Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

Latest Episodes:

Re-release: Healthy Tongue, Slippery Surface, Curious for Answers Dec 11, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about an ancient diagnostic tool getting an AI upgrade, the world’s slipperiest surface, and some insight into the minds of everyone who loves this show!

Healthy Tongue

•“Eyes may be the window to your soul, but the tongue mirrors your health.” University of South Australia. 2023.

•“Ancient tongue diagnosis for the 21st century dental hygienist.” by Kathryn Gilliam. 2023.

•“Analysis of Tongue Color-Associated Features among Patients with PCR-Confirmed COVID-19 Infection in Ukraine.” by Liudmyla Horzov. 2021.

Slippery Surface

•“Droplet slipperiness despite surface heterogeneity at molecular scale.” by Sakari Lepikko, et al. 2023.

•“Slippery Science: Crafting the World’s Most Water-Repellent Surface.” by Aalto University. 2023.

Curious for Answers

•“Curiosity evolves as information unfolds.” by Abigail Hsiung, et al. 2023.

•“Unraveling Curiosity: Why We Savor the Suspense and Shun Spoilers.” Neuroscience.com. 2023.

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Re-release: Brain Rewiring, Rat Imagination, Dogs & PTSD Dec 06, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the brain’s ability - or inability - to rewire itself, the imagination of rats, and how dogs can have a positive effect on those suffering from PTSD.

Brain Rewiring

•“Our brains are not able to ‘rewire’ themselves, despite what most scientists believe, new study argues.” University of Cambridge. 2023.

•“Against cortical reorganisation.” by Tamar R. Makin & John W. Krakauer. 2023.

Rat Imagination

•“Rats have an imagination, new research finds.” EurekAlert! 2023.

•“Volitional activation of remote place representations with a hippocampal brain-machine interface.” by Chongxi Lai, et al. 2023.

Dogs & PTSD

•“Contact with a service dog might help individuals with PTSD sleep better, study finds.” by Vladimir Hedrih. 2023.

•“Paws for Purple Hearts - Service Dogs for our Warriors.” Website. 2023.

•“Heart rate during sleep in PTSD patients: Moderation by contact with a service dog.” by Steven H. Woodward, et al. 2023.

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Re-release: Bilingual Brain, Morning Sickness, Cat Purrs Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how the bilingual brain might be better at multitasking, good news for women who are at risk for morning sickness, and the strangely complex science behind cat purring.

Bilingual Brain

•“The bilingual brain may be better at ignoring irrelevant information.” EurekAlert!. 2023.

•“Bilingual attentional control: Evidence from the Partial Repetition Cost paradigm.” by Grace deMeurisse & Edith Kaan. 2023.

Morning Sickness

•“Cause of Morning Sickness and a Potential Treatment Identified.” by Rhianna-lily Smith. 2023.

•“GDF15: emerging biology and therapeutic applications for obesity and cardiometabolic disease.” by Dongdong Wang, et al. 2021.

•“GDF15 linked to maternal risk of nausea and vomiting during pregnancy.” by M. Fejzo, et al. 2023.

Cat Purrs

•“How do cats purr? New finding challenges long-held assumptions.” by Phie Jacobs. 2023.

•“Domestic cat larynges can produce purring frequencies without neural input.” by Christian T. Herbst, et al. 2023.

•“How Low Can You Go? Physical Production Mechanism of Elephant Infrasonic Vocalizations.” by Christian T. Herbst, et al. 2012.

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Re-release: Origin of Life, Self Control vs Willpower, Puppy Love Dec 04, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a bacterial discovery that challenges our understanding of how and when life formed on Earth, the importance difference between self control and willpower, and the truth about whether or not your dog really loves you.

Origin of Life

•“Scientists Just Made a 1.75 Billion-Year-Old Discovery About the Origin of Life.” by Mirjam Guesgen. 2024.

•“The Great Oxygenation Event as a consequence of ecological dynamics modulated by planetary change.” by Jason Olejarz, et al. 2021.

