NPR's Juana Summers talks with Regina Barber and Pien Huang of Short Wave about a double emergence of cicadas this spring, invasive ants in Kenya, and the secrets in an ancient wad of chewing gum.

We have all heard the warning: “Don’t swallow gum, it will stay in your stomach for seven years.” It’s one of those playground myths that refuses to die. But science paints a very different picture.

The base for conventional chewing gum contains food-grade plastic polymers. Natural gums, however, are known for their non-synthetic ingredients like tree sap and plant-based wax. But a researcher at ...

It's time now for our regular science news roundup with our friends at NPR's Short Wave podcast, Regina Barber and Pien Huang. Hey, y'all. PIEN HUANG, BYLINE: Hey, Juana. REGINA BARBER, BYLINE: Hey.

In his 1974 graduation speech at Caltech, Richard Feynman said words that every scientist should always live by: “The first principle is that you must not fool yourself — and you are the easiest ...