A <a href="https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2026.03.026"target="_blank" >recent study</a> caught our eye: salmon on cocaine. Or really, researchers giving salmon cocaine…for science. See, scientists know human drugs pollute aquatic environments – past studies have shown even <a href="https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1226850"target="_blank" >anti-anxiety drugs</a> can change how fish act. But illicit drugs are less studied. And <a href="https://www.slu.se/en/profilepages/b/jack-brand/"target="_blank" >Jack Brand</a>, an aquatic ecologist at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, wanted to know how illicit drugs like cocaine might change fish behavior, like foraging and mating. To answer that question, Jack and his team gave salmon cocaine.  Interested in more science? Email us your question at <a href="mailto:shortwave@npr.org"target="_blank" >shortwave@npr.org</a>. Listen to every episode of Short Wave sponsor-free and support our work at NPR by signing up for Short Wave+ at <a href="http://plus.npr.org/shortwave"target="_blank" >plus.npr.org/shortwave</a>. See <a href="https://pcm.adswizz.com">pcm.adswizz.com</a> for information about our collection and use of personal data for sponsorship and to manage your podcast sponsorship preferences. <a href="https://www.npr.org/about-npr/179878450/privacy-policy">NPR Privacy Policy</a>

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