar Comet

Summary

Short Wave Podcast Summary: "Meet the Third Ever (!!) Interstellar Comet"

Release Date: July 11, 2025

NPR's "Short Wave," hosted by Emily Kwong and Regina Barber, delves into the latest scientific discoveries with creativity and humor. In the July 11, 2025 episode titled "Meet the Third Ever (!!) Interstellar Comet," the hosts explore three captivating topics: the discovery of an interstellar comet, innovative plastic-eating worms, and the evolutionary adaptations of high-altitude animals.

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1. A Rare Visitor: The Third Ever Confirmed Interstellar Comet

The episode kicks off with exciting news about a newly discovered interstellar comet named 3i Atlas. This celestial visitor is only the third confirmed interstellar object to pass through our solar system, making it a significant astronomical event.

Key Points:

• High-Speed Entry: 3i Atlas is traveling at an astonishing speed of 137,000 miles per hour as it enters our solar system. This speed underscores its interstellar origin, distinguishing it from typical comets bound by our sun’s gravity.

• Detection: Astronomers identified 3i Atlas on July 1st using NASA’s Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System (ATLAS). The telescope in Chile was pivotal in spotting this rare comet.

• Trajectory and Safety: Experts assure that there's no cause for alarm. The comet is expected to maintain a safe distance from Earth, orbiting roughly 150 million miles away—about one and a half times the distance from Earth to the Sun. Its closest approach will be near Mars.

Notable Quotes:

• Regina Barber emphasizes safety, stating, “So, no dinosaur fate for us” ([03:23]).

• Teddy Coretta, a planetary astronomer, explains the significance of extended observation periods: “We'll have a couple of months to study it for real and then it's gone forever” ([04:08]).

Implications: Studying 3i Atlas offers astronomers a rare opportunity to understand more about other solar systems and the formation of celestial bodies beyond our own. This can shed light on whether our solar system is unique or part of a broader cosmic pattern.

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2. Plastic-Eating Worms: A Worming Solution to Recycling

Transitioning from space to Earthly innovations, the podcast highlights a groundbreaking discovery involving wax worms—the larvae of wax moths—that exhibit the ability to consume plastic.

Key Points:

• Accidental Discovery: A beekeeper in Europe, while cleaning her beehives, observed that wax worms had gnawed through a plastic bag, sparking scientific interest.

• Research by Brian Cassoni: At Canada's Brandon University, scientist Brian Cassoni delves into understanding how these worms digest plastic. His experiments revealed that approximately 2,000 wax worms can consume a plastic bag in about 24 hours.

• Metabolic Process: The worms break down polyethylene (the most common form of plastic) into fatty acids, which they metabolize for energy. The leftover materials are stored as fat within the worms.

• Challenges and Solutions: A major hurdle is that wax worms cannot survive on a diet exclusively of plastic; they typically die within days. However, Cassoni’s team discovered that supplementing their diet with carbohydrates and proteins extends their lifespan, making this a more viable method for plastic remediation.

Notable Quotes:

• When discussing the potential of this discovery, Ari Shapiro quips, “Remediation, meaning don't let the plastic sit in a landfill for 200 years. Like, are these worms the solution?” ([05:03]).

• Brian Cassoni elaborates on the transformative possibilities: “Scientists are working on a way to isolate these worms, saliva and gut bacteria. So they can just use the enzymes produced by these worms to directly break down plastics. Wouldn't that be cool?” ([07:13]).

Future Prospects: The next steps involve isolating the specific enzymes responsible for plastic degradation. If successful, these enzymes could be employed directly in recycling processes, offering a sustainable and efficient method to tackle plastic pollution.

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3. Smarter Senses: Evolutionary Adaptations of High-Altitude Animals

The final segment explores how animals adapted to high-altitude environments exhibit a reduced sense of smell, a fascinating example of evolutionary biology.

Key Points:

• Environmental Challenges: Animals living 1,000 meters above sea level or higher face thinner, drier air with fewer oxygen molecules, necessitating various physiological and genetic adaptations.

• Research by Ali Graham: A biologist at the University of Kansas, Ali Graham investigated how these environmental factors influence animal evolution. By analyzing the genomes of 27 high-altitude species and comparing them to their low-altitude counterparts, Graham identified significant genetic patterns.

• Genetic Findings: Approximately a quarter of smell receptor genes in these high-altitude species are deactivated. This reduction suggests a possible evolutionary trade-off, where resources are shifted from olfactory capabilities to other senses like taste or vision.

Notable Quotes:

• Regina Barber summarizes the findings: “She saw like a big reduction in genes related to smell. Like, nearly a quarter of these species' smell receptor genes were turned off” ([08:35]).

• Ali Graham reflects on human implications: “But at the same time, I like, half joke, like, well, we'll check back in a couple million years and see whether or not that that signal has popped up in human populations. Right.” ([09:26]).

Human Comparison: Interestingly, when comparing humans, specifically Tibetans living at high altitudes with Han Chinese populations at lower elevations, no similar genetic reductions in smell receptors were observed. Graham posits this may be due to the relatively recent adaptation timelines in humans, not allowing enough time for such genetic changes to manifest.

