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Want to stop needle phobia in adults? Make shots less painful for kids

According to the CDC, about one in four adults has a fear of needles. Many of those people say the phobia started when they were kids. For some people, the fear of needles is strong enough that they avoid getting important treatments, vaccines or tests. That poses a serious problem for public health. Researchers have helped develop a five step plan to help prevent what they call "needless pain" for kids getting injections or their blood drawn. Guest host Tom Dreisbach talks with Dr. Stefan Friedrichsdorf of UCSF Benioff Children's Hospitals, who works with a team to implement the plan at his own hospital. Friedrichsdorf told us some of the most important research on eliminating pain has come from researchers in Canada. Learn more about their work here.

Want to stop needle phobia in adults? Make shots less painful for kids

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Second graders practice using solar eclipse glasses outside Winchester Village Elementary School in Indianapolis. Kaiti Sullivan for NPR hide caption

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Kaiti Sullivan for NPR

Student volunteers prepare two balloons for a morning launch in Cumberland, Md., as part of a nationwide project to study the April 8 eclipse. Meredith Rizzo for NPR hide caption

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Meredith Rizzo for NPR

On eclipse day, hundreds of students will send up balloons for science

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NASA astronaut and Expedition 70 Flight Engineer Loral O'Hara is pictured working with the Microgravity Science Glovebox, a contained environment crew members use to handle hazardous materials for various research investigations in space. NASA hide caption

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NASA

What's it like to live in space? One astronaut says it changes her dreams

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Warehouse workers often labor in extremely hot conditions in California, as do many others who work indoors. The state has been considering new rules to protect them when temperatures soar to dangerous levels, but political headwinds have left the rules in limbo. Jae C. Hong/AP hide caption

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Jae C. Hong/AP

The Catholic Church officially opposes in vitro fertilization, yet many Catholics don't view IVF as morally wrong. Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Filippo Monteforte/AFP via Getty Images

Despite church prohibitions, Catholics still choose IVF to have children

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A post-reproductive toothed whale mother and her son. David Ellifrit/Center for Whale Research hide caption

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David Ellifrit/Center for Whale Research

Most animals don't go through menopause. So why do these whales?

Across the animal kingdom, menopause is something of an evolutionary blip. We humans are one of the few animals to experience it. But Sam Ellis, a researcher in animal behavior, argues that this isn't so surprising. "The best way to propagate your genes is to get as many offspring as possible into the next generation," says Ellis. "The best way to do that is almost always to reproduce your whole life."

Most animals don't go through menopause. So why do these whales?

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A cicada perches on a picnic table in front of Nolde Mansion in Cumru Township, PA in May 2021. New research shows that these insects urinate in a surprising way. Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images hide caption

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Ben Hasty / MediaNews Group/Reading Eagle via Getty Images

Scientists studied how cicadas pee. Their insights could shed light on fluid dynamics

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The U.S. ranks higher in the world happiness report when it comes to people aged 60 and older. Thomas Barwick/Getty Images hide caption

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Thomas Barwick/Getty Images

U.S. drops in new global happiness ranking. One age group bucks the trend

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The scraggly cherry blossom tree known as Stumpy on March 15 in Washington, D.C. At high tide, the base of the tree's trunk is inundated with several inches of water. Jacob Fenston hide caption

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Jacob Fenston

So long, Stumpy. More than 150 of D.C.'s cherry trees have to go as water rises

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Workers at the U.S. Embassy in Havana leave the building in September 2017. New research out of the National Institutes of Health finds no unusual pattern of damage in the brains of Havana syndrome patients. Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images hide caption

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Emily Michot/Miami Herald/Tribune News Service via Getty Images

Ultra-processed foods contain substances you wouldn't find in your own kitchen, like high-fructose corn syrup, artificial flavor and color enhancers, anti-caking agents and emulsifiers. Dan Kitwood/Getty Images hide caption

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Dan Kitwood/Getty Images

From anxiety to cancer, the evidence against ultra-processed food piles up

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A woman watches an annular solar eclipse on October 14, 2023 using special solar filter glasses at the National Autonomous University of Mexico. Carlos Tischler/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images hide caption

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Carlos Tischler/ Eyepix Group/Future Publishing via Getty Images

Watching a solar eclipse without the right filters can cause eye damage. Here's why

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Shohini Ghose is the author of the 2023 book Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe. Throughout the book, Ghose highlights the stories of women who have transformed physics and astronomy. Courtesy of MIT Press hide caption

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Courtesy of MIT Press

This Women's History Month, how physics connects two Bengali women born decades apart

When Shohini Ghose was studying physics as a kid, she heard certain names repeated over and over. "Einstein, Newton, Schrodinger ... they're all men." Shohini wanted to change that — so she decided to write a book about some of the women scientists missing from her grade school physics textbooks. It's called Her Space, Her Time: How Trailblazing Women Scientists Decoded the Hidden Universe. This episode, she talks to Short Wave host Regina G. Barber about uncovering the women physicists she admires — and how their stories have led her to reflect on her own.

This Women's History Month, how physics connects two Bengali women born decades apart

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Eclipse enthusiasts wearing protective glasses view a partial eclipse from Beckman Lawn at Caltech in Pasadena, Calif., on Aug. 21, 2017. Another solar eclipse is just weeks away. Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images hide caption

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Frederic J. Brown/AFP via Getty Images

The eclipse gives astronomy clubs an opportunity to shine

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This close-up of the Verona astrolabe shows Arabic and Hebrew markings. Federica Gigante hide caption

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Federica Gigante

This medieval astrolabe has both Arabic and Hebrew markings. Here's what it means

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