Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

Latest Episodes:

Chimpanzee Learning, Breast Cancer Gel, Singing Brain Repair Aug 15, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how when chimpanzees can’t figure out how to do something they get their friends to teach them, a potential breakthrough in the fight against breast cancer, and how singing repairs the brain after a stroke.

Chimpanzee Learning

“Chimpanzees use social information to acquire a skill they fail to innovate.” by Edwin J. C. van Leeuwen, et al. 2024.
“Like Humans, Bumblebees and Chimpanzees Can Pass on Their Skills to Form ‘Cumulative Culture’.” by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes. 2024.

Breast Cancer Gel

“Scientists make potential breast cancer breakthrough after preserving tissue in gel.” by Matthew Weaver. 2024.
“Breast cancer statistics.” Cancer Research UK. n.d.

Singing Brain Repair

“Singing repairs the language network of the brain after a cerebrovascular accident.” University of Helsinki. 2024.
“Vocal music boosts the recovery of language functions after stroke.” University of Helsinki. 2021.

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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Chimp Memory, Bacterial Tumor Killer, Gene Disc Repair Aug 14, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the remarkable social memory of chimps, the gut bacteria that could help fight cancer, and how gene therapy might one day help you out with that pesky lower back pain.

Chimp Memory

“Chimps Can Still Remember Faces After a Quarter Century.” by Carl Zimmer. 2023.
“Bonobos and chimpanzees remember familiar conspecifics for decades.” by Laura S. Lewis, et al. 2023.

Bacterial Tumor Killer

“Gut bacteria boost immune response to fight tumors.” by Marta Wegorzewska. 2024.
“The Human Microbiome and Its Impacts on Health.” by Grace A. Ogunrinola, et al. 2020.

Gene Disc Repair

“Gene therapy relieves back pain, repairs damaged disc in mice.” by Emily Caldwell. 2024.
“Increased Frequency of Low Back Pain in Recent Times: Does the Answer Lie in COVID-19?” by Sreedhar Sathu, et al. 2023.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Elite Athlete Hearts, Oxytocin & Loneliness, Nail Diagnosis Aug 09, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the surprising prevalence of heart abnormalities in elite athletes, how an oxytocin nasal spray might help with chronic loneliness, and a discovery that could help doctors diagnose a disease just by looking at your fingernails.

Elite Athlete Hearts

“Why are elite athletes prone to abnormal heart rhythms?” by Jennifer Couzin-Frankel. 2024.
“2023 ACC/AHA/ACCP/HRS Guideline for the Diagnosis and Management of Atrial Fibrillation: A Report of the American College of Cardiology/American Heart Association Join Committee on Clinical Practice Guidelines.” by Jose A. Joglar, et al. 2023.
“Stroke in endurance athletes with atrial fibrillation.” by Marius Myrstad, et al. 2020.

Oxytocin & Loneliness

“Can oxytocin help against loneliness?” Uni-Bonn. 2024.
“Modulating Social Behavior with Oxytocin: How does it work? What does it mean?” by Patricia S. Churchland & Piotr Winkielman. 2011.
“Relationship Between Loneliness, Psychiatric Disorders and Physical Health? A Review on the Psychological Aspects of Loneliness.” by Raheel Mushtaq, et al. 2014.
“Oxytocin-Augmented Modular-Based Group Intervention for Loneliness: A Proof-Of-Concept Randomized Controlled Trial.” by Ruben Berger, et al. 2024.

Nail Diagnosis

“Benign nail condition linked to rare syndrome that greatly increases cancer risk.” NIH. 2024.
“Long Term Follow-up of Mesothelioma Patients and Their Family Members With Germline Mutations in BAP1 and Other Genes.” Study. 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sleepwalker Brain, Games & Navigation, Endurance Hunting Aug 08, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about what goes on in our brains when we sleepwalk, how playing video games might actually help us navigate the world IRL, and the endurance hunting of traditional societies.

Sleepwalker Brain

“Scientists Discover What’s Happening Inside a Sleepwalker’s Brain.” by Rhianna-lily Smith. 2024.
“Shared EEG correlates between non-REM parasomnia experiences and dreams.” by Jacinthe Cataldi, et al. 2024.
“Consciousness and cortical responsiveness: a within-state study during non-rapid eye movement.” by Jaakko O. Nieminen, et al. 2016.
“Parasomnia: what happens inside a sleepwalker’s brain?” Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience. 2024.

Games & Navigation

“Playing video games linked to enhanced wayfinding abilities.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“Sea Hero Quest.” Spiers Lab. n.d.
“5 facts about Americans and video games.” by Andrew Perrin. 2018.
“Video gaming, but not reliance on GPS, is associated with spatial navigation performance.” by Emre Yavuz, et al. 2024

Endurance Hunting

“Born to run? Endurance running may have evolved to help humans chase down prey.” by Kermit Pattison. 2024.
“Ethnography and ethnohistory support the efficiency of hunting through endurance running in humans.” by Eugene Morin & Bruce Winterhalder. 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

HIV Vaccine, CO2 New Uses, No Noise Fabric Aug 07, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a breakthrough in the effort to create a vaccine for HIV, how engineers are turning carbon dioxide into useful products, and the silk fabric that could one day make your clothes noise-canceling.

