Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

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Sunk Cost Fallacy, Wheat Genes, Sweat Monitor Sep 06, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the part of the brain that keeps us focused on our goals - even when it would be better to quit, a massive discovery of lost wheat genes that could help feed a crowded planet, and the new wearable technology that could diagnose disease by monitoring your sweat.

Sunk Cost Fallacy

“The neuroscience behind the sunk cost fallacy: Key brain region identified.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“Goal commitment is supported by vmPFC through selective attention.” by Eleanor Holton, et al. 2024.

Wheat Genes

“Hidden genetic treasure: wheat discovery could sustainably feed global population.” University of Bristol. 2024.
“The A.E. Watkins landrace collection of bread wheat: Who was AE Watkins?” John Innes Centre. 2024.
“Harnessing landrace diversity empowers wheat breeding.” by Shifeng Cheng, et al. 2024.

Sweat Monitor

“Sweat health monitor measures levels of disease markers.” by Tina Hilding. 2024.
“3D-Printed Flexible Microfluidic Health Monitor for In Situ Sweat Analysis and Biomarker Detection.” by Chuchu Chen, et al. 2024.

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Out-Of-Body Experience, Brain Cell Computing, Cheese & Aging Sep 05, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the amazing transformative power of an out-of-body experience, how scientists want to use brain cells to do their computing, and a study that suggests eating cheese might make you live longer.

Out-Of-Body Experience

“Exploring the transformative potential of out-of-body experiences: A pathway to enhanced empathy.” by Marina Weiler, et al. 2024.
“Out of body experiences and their neural basis.” by Olaf Blanke. 2004.

Brain Cell Computing

“Open and remotely accessible Neuroplatform for research in wetware computing.” by Fred D. Jordan, et al. 2024.
“Neuromorphic wetware for artificial neural networks that overcome the limits of traditional computer hardware.” Innovation Toronto. 2023.
“How Many Joules Does My Surge Protector Need?” by Karenann Brow. 2024.

Cheese & Aging

“Eating cheese plays a role in healthy, happy aging - who are we to argue?” by Bronwyn Thompson. 2024.
“Mendelian randomization evidence for the causal effect of mental well-being on healthy aging.” by Chao-Jie Ye, et al. 2024.

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Maternal Bonds, Jumping Leeches, Urban Birds Sep 04, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how moms helped us evolve to live longer, the jumping leeches of Madagascar, and how cities affect bird diversity.

Maternal Bonds

“Mothers’ care is central factor in animal, human longevity.” by Caitlin Hayes. 2024.
“Why Humans Live So Long.” by Heather Pringle. 2013.
“Maternal care leads to the evolution of long, slow lives.” by Matthew N. Zipple, et al. 2024.

Jumping Leeches

“A jumping terrestrial leech from Madagascar.” by Mai Fahmy & Michael Tessler. 2024.
“New leech-like device to suck blood for sampling instead of needling.” by Shubhangi Dua. 2024.
“100-year-old mystery solved as first jumping leech found in Madagascar.” People Movers. 2024.

Urban Birds

“Dense city centers support less evolutionary unique bird communities than sparser urban areas.” by Federico Morelli, et al. 2024.
“2.5 The Impact Of Urban Greenspace On Bird Populations.” by Kristin J. Harpster. N.d.

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Kidneys & Space, Boxing Pride, Art & The Artist Aug 30, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the effect of space on our kidneys, how a simple display of pride can win a fight, and bad news for artists we know bad things about.

Kidneys & Space

“Would astronauts’ kidneys survive a roundtrip to Mars?” UCL. 2024.
“Cosmic kidney disease: an integrated pan-omic, physiological and morphological study into spaceflight-induced renal dysfunction.” by Keith Siew, et al. 2024.

Boxing Pride

“Pride displays can sway perceptions of victory in evenly matched boxing fights.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“The effects of nonverbal pride and skill on judgements of victory and social influence: a boxing study.” by Jason P. Martens & Lucy Doytchinova. 2024.