Future Research: Biologist Zach Chevron suggests a practical approach for further study: fieldwork to directly assess the olfactory capabilities of these high-altitude animals, which would provide more concrete evidence of the evolutionary impacts identified in the genetic data.

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Conclusion

This episode of "Short Wave" masterfully interweaves diverse scientific topics, from the mysteries of interstellar visitors to innovative solutions for environmental challenges and the intricate dance of evolution in high-altitude habitats. Through engaging discussions and expert insights, Emily Kwong and Regina Barber illuminate the wonders of science, making complex topics accessible and fascinating for all listeners.

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Produced by Hannah Chin and Jason Fuller. Edited by Christopher Intagliotta. Special thanks to NPR's team for fact-checking and audio engineering.

Transcript

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[NPR]

You're listening to Short Wave from npr.

[Regina Barber]

Hey shortwavers. Regina Barber here and Emily Kwong with our bi weekly science news roundup featuring the hosts of All Things Considered. And today, one of our favorites, Ari.

[Ari Shapiro]

Shapiro, one of your four favorites amongst us.

[Regina Barber]

One of our four favorites.

[Ari Shapiro]

I'm excited to hear about our new interstellar visitor. I've been dreaming up names for him or her or them.

[NPR]

We also got news about a plastic eating worm that could revolutionize recycling and.

[Regina Barber]

New research on how some animals sense of smell varies by altitude.

[Ari Shapiro]

Nothing to sniff at?

[NPR]

No.

[Regina Barber]

All that on this episode of Short Wave, the science podcast from npr.

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[Ari Shapiro]

Please tell me he has big eyes and a glowing finger.

[Regina Barber]

I wish. No, it's a comet, and most comets orbit our sun. You know they're bound by our solar system. But this one came in 137,000 miles per hour from another star, and it's incredibly rare to get visitors like this.

[NPR]

Yes, this comet's coming in hot and astronomers Spotted it. It's dubbed 3i Atlas on July 1st using the NASA funded Asteroid Terrestrial Impact Last Alert System, or atlas. This is a network of four telescopes, and the telescope in Chile caught this comment.

[Ari Shapiro]

You both sound very blase about this comet traveling 137,000 miles an hour that was caught by the last alert system. Should we be ducking for cover?

[Regina Barber]

So, no, we should not be ducking for cover. There's nothing to fear. Astronomers are guessing it'll stay roughly like 150 million miles from Earth. That's about like one and a half times the distance from Earth to the Sun. So it's really far. It will come kind of close to Mars, though. Yeah.

[NPR]

So no dinosaur fate for us.

[Ali Graham]

Okay.

[Ari Shapiro]

You said these kinds of visitors are rare. How many have we seen before?

[NPR]

So this is only the third confirmed interstellar object to have zoomed past Earth. The first one was in 2017. You may remember Oumuamua, which means a messenger from afar arriving first in Hawaiian. Yeah, there was all this public controversy at the time that maybe it was a spaceship.

[Teddy Coretta]

People continue to debate this today, right? We don't really know. And the fact that we only had two or three weeks to study that object should tell you something about.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, I mean, I think a lot of astronomers don't think it's a spaceship, but we don't really know too much about it. That was planetary astronomer Teddy Coretta, who studies comets and the past interstellar objects. He says this comet, 3i Atlas, will be here for longer, though.

[Teddy Coretta]

We haven't seen this object before. We'll have a couple of months to study it for real and then it's gone forever.

[Regina Barber]

Teddy says studying these objects can help answer this big question. Is our solar system unique or not? This comet most likely formed with planets around another far away star. So studying it might tell us something about how other solar system are made and how planets form there.

[Ari Shapiro]

Cool. So scientists are going to have a couple months to study it. What about amateur astronomers? Will we be able to see it in the night sky?

[NPR]

Yes. Ari you our listeners in October when the comet gets closer to Earth. If you venture somewhere far, far away from city lights, under dark skies, with.

[Teddy Coretta]

A big telescope and some patience, maybe you might be able to see it. That might be the first time anyone has actually seen the light from an interstellar object with their own eyes.

[Regina Barber]

So come October, I'll be trying to spot it.

[Ari Shapiro]

Sounds amazing. Okay, next up, plastic eating worms. Where do they come from?

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, they're called wax worms and they're larvae of Wax moths. And they're these little white caterpillars that chew through beeswax.

[NPR]

And more than a decade ago, this beekeeper in Europe, who happens to be a scientist, was cleaning out her beehives. And she put the wax worms in a plastic bag. And when she got home, she realized the worms had eaten through the bag all on their own.

[Ari Shapiro]

What?

[NPR]

And this intrigues scientists like Brian Cassoni at Canada's Brandon University.

[Brian Cassoni]

There wasn't anything known about how the wax worm is eating plastic, how much plastic they eat? Do they metabolize the plastic? Can this actually be used in plastic remediation?

