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Today’s Pulse rundown
Netball Growth
Transcript: What if your favorite sport was suddenly growing faster than ever? In Australia, more men and boys are taking up competitive netball. Nineteen-year-old Daniel Statton from Cairns was recently selected for the national men's team, the Kelpies. The sport is expanding rapidly, with the Cairns men's league growing to four teams in its third season. Organizers say the stigma around boys playing the sport is dropping, especially as schools start entering boys' teams into regional carnivals. Players love the fast-paced, tactical gameplay. What new sport would you like to try playing with your friends this year?
Twin Echidnas
Transcript: Have you ever seen a baby mammal that hatches from an egg? Earlier this year, the San Diego Zoo Safari Park welcomed rare twin echidnas! The tiny babies, called puggles, hatched to one mother during the same breeding season. Echidnas are one of only five living egg-laying mammals. They use their long, rubbery snouts to sniff out critters and their sharp claws to dig burrows to disappear from predators. Because raising two puggles is difficult, veterinarians at the Harter Veterinary Medical Center are carefully hand-rearing one of them. What would you name a baby spiny anteater?
Revived Antibiotic
Transcript: Imagine finding a secret key that unlocks a broken medicine! Scientists at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory and Scripps Research have found a way to revive a powerful antibiotic called vancomycin. Over time, dangerous bacteria evolve and learn to resist our medicines. Instead of inventing a completely new drug, researchers tested a library of more than one hundred and fifty different compounds. They discovered that vancomycin regains its ability to kill drug-resistant bacteria because a small molecule called pghi-4 blocks the bacterial enzyme SagA. This chemical helper restores the medicine's original power! How else could chemistry help doctors fight off stubborn germs?
MIT Soccer
Transcript: How do you balance scoring goals with studying nuclear physics? Dilin Meloni is a rising senior at MIT, where he plays attacking midfielder and studies nuclear engineering and physics. Beyond his demanding classes and summer internship at Commonwealth Fusion Systems, Meloni serves as co-president of the Student Athlete Advisory Committee. He represents the needs of athletes across thirty-three varsity sports. He meets with coaches and administrators to improve campus life, from field access to food quality. He believes student governance is the best way to make changes. If you could change one thing about your school, what would it be?
AI Toothbrush
Transcript: What if your toothbrush could tell you exactly where you missed a spot? Philips is launching the Sonicare Next-Generation DiamondClean 9900 Prestige, a smart toothbrush powered by a third-generation artificial intelligence model. The brush uses AI to track movements inside your mouth. A touchscreen displays a map of your teeth divided into twelve different segments. If you miss a spot, the screen highlights the area in orange so you know where to brush again. The toothbrush adjusts its intensity when you press too hard because it uses built-in pressure sensors. Would you want a robot grading your morning brushing routine?
Juno Io
Transcript: How hot does it get inside the most volcanic world in our solar system? NASA's Juno spacecraft flew within nine hundred and thirty miles of Jupiter's moon Io, capturing underground temperature measurements. Io generates internal heat output many times greater than Earth's because it is constantly stretched and squeezed by Jupiter's immense gravity. Using its Microwave Radiometer, Juno peered beneath the crust and found temperatures rising by more than forty degrees Fahrenheit just feet down! The data revealed that away from its mountains, the moon's surface is surprisingly smooth. What would you wear to explore a glowing volcanic moon?
Heat Rash
Transcript: Did you know that a summer rash is completely different from a sunburn? Dermatologists like Caren Campbell in San Francisco are sharing tips to avoid heat rash during the summer. While a sunburn is caused by radiation, heat rash happens when sweat ducts become blocked and trapped under the skin's surface. This causes small red bumps to form. To prevent it, doctors recommend wearing breathable clothing that keeps you cool. If you get a rash, a gentle antibacterial cleanser can help clear the ducts. What is your favorite way to cool down on a scorching afternoon?
Pokémon Designs
Transcript: What if your favorite video game monster originally looked completely different? A leaked forty-three-minute documentary from the developer Game Freak has revealed early, scrapped designs for the Pokémon Diamond and Pearl games. The video shows that the grass starter Turtwig may have started as an armadillo-like creature before becoming a tortoise. It also features a scrapped water dog starter and a gnome-like evolution for Delibird! Fans on the Internet Archive are studying the footage to see how these early sketches evolved into the famous monsters released almost twenty years ago. If you could design your own starter Pokémon, what element would it be?
Victoria Monét
Transcript: How do you follow up winning the Grammy for Best New Artist? R&B star Victoria Monét announced she will release her new twenty-two-track album, Frequency Of Love, this fall! After writing hits for Ariana Grande in Atlanta, Monét became a massive solo star in 2023. Now, she is stepping into a cool new musical direction. She just dropped a sleek, atmospheric single called Reach Out, produced by Kaytranada and D'Mile. The track features a tasteful house music beat and a hypnotic black-and-white music video directed by Dave Meyers. What is your favorite style of music to listen to when you study?
Hosepipe Ban
Transcript: Imagine turning on your garden hose and finding out it is against the law! More than twenty million people in the UK are under a hosepipe ban after eight water companies announced restrictions. The bans were triggered by prolonged dry weather and high water demand. The rules mean residents cannot use hoses to wash cars or fill pools. Experts say groundwater stores provide a useful buffer during periods of drought because they respond more slowly to changes in the climate than rivers. To secure future supplies, the government is planning nine new reservoirs for England by 2050. How does your family try to save water at home?