This week in science: sea monsters, long COVID patients' microbiome, elephant carcasses

NPR's science podcast Short Wave brings us stories about the hunting habits of ancient sea monsters, the microbiome of long COVID patients, and how elephant carcasses replenish the savannah. NPR Science LISTEN & FOLLOW NPR App Apple Podcasts Spotify Amazon Music iHeart Radio RSS link Science This week in science: sea monsters, long COVID patients' microbiome, elephant carcasses October 15, 20265:33 PM ET Heard on All Things Considered By  Nathan Rott ,  Regina G. Barber This week in science: sea monsters, long COVID patients' microbiome, elephant carcasses Listen · Transcript Toggle more options Download Embed Embed <iframe src="https://www. npr. org/player/embed/nx-s1-5995400/nx-s1-9965842" width="100%" height="290" frameborder="0" scrolling="no" title="NPR embedded audio player"> Transcript NPR's science podcast Short Wave brings us stories about the hunting habits of ancient sea monsters, the microbiome of long COVID patients, and how elephant carcasses replenish the savannah. Transcript SCOTT DETROW, HOST: It is time now for our science news roundup from Short Wave, NPR's science podcast. NATE ROTT, BYLINE: Hello, Scott. DETROW: So like usual, you have brought us three science stories that caught your attention recently. I think none of them are involving space. What do we have today? BARBER: We've got the hunting habits of ancient sea monsters. ROTT: We've got how elephant carcasses help shape the savanna. BARBER: And a look at the microbiomes of people suffering from long COVID. DETROW: Look, if you can't bring me space, you might as well bring me sea monsters. Are we talking aquatic dinosaurs? What are we talking about here? BARBER: These animals weren't dinosaurs. They were huge ancient marine lizards. Some grew to the size of a bus. But they did live during the same time as T. rex. BARBER: Yeah, they kind of ruled the ocean. And now paleontologists think they know how fast they actually were in the water. DETROW: I mean, how fast were they? ROTT: OK, so some mosasaurs with the longer tails could go up to around 15 miles per hour a slam-start. ROTT: Say it with me. ROTT: (Laughter) So it's like a swimmer pushing off of a pool wall. So, Scott, imagine you're in the water. ROTT: Just checking out some coral... Breathing through your snorkel, you know? ROTT: You see a mosasaur. KIERSTEN FORMOSO: Then, suddenly, it dramatically curls its tail. It lunges forward, and it is now 75% closer to you than it was one second ago.