•“Microbes and minerals may have set off Earth’s oxygenation.” by Jennifer Chu. 2022.

Self Control vs Willpower

•“Most people say self-control is the same as willpower. Researchers disagree.” by Sujata Gupta. 2024.

•“Nearly two in five Americans have a New Year’s Resolution planned for 2021.” Ipsos. 2020.

•“New Year’s resolution statistics.” finder. 2021.

•“What’s inside is all that counts? The contours of everyday thinking about self-control.” by Juan Pablo Bermudez, et al. 2023.

Puppy Love

•“Does Your Dog Truly Love You? Science Has the Answer.” by Adam Piore. 2023.

•“Machine learning gives glimpse of how a dog’s brain represents what it sees.” ScienceDaily. 2022.

•“A glimpse into the dog’s mind: A new study reveals how dogs think of their toys.” by Eotvos Lorand University. 2022.

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Liquid Cats, Spider Silk, Sound Printing Nov 29, 2024

Show notes

Today, we’re bringing you three new stories that cover a few topics we’re really passionate about. You’ll learn about how cats become like liquid to fit through small spaces and why that’s a big deal, the new super sticky strong silk inspired by Spiderman, and a new method of 3D-printing that uses sound. Be sure to stick around until the end of the episode to hear a special message from Calli and Nate.

Liquid Cats

“At-home experiments shed light on cats’ liquid behavior.” by Andrea Tamayo. 2024.
“On the rheology of cats.” by M.A. Fardin. 2014.
“Cats are (almost) liquid! - Cats selectively rely on body size awareness when negotiating short openings.” by Péter Pongrácz. 2024.
“That dog won’t fit: body size awareness in dogs.” by R. Lenkei, et al. 2019.

Spider Silk

“Spider-Man-inspired sticky silk fibers lift 80 times their weight.” by Paul McClure. 2024.
“Dynamic Adhesive Fibers for Remote Capturing of Objects.” by Marco Lo Presti, et al. 2024.

Sound Printing

“Holographic direct sound printing.” by Mahdi Derayatifar, et al. 2024.
“Direct sound printing.” by Mohsen Habibi, et al. 2022.

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter withCalli andNate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.

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Barnacle Polymers, Two Week Brain, Elephant Memory Nov 28, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a new bacteria-busting polymer inspired by barnacles, how the things you do today will affect your brain in two weeks, and the memories elephants keep of their favorite people from long ago.

Barnacle Polymers

“Barnacle-inspired polymers could present new way to design antibiofilm materials, researchers say.” by Cynthia McCormick Hibbdrt. 2024.
“Coacervate Dense Phase Displaces Surface-Established Pseudomonas aeruginosa Biofilms.” by Apoorva Vishwakarma, et al. 2024.

Two Week Brain

“Your Brain Changes Based on What You Did Two Weeks Ago.” by Pandora Dewan. 2024.
“Longitudinal single-subject neuroimaging study reveals effects of daily environmental, physiological, and lifestyle factors on functional brain connectivity.” by Ana Maria Triana, et al. 2024.

Elephant Memory

“Do African Savanna Elephants (Loxodonta africana) Show Interspecific Social Long-Term Memory for Their Zoo Keepers?” by Martin Kranzlin, et al. 2024.
“Truth or Tail: Elephants have good memories.” Cleveland Zoo Society. 2021.
“Long-Term Olfactory Memory in African Elephants.” by Franziska Hoerner, et al. 2023.

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Tractor Beam, Crystal Palace, Botany Dark Spots Nov 27, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the tiny tractor beam that could change how certain diseases are diagnosed, how a screw allowed an iconic historical building to go up faster than anyone thought possible, and why scientists are worried about the 33 dark spots with thousands of unknown plants.