Art & The Artist

“Art perception is affected by negative knowledge about famous and unknown artists.” by Hannah Kaube & Rasha Abdel Rahman. 2024.
“The role of expertise and culture in visual art appreciation.” by Kohinoor M. Darda & Emily S. Cross. 2022.

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Stroke Blood Test, Hate Speech Monitoring, Healthy Chocolate Aug 29, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a potential breakthrough in stroke detection, how AI could help put a lid on online hate speech and create safer spaces, and the delicious development of healthier chocolate.

Stroke Blood Test

“Researchers develop ‘game-changing’ blood test for stroke detection.” EurekAlert! 2024.
“Large Vessel Occlusion in Acute Stroke.” by Lena-Alexandra Beume, et al. 2018.
“Prospective Validation of Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein, D-Dimer, and Clinical Scales for Acute Large-Vessel Occlusion Ischemic Stroke Detection.” by Yasir Durrani, et al. 2024.

Hate Speech Monitoring

“AI saving humans from the emotional toll of monitoring hate speech.” by Media Relations, University of Waterloo. 2024.
“Multi-Modal Discussion Transformer: Integrating Text, Images and Graph Transformers to Detect Hate Speech on Social Media.” by Liam Hebert, et al. 2024.

Healthy Chocolate

“Scientists develop method of making healthier, more sustainable chocolate.” by Ajit Niranjan. 2024.
“Valorization of cocoa pod side streams improves nutritional and sustainability aspects of chocolate.” by Kim Mishra, et al. 2024.

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Space Firefighting, Sleep Schedules, Polystyrene Aug 28, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about AI that can detect wildfires from space, why going to bed late might not be so great on your mental health, and a breakthrough in recycling.

Space Firefighting

“Fighting fires from space in record time: how AI could prevent a repeat of Australia’s devastating wildfires.” University of Southern Australia. 2024.
“Fire detection from space.” YouTube Video, University of South Australia. 2024.
“Number of wildfires to rise by 50% by 2100 and governments are not prepared, experts warn.” UN. 2022.
“Onboard AI for Fire Smoke Detection Using Hyperspectral Imagery: An Emulation for the Upcoming Kanyini Hyperscout-2 Mission.” by Sha Lu, et al. 2024.

Sleep Schedules

“Perils of the nighttime: Impact of behavioral timing and preference on mental health in 73,888 community-dwelling adults.” by Renske Lok, et al. 2024.
“Dictionary of Circadian Physiology.” Circadian.org. N.d.
“Circadian Rhythm.” by Lucy Bryan & Dr. Lulu Guo. 2024.

Polystyrene

“New polystyrene recycling process could be world’s first to be both economical and energy-efficient.” University of Bath. 2024.
“Thermodynamic and economic analysis of a deployable and scalable process to recover Monomer-Grade styrene from waste polystyrene.” by Madison R. Reed, et al. 2024.

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Nature & Healthy Food, T.Rex Intelligence, Baby Sawfish Aug 23, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how a simple walk through nature could make you want to eat healthier foods, a new finding that T.rexes might not have been as cognitively advanced as we thought, and the sheath that keeps sawfish from doing battle in the womb.

Nature & Healthy Food

“Experiencing nature seems to have an important impact on food choices.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
https://www.psypost.org/experiencing-nature-seems-to-have-an-important-impact-on-food-choices/
“Experiencing nature leads to healthier food choices.” by Maria Langlois & Pierre Chandon. 2024.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-024-00072-x

T.Rex Intelligence

“T. rex not as smart as previously claimed, scientists find.” University of Bristol. 2024.
https://www.bristol.ac.uk/news/2024/april/t-rex-not-as-smart.html
“How smart was T. rex? Testing claims of exceptional cognition in dinosaurs and the application of neuron count estimates in palaeontological research.” by Kai R. Caspar, et al.
https://anatomypubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ar.25459

