Aug 20, 2026 · 4 min listen · Last updated August 20, 2026
From storyflo. This is your daily audio brief. Hey, it's Chloe. August 20th. Ten stories — one trial, three reviews, six takes you can actually use. Let's get into it. First, from Mongabay. Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast.
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Daily Science Brief · August 20th
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Indigenous fishers rethink shark hunting & protect species on Colombia’s coast
LA GUAJIRA, Colombia — Feet from the ocean, four sharks and a ray lie dead on the wind-battered sand. Above them stands Wilfrido Arends, 46. The blade of a short knife glints in his hand. Carefully, he bends down to cut a small fin from the underside of one shark — an endangered species known as a blacknose (Carcharhinus acronotus). He hands the sample to a woman next to him, who places it delicately in a vial. A tape measure is passed over the still glistening back of the dead shark. Each measurement is read out and noted down.
Nepal pushes for hydropower in protected areas through legal grey area
KATHMANDU – Nepal’s government has allowed several private hydropower producers to develop projects inside protected areas and the buffer zones surrounding them, contravening a Supreme Court order, a Mongabay investigation reveals. In January 2025, the Supreme Court declared that a 2024 amendment to a key conservation law opening up protected areas to commercial projects was “invalid” as it was against the constitutionally defined state policy of environment-friendly development and the principle of intergenerational equity.
Levitating molten metal on ISS could refine ultra-strong metallic glass
The research team led by materials scientist Ralf Busch from Saarland University is preparing for its first science-in-space mission. If everything goes to plan, from 31 August the researchers will spend one week remotely studying metallic-glass alloys in experiments carried out on board the International Space Station, ISS. Working with the European Space Agency, ESA, and the German Aerospace Center, DLR, the team will investigate the properties of these alloys using hot, levitating droplets.
Warming waters draw summer 'feeding frenzies' by whales off Greenland
The effects of global warming depend on species: The losers are legion, but a lucky few are winners. Now, researchers have shown that baleen whales are taking advantage of a newly opened-up fish bonanza in the Greenland Sea, east of Greenland and reaching to the Arctic Circle and beyond.
A ‘living GLP-1 drug’ could revolutionize diabetes treatment
Bacteria engineered to sense and reduce glucose levels could be the future of type 2 diabetes treatments, following pre-clinical trials on animal models. Category: Diabetes, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind, Refractor: Science & Health Tags: Type 2 diabetes, GLP-1 receptor agonists, Weight Loss, Probiotic, Diet
Whales Once Rare Along East Greenland Now Gather by the Thousands in Feeding Frenzies
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How You Feel Today Could Have an Overlooked Impact on Your Well-Being For Decades, Study Finds
What's the secret to health and happiness? For some, it's an optimistic spirit. Others might say your experiences are what matters, or maybe your personality is paramount. There's no single formula, but in recent decades positive psychology has increasingly focused on the theory of well-being, encompassing our quality of life, sense of purpose and meaning, personal environment, and relationships with others.
Sloth bears help shape India’s dry forests as unlikely seed dispersers
Sloth bears play a critical role in structuring India’s dry deciduous forests by dispersing viable seeds and influencing plant regeneration, reports contributor Sneha Mahale for Mongabay India. “Dry deciduous forests’ plant compositions are a function of sloth bear presence, movement, and dietary habits,” study co-author K.S. Gopi Sundar, an independent scientist, told Mongabay India. For the study, the researchers surveyed the mountainous south-central Aravalli range in the western state of Rajasthan between November 2021 and July 2022.
My favorite adaptation of The Odyssey is O Brother, Where Art Thou? It is not a faithful adaptation; the Coen Brothers take many liberties with the story. But I like it because it is fun and memorable, full of compelling (and layered) characters, and has a consistent atmosphere. In other words, it has everything that Christopher Nolan’s The Odyssey lacks.
Sustainability commitments have serious consequences
Amid increasingly stiff competition for capital, one way for a business to stand out is to make strong social impact pledges. For example, companies can voluntarily commit to environmental impact goals in hopes of attracting sustainability-minded investors and lowering the cost of capital. However, it isn't easy to tell whether these commitments, in and of themselves, make a difference in the marketplace—or, for that matter, to the planet.