Health, Science, Environment

Are we as happy as we appear to be on social media?

On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh explored that question and others in conversation with Tim Bono, a faculty member at Washington University. The psychologist’s new book “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness” draws on scores of happiness-related studies conducted with college students and other adults throughout the world.

In his 25 years as a terrestrial and underwater archaeologist, Chris Begley has explored everything from prehistoric caves in Missouri to the legend of a lost civilization in Honduras. Along the way, he’s earned not just a Ph.D. but a reputation as “a real-life Indiana Jones.”

But on Friday, Begley downplayed the more daring aspects of his own adventures during a conversation with St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh. He said his field work in relatively uninhabited areas of Central America as well as other places around the world doesn’t quite live up to what’s typically portrayed on the big screen.

This post was updated following the March 5 show.

On Monday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh talked with Tim Bono, a psychologist and faculty member at Washington University, about his new book “When Likes Aren’t Enough: A Crash Course in the Science of Happiness.”

Listen to and read about the full conversation here.

More people in Missouri are at risk of experiencing damage from heavy rainfall and river flooding, according to a study released Wednesday.

On Wednesday’s St. Louis on the Air, producer Alex Heuer talked with science journalist Jon Cohen, a staff writer for Science Magazine, and documentary filmmaker Carl Gierstorfer about their work on HIV, AIDS and Ebola.

Both have received support from the Pulitzer Center for their reporting projects. Their work takes a look at the causes of diseases, the factors that allow them to spread and the stories of those impacted.

Imagine that first you can’t afford to keep your water on, or your electricity. You’re already struggling to find or keep a job.

Every month, you have menstrual periods. One or more of your children might, too.

Where do you find room for sanitary pads and tampons in the budget? How do you focus on taking care of yourself, getting a new job or a more stable home? If you’re homeless, how do you find a way to get hygiene products without money?

That’s what Donna Kaucic started wondering as she worked with families at Jefferson Franklin Community Action Corporation, a non-profit agency that offers services to address poverty in Jefferson and Franklin counties.

Marine life probably isn’t the first thing that comes to mind as a distinguishing characteristic of Missouri. But a wide variety of both freshwater and saltwater species now have a presence just a few hours southwest of St. Louis.

Shelby Stephenson joined St. Louis on the Air host Don Marsh this week to talk about Wonders of Wildlife, a new aquarium adjoined to Bass Pro Shops’ national headquarters in Springfield.

St. Louis-area residents may see a new fee on their sewer bills at the beginning of 2020. That's because the Metropolitan St. Louis Sewer District wants to impose a new fee to help fund efforts to resolve flooding and erosion issues in its service area. 

In a proposal MSD submitted to its independent rate commission on Monday, the district estimates the cost of resolving the region's stormwater runoff issues to be $560 million. The plan would charge an average of $2.25 per household per month, or $27 per year. The more surface area a property has that can't absorb water, the higher the fee. According to MSD projections, the new fee would generate $30 million per year for 30 years.

Despite a warming world, there’s little chance of weather becoming unpredictable – or at least less predictable than it already is. That’s according to new research from the University of Missouri’s School of Natural Resources.

On Friday’s St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh spoke with local meteorologist Cindy Preszler about the findings – along with Anthony Lupo, a professor of atmospheric science who helped lead the study.

When the Army Corps of Engineers on Thursday delivered an update on its ongoing work to clean up radioactive waste along Coldwater Creek, it was to a packed room. More than 100 people attended the meeting; some attendees only recently learned about the radioactive waste after watching the HBO documentary, "Atomic Homefront," which began airing last week.

The film documents the struggle of north St. Louis County residents who live near areas illegally dumped with World War II-era nuclear waste, particularly the West Lake Landfill Superfund site. While many attendees in the room had known about the waste for several years, some were stunned to learn about it from the documentary.

Veterans who live at the St. Louis Veterans Home say they are receiving much better care following a state investigation into allegations of abuse and neglect at the facility.

Last fall, residents and their relatives complained of mistreatment, including how a veteran with dementia was placed in a scalding hot shower. They said the home was so mismanaged that its poor care amounted to neglect.

Since then, a new administrator has arrived. The home has hired 26 nursing assistants and plans to hire 30 more in coming months.

When a doctor suspects a patient has malaria, the next step is usually a blood test. Most commonly, a technician smears a drop of blood on a slide and examines it under a microscope for tell-tale signs of the parasite.

But preliminary research from Washington University suggests future malaria testing could be as simple as collecting a breath sample.

The study, published in the February issue of The Journal of Infectious Diseases, reports malaria-infected children in Malawi show a distinct shift in the compounds in their breath compared to healthy children. Based on the abundance of six compounds, the researchers were able to diagnose malaria infection with 83 percent accuracy.

St. Louis' weather forecast this week is rain, rain and more rain, yet that's good news for a region that's in the midst of a drought. 

National Weather Service meteorologist Jayson Gosselin says a dry weather pattern began last summer. He says that dry pattern continued into the fall — typically the wetter part of the year in Missouri — creating moderate to extreme drought throughout the state. 

"In terms of precipitation deficits since that time, anywhere from 8 to as much as 16 inches below normal, for that six to seven months," Gosselin said.

For more than two decades, Nurses for Newborns have stepped in to help more than 100,000 families lacking in resources to care for their newborn babies.

On Friday's St. Louis on the Air, host Don Marsh talked about services provided by Nurses for Newborns to provide a safety net and improve the outcomes of at-risk infants. Joining him for the discussion was Nurses for Newborns chief executive officer Melinda Ohlemiller.

Listen to the full discussion about the organization’s mission and services:

Over the next five years, Ameren Missouri plans to close the ponds it uses to dump the byproduct of its coal-fired power plants.

The company has 15 ponds among its four power plants. Ameren closed two out of the nine ponds at the Meramec Energy Center in St. Louis County earlier this year. Coal-fired power plants have traditionally used water to handle coal ash, but recent advances in technology are allowing utilities such as Ameren to use dry systems instead.