Baby Sawfish

“A built-in pocket protector keeps sawfish from ‘sword fighting’ in the womb.” by Natalie van Hoose. 2024.
https://www.sciencenews.org/article/stops-sawfish-from-sword-fighting-womb
“Smalltooth Sawfish.” Oceana. N.d.
https://oceana.org/marine-life/smalltooth-sawfish/
“Morphology, composition, and deterioration of the embryonic rostral sheath of the smalltooth sawfish (Pristis pectinata).” by Gregg R. Poulakis, et al. 2024.
https://fisherybulletin.nmfs.noaa.gov/content/morphology-composition-and-deterioration-embryonic-rostral-sheath-smalltooth-sawfish

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Cryopreservation, Personality Transplant, Fungal Azoles Aug 22, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a new method to cryopreserve parts of the brain for later use, the personality changes that happen after organ transplants, and how fungicides cause dangerous fungi to self-destruct.

Cryopreservation

“Effective cryopreservation of human brain tissue and neural organoids.” by Weiwei Xue, et al. 2024.
“Brain organoids: Establishment and application.” by Hao Chen, et al. 2022.

Personality Transplant

“Personality Changes Associated with Organ Transplants.” by Brian Carter, et al. 2024.
https://www.mdpi.com/2673-3943/5/1/2
“Does changing the heart mean changing personality? A retrospective inquiry on 47 heart transplant patients.” by B Bunzel, et al. 1992.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1299456/

Fungal Azoles

“Azoles activate type I and type II programmed cell death pathways in crop pathogenic fungi.” by Martin Schuster, et al. 2024.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-024-48157-9
“Leaf Blotch Disease of Wheat - Septoria tritici Blotch, Stagonospora nodorum Blotch and Tan Spot.” by Jorge David Selgado & Pierce A. Paul. 2016.
https://ohioline.osu.edu/factsheet/plpath-cer-07

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Peanut Allergy, Ancient Cancer Treatment, Cuckoo Evolution Aug 21, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about why giving babies foods with peanuts could crack the peanut allergy problem, a wild discovery of cancer treatment 4,000 years ago, and the sneaky way cuckoos evolve to look like other birds so they can live in their nests.

Peanut Allergy

“Giving young children peanut products cuts allergy risk, study finds.” by Ian Sample. 2024.
“Peanut Allergies.” Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia. 2024.
“Follow-up to Adolescence after Early Peanut Introduction for Allergy Prevention.” by George Du Toit, et al. 2024.

Ancient Cancer Treatment

“‘Extraordinary’ 4,000-year-old Egyptian skull may show signs of attempts to treat cancer.” EurekAlert! 2024.
“Case report: Boundaries of oncological and traumatological medical care in ancient Egypt: new palaeopathological insights from two human skulls.” by Tatiana Tondini, et al. 2024.

Cuckoo Evolution

“Cuckoos evolve to look like their hosts - and form new species in the process.” University of Cambridge. 2024.
“Cuckoo guide: why they call ‘cuckoo’, how they trick other birds, and where they go in winter.” by Megan Shersby. 2022.
“Coevolution with hosts underpins speciation in brood-parasitic cuckoos.” by N.E. Langmore, et al. 2024.

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Chimp Tools, Space Radio, Hyperthermia Treatment Aug 16, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the lifelong learning of chimps, a mysterious strange signal from space, and the possible treatment for depression that involves heating up the body.

Chimp Tools

“Chimps are lifelong learners, study on tool use shows.” by Charles Mpaka. 2024.
“Protracted development of stick tool use skills extends into adulthood in wild western chimpanzees.” by Mathieu Malherbe, et al. 2024.

Space Radio

“A strange intermittent radio signal from space has astronomers puzzled.” by Manisha Caleb & Emil Lenc. 2024.
“An emission-state-switching radio transient with a 54-minute period.” by M. Caleb, et al. 2024.

Hyperthermia Treatment

“Whole-body hyperthermia shows promising antidepressant effects through anti-inflammatory pathways.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“The antidepressant effect of whole-body hyperthermia is associated with the classical interleukin-6 signaling pathway.” by Naoise Mac Giollabhui, et al. 2024.

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