Story: Mangrove forests are natural protectors, shielding coasts from storms, sheltering species, and soaking up carbon. In 2019, when this episode originally aired, 50% of the world’s mangroves had been lost. Now, 50% of the world’s remaining mangroves are at risk.

Reversing the decline of these habitats isn’t just a science—it’s an art, says marine biologist Octavio Aburto. He uses his camera along with high-resolution satellite imagery to assess real-time changes in mangrove coverage—and to reveal the amazing hidden marine life of these critical ecosystems.

The “After the Fact” team provides data and expert analysis on the biggest challenges facing society today. We go behind the scenes with experts, examine solutions pointing the way forward, and feature people and stories that bring data points to life.

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Stat: 13%: The average five-year survival rate for pancreatic cancer patients in 2024, according to the American Cancer Society. This is compared to a 90% average five-year survival rate for people diagnosed with breast cancer.

Story: Scientists have made tremendous progress on cancer research to improve patient survival rates. But challenges still exist because some cancers can suddenly become unaffected by treatment.

In this episode, Christina Towers, a cancer cell biologist from the Salk Institute for Biological Studies, explains how cancer cells can adapt their metabolic processes—through a mechanism she studies called autophagy—to resist drug therapies. She discusses how her research studying this process could lead to new approaches to prevent and control a cancer’s resistance to treatment—and, ultimately, save lives. And as the first Black faculty member at Salk, Towers shares how her mantra, “Honored to be first but refuse to be the last,” guides her efforts to increase diversity across the scientific community.

Stat: 11%: An estimated 11% of U.S. adults who have ever had COVID-19 are currently experiencing symptoms of long COVID, which can last three months or longer. This suggests that millions of people across the country could be affected.

Story: Long COVID is a health condition that’s continuing to puzzle scientists. Since the outbreak of COVID-19, doctors saw some patients who would recover quickly, while other people’s symptoms continued to worsen—and many symptoms varied widely and lasted long after the initial infection.

In this episode of “From Lab to Life,” Keyla Sá, a researcher at Yale University School of Medicine, discusses her work tracking how long COVID develops and a new artificial intelligence tool that can identify the infection’s symptoms and patterns that scientists might not normally recognize.

Stat: 150%-300%: Beaches maintained with Indigenous management techniques experience 150% to 300% more clam production than beaches without.

Story: Conserving the environment sometimes requires people to actively manage a natural place and Indigenous communities across North America have shown the way for centuries. In this episode, Marco Hatch, associate professor of environmental science at Western Washington University and member of the Samish Indian Nation, discusses Indigenous stewardship practices, such as clam gardens on beaches, and how they inform conservation efforts today.

Stat: 41%: The share of adults who experienced high levels of psychological distress at some point during the pandemic.

Story: New studies show that physical touch is vitally important to the human experience. And during the pandemic, many Americans felt the impact of its loss because of quarantines and isolation. But how do our brains and bodies distinguish between different types of touch? In this episode, Ishmail Abdus-Saboor of Columbia University discusses how his research tries to answer that question and explains what touch means for our mental and physical health.

Stat: 73%: The percentage of U.S. adults who have a great deal or fair amount of confidence in scientists to act in the public’s best interests, according to Pew Research Center

Story: Scientific discovery is essential to advancing society and improving people’s lives. In this series, “From Lab to Life,” we’re featuring scientists from a range of fields who share a common goal of making the world a better place.

Trust in their work is vital to their success, so many scientists are recognizing the need to communicate more effectively to the public about their research and the impact it has outside of the lab.

In this episode, Pew Research Center’s Alec Tyson analyzes the latest polling on trust in science, while Donna Dang and Rebecca Goldburg from The Pew Charitable Trusts discuss the importance of conservation and biomedical research to improve the health of our planet and communities.

Every day, science is improving the world.

A new series from “After the Fact” tells you how. Featuring conversations with scientists from a range of fields, we look at innovative research that’s advancing society and making people’s lives better.

We also learn more about the scientists themselves—personal stories of how they got started and what motivates them.

Tune in to hear how these researchers are strengthening trust in science, building community, and making the world a better place.