Tractor Beam

“MIT engineers create a chip-based tractor beam for biological particles.” by Adam Zewe. 2024.
“Optical tweezing of microparticles and cells using silicon-photonics-based optical phased arrays.” by Tal Sneh, et al. 2024.

Crystal Palace

“How London’s Crystal Palace was built so quickly.” by Jennifer Ouellette. 2024.
“The Great Exhibition of 1851.” Christopher Marsden. N.d.
“Thread form at the Crystal Palace.” by John Gardner & Ken Kiss. 2024.

Botany Dark Spots

“Botanists identify 33 global ‘dark spots’ with thousands of unknown plants.” by Patrick Greenfield. 2024.
“‘Uncharted territory’: more than 2m fungi species yet to be discovered, scientists say.” by Patrick Greenfield. 2023.

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Whale Talk, Foster Care History, Blood Pressure Test Nov 22, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how whales could be carrying on conversations from over 60 miles away, the struggles of foster moms in the 1600s, and why your blood pressure reading might be way off.

Whale Talk

“Whales May Be Communicating Across Vast Distances.” by Joanna Thompson. 2024.
“Alaska’s Population of Bowhead Whales Rebounding.” by Riley Woodford. 2003.
“Orientation by means of long range acoustic signaling in baleen whales.” by Roger Payne & Douglas Webb. 1971.
“Synchronization of bowhead whales.” by Evgeny A. Podolskiy, et al. 2024.

Foster Care History

“Early foster care gave poor women power, 17th-century records reveal.” EurekAlert! 2024.
“History of Foster Care in the United States.” NEPA. N.D.

Blood Pressure Test

“Blood pressure may read falsely high if the arm isn’t positioned properly.” by Aimee Cunningham. 2024.
“Arm Position and Blood Pressure Readings.” by Hairong Liu, MHS. 2024.
“Estimated Hypertension Prevalence, Treatment, and Control Among U.S. Adults.” MillionHearts. 2023.

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Fly Brains, Comb Jelly Fusion, Dog Voice Nov 21, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the entire neuron-for-neuron model of a fly brain, jellyfish that can merge together seamlessly, and how talking to our dogs in that way-too-cutesy voice might actually have a purpose.

Fly Brains

“Researchers simulate an entire fly brain on a laptop. Is a human brain next?” by Robert Sanders. 2024.
“A Drosophila computational brain model reveals sensorimotor processing.” by Philip K. Shiu, et al. 2024.

Comb Jelly Fusion

“Injured comb jellies can fuse into a single organism.” by Jacek Krywko. 2024.
“Rapid physiological integration of fused ctenophores.” by Kei Jokura, et al. 2024.

Dog Voice

“Our cutesy cringey dog voices could be practical, after all.” SciMex. 2024.
“Dog-human vocal interactions match dogs’ sensory-motor tuning.” by Eloise C. Deaux, et al. 2024.

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Static Electricity, Stroke Headband, Exploding Craters Nov 20, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the cause of static electricity, how a new headband could help you stop a stroke before it happens, and why the ground in Siberia is exploding.

Static Electricity

“We Finally Know What Creates Static Electricity, After Thousands of Years.” by Michelle Starr. 2024.
“Why petting your cat leads to static electricity.” Northwestern. 2024.

Stroke Headband

“Laser headband non-invasively IDs stroke risk in real time.” by Bronwyn Thompson. 2024.
“Correlating stroke risk with non-invasive cerebrovascular perfusion dynamics using a portable speckle contrast optical spectroscopy laser device.” by Yu Xi Huang, et al. 2024.

Exploding Craters

“Chemists Finally Unravel the Mystery of Siberia’s Explosive Craters.” by Adam Kovac. 2024.
“Everything Is Extremely Normal and Totally Fine.” by Brian Kahn. 2020.
“Osmosis Drives Explosions and Methane Release in Siberian Permafrost.” by Ana M. O. Morgado, et al. 2024.
“The Mystery of Siberia’s Exploding Craters, Explained.” YouTube, Distilled. 2023.

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