EPA's cost-benefit shift on air pollutants, cancer survival records, ISS medical evacuation, and primate same-sex behavior study

The episode explains how the EPA’s rule changes the way cost and health benefits are counted in air pollution regulations, with potential implications for PM2.5 and ozone. It also covers a record high five-year cancer survival rate, NASA’s medical evacuation from the International Space Station, and a study on same-sex behavior in primates that offers evolutionary insights.

EPA policy shift and its implications

The Scientific American Science Quickly team details how the EPA has finalized a rule that changes the way the agency accounts for the health benefits of reducing air pollutants. Historically, benefits were derived from health studies comparing high- and low-pollution areas, estimating how changes in pollutants would affect outcomes like premature death and hospitalizations. Those health gains were then valued in monetary terms using the value of a statistical life, and weighed against the costs to industry to implement controls. The rule change is described as reducing or forgoing the monetary valuation of health benefits for pollutants such as PM2.5 and ozone, which many health experts fear could lead to looser regulations and higher pollution levels.

"Changing the rules in this way is likely to lead to more air pollution" - Andrea Thompson, SIA senior editor for Life Sciences

Cancer survival updates and policy caveats

The program shifts to cancer statistics, noting that 70 percent of cancer patients now survive at least five years after diagnosis, a record high according to the American Cancer Society. Rebecca Siegel emphasizes that this progress reflects decades of research and improved clinical tools that have transformed many cancers from lethal to chronic conditions. The report highlights improvements in myeloma and regional-stage lung cancer survival, driven in part by better screening and treatment and a decline in smoking. Yet the piece cautions that potential federal cuts to health insurance and cancer research could jeopardize access to therapies and slow progress, particularly as incidence rises for common cancers.

"This stunning victory is largely the result of decades of cancer research that provided clinicians with the tools to treat the disease more effectively, turning many cancers from a death sentence to a chronic disease" - Rebecca Siegel, ACS senior scientific director for Surveillance research

Space news: ISS medical evacuation

The episode covers NASA and spaceflight news, including the medical evacuation from the International Space Station. A crewmate’s serious medical condition prompted the evacuation; NASA stressed it was not an emergency, but the condition exceeded the ISS medical capacity. This marks the first time any space agency has ordered a medical evacuation from the ISS, a scenario that offers important lessons for future crewed missions, including Artemis II, the upcoming crewed lunar mission.

"This is the first time any space agency has ordered a medical evacuation from the International Space Station" - NASA administrator

Primates and same-sex behavior: evolutionary context

Researchers from Imperial College London analyzed data from 491 non-human primate species and found same-sex sexual behavior in 59 of them. The study links these behaviors to traits such as aridity, food scarcity, predation pressure, longer lifespans, and complex social hierarchies, suggesting that same-sex interactions may strengthen bonding and reduce aggression, helping species navigate ecological and social challenges. The researchers caution against extrapolating these findings to humans, but the work provides a window into potential evolutionary underpinnings of same-sex behavior in primates.

"same-sex sexual interaction was more likely for species with certain characteristics... it seems to increase the bonding, decrease tension and aggression" - Vincent Savalainen, senior author