[Ari Shapiro]

Remediation, meaning don't let the plastic sit in a landfill for 200 years. Like, are these worms the solution?

[NPR]

Okay, so, yeah, that is the enticing question. Brian experimented with it. He fed the worms a diet of polyethylene. That's the world's most commonly manufactured form of plastic. Usually polyethylene, to your point, takes decades or even centuries to decompose. But Brian found It takes about 2,000.

[Brian Cassoni]

Or so wax worms to fully consume a plastic bag in about 24 hours. And then we went into, well, how's that being done? So we looked at the bacteria, and we were able to isolate plastic degrading bacteria from their guts.

[Regina Barber]

So his preliminary results suggest that the worms break down the plastic into, like, fatty acids, they metabolize it into energy, and whatever's left over gets stored as fat.

[NPR]

There's just one problem.

[Ari Shapiro]

No, what's the problem?

[Brian Cassoni]

When you feed them just on plastic, they die, usually within a few days. So that's not good.

[Ari Shapiro]

No, that's not good.

[NPR]

Yeah. It's not a renewable recycling system, it seems.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah. So Brian and his team figured out if you feed these worms a supplemented diet, like you throw in some carbs, some protein, along with the plastic, that could help the wax worms live, like, longer, healthier lives. And he presented his research this week at the Society for Experimental Biology annual conference in Belgium.

[Ari Shapiro]

So what's the next step? Do I get to feed my plastic bags to worms?

[NPR]

Well, one cool possibility. Scientists are working on a way to isolate these worms, saliva and gut bacteria. So they can just use the enzymes produced by these worms to directly break down plastics. Wouldn't that be cool? Yeah.

[Ari Shapiro]

Yeah. Amazing. Okay. Continuing with our critter theme, the third story is about animals that live at high altitudes. How high are we talking?

[NPR]

Yeah, we're talking about animals that live 1,000 meters above sea level, higher than 3,000ft. You can picture Table Mountain in South Africa or Mount Diablo in California.

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, all kinds of animals have adapted to live at this altitude or higher. Think like bighorn sheep, alpaca, Andean guinea pigs, where they live there, as you probably know, there are fewer air molecules.

[Ari Shapiro]

Right. You hike up a mountain and you get out of breath because of the low oxygen.

[NPR]

Right.

[Regina Barber]

The air is thinner, drier. So Ali Graham, a biologist at the University of Kansas, wanted to know how these conditions impacted the animal's evolution. And she pursued this question by looking at genetic open source data.

[Ali Graham]

I wanted to let, like I said, the data tell me what the story was rather than me like, trying to, for, you know, like, have any control over that.

[NPR]

She essentially screened the genomes of 27 different high altitude species and compared them to their low altitude relatives. So she compared rabbits that live at low altitude with pika that live at high altitude. These two lineages diverged several million years.

[Regina Barber]

Ago, and Ali did see a pattern. She and her team published their findings in the journal Current Biology this month.

[Ari Shapiro]

Okay, so drumroll. What did she find? What's the pattern?

[Regina Barber]

Yeah, she saw like a big reduction in genes related to smell. Like, nearly a quarter of these species, smell receptor genes, were turned off. And Ali also saw a reduction in the part of the brain associated with.

[NPR]

Smell, maybe because it was better to invest genetic resources in taste or vision. Though far more work is needed to be done to determine what ultimately drove this evolutionary mechanism.

[Ari Shapiro]

Yeah, that is not what I expected you to say. Fewer smell receptors. Would the same be true for humans at high altitude?

[Regina Barber]

So, interestingly, no. Like, researchers compared the genomes of Tibetans who traditionally have lived at high altitudes with Han Chinese people who traditionally live at, like, lower altitudes. And looking at just their genetics found, like, no olfactory changes. None of these, like, gene differences.

[NPR]

Yeah. Ali suspects it's because these groups haven't been separated long enough for a genetic signature related to smell to pop up.

[Ali Graham]

But at the same time, I like, half joke, like, well, we'll check back in a couple million years and see whether or not that that signal has popped up in human populations. Right.

[Ari Shapiro]

And if it has, we'll report on it.

[NPR]

Absolutely. And in the meantime, Zach Chevron, a biologist at the University of Montana who was not a part of the study, says, a nice follow up. Ubita, go into the mountains and test the nose power of these animals directly.

[Ari Shapiro]

Fieldwork. You can smell. I love it.

[NPR]

Yep.

[Regina Barber]

Ari, thank you so much for hanging out with us.

[Ari Shapiro]

Always a pleasure.

[NPR]

That is Ari Shapiro. You can hear more of his work on consider this NPR's afternoon podcast all about what the news means for you.

[Regina Barber]

This episode was produced by Hannah Chin and Jason Fuller. It was edited by Christopher Intagliotta.

[NPR]

Tyler Jones checked the facts. Ted Mebane and Tiffany Veracastro were the audio engineers. I'm Emily Kwong.

[Regina Barber]

And I'm Regina Barber. Thank you for listening to Shortwave, the science podcast from npr.

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