HIV Vaccine

“A Trial HIV Vaccine Triggered Elusive and Essential Antibodies in Humans.” Duke Health. 2024.
“The impact of antiretroviral treatment on mortality trends of HIV-positive adults in rural Uganda: a longitudinal population-based study, 1999-2009.” by Ivan Kasamba, et al. 2012.

CO2 New Uses

“Engineers find a new way to convert carbon dioxide into useful products.” by Anne Trafton. 2024.
“Highly Efficient Carbon Dioxide Electroreduction via DNA-Directed Catalyst Immobilization.” by Gang Fan, et al. 2024.

No Noise Fabric

“Single Layer Silk and Cotton Woven Fabrics for Acoustic Emission and Active Sound Suppression.” by Grace H. Yang, et al. 2024.
“How Piezoelectricity Works to Make Crystals Conduct Electric Current.” by Edwin Robledo. 2023.
https://www.autodesk.com/products/fusion-360/blog/piezoelectricity/

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

No Inner Voice, Yoga & Brain Health, Monogamous Mice Aug 02, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about people who lack an inner voice, how yoga could help cancer survivors defog their minds, and the newly discovered hormone that is connected to promiscuous behavior in mice.

No Inner Voice

“People without an inner voice have poorer verbal memory.” University of Copenhagen. 2024.
“Not Everybody Has an Inner Voice: Behavioral Consequences of Anendophasia.” by Johanne S. K. Nedergaard & Gary Lupyan. 2024.

Yoga & Brain Health

“Yoga shows ‘most improvement’ in restoring brain health in long-term cancer survivors, Northeastern researcher says.” by Cynthia McCormick Hibbert. 2024.
“Management of Cancer-related Cognitive Dysfunction - Conceptualization Challenges and Implications for Clinical Research and Practice.” by Pascal Jean-Pierre. 2010.
“Yoga improves self-reported cognitive function among cancer survivors: results from the STAYFit trial.” by Neha P. Gothe, et al. 2024.

Monogamous Mice

“Some mice have a cheating heart. It’s a hormonal thing, scientists find.” by Mark Johnson. 2024.
“History of Adrenal Research: From Ancient Anatomy to Contemporary Molecular Biology.” by Walter L. Miller & Perrin C. White. 2023.
“Monogamy Rare In the Wild.” by Alisa Opar. 2013.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Anti-Drunk Gel, Hot Spring Viruses, Tiger Beetles Aug 01, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a gel that stops alcohol from making you drunk and harming your liver, the ancient viruses of Yellowstone hot springs, and the song that tiger beetles sing to confuse bats.

Anti-Drunk Gel

“Anti-intoxicant gel keeps alcohol out of the bloodstream.” by Ben Coxworth. 2024.
“Single-site iron-anchored amyloid hyrdrogels as catalytic platforms for alcohol detoxification.” by Jiaqi Su, et al. 2024.

Hot Spring Viruses

“Hot springs viruses at Yellowstone National Park have ancient origins and are adapted to thermophilic hosts.” by L. Felipe Benites, et al. 2024.
“Yellowstone’s Best Geothermal Features.” by Amelia Mayer. 2023.
“Hot Springs.” National Park Service. 2017.

Tiger Beetles

“Tiger beetles fight off bat attacks with ultrasonic mimicry.” EurekAlert! 2024.
“Echolocation.” Neighbourhood Bat Watch. N.d.
“Tiger beetles produce anti-bat ultrasound and are probably Batesian moth mimics.” by Harlan M. Gough, et al. 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Leeches & Blood Tests, Algae & Carbon, Asthma Cause Jul 31, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a new anxiety-free way to collect blood samples modeled on the sucking power of leeches, the super carbon-gobbling power of blue-green algae, and a new understanding of how asthma happens - and maybe how to stop it.

Leeches & Blood Tests

“Blood diagnostics modeled on leeches.” by Fabio Bergamin. 2024.
“Prevalence, causes, impacts, and management of needle phobia: An international survey of a general adult population.” by Kimberly Alsbrooks & Klaus Hoerauf. 2022.
“ A Bioinspired and Cost-Effective Device for Minimally Invasive Blood Sampling.” by Nicole Zoratto, et al. 2024.

Algae & Carbon

“Scientists unlock key to breeding ‘carbon gobbling’ plants with a major appetite.” Scimex. 2024.
“Light and carbon: Synthetic biology toward new cyanobacteria-based living biomaterials.” by Isabella M. Goodchild-Michelman, et al. 2023.
“Cyanobacterial a-carboxysome carbonic anhydrase is allosterically regulated by the Rubisco substrate RuBP.” by Sacha B. Pulsford, et al. 2024.

Asthma Cause

“Chronic asthma could be caused by cell overcrowding in the airways.” by Monique Brouillette. 2024.
“Asthma Surveillance Data.” CDC. 2021.
“Bronchoconstriction damages airway epithelial by crowding-induced excess cell extrusion.” by Dustin C. Bagley, et al. 2024.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Hair Loss Treatment, Aphantasia, Ultrasound Coffee Jul 26, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a groundbreaking new treatment for hair loss caused by autoimmune skin disease, a condition that affects the imagination, and the gadget that will put a cold brew coffee in your cup in minutes instead of hours.

Hair Loss Treatment

“New treatment could reverse hair loss caused by an autoimmune skin disease.” by Anne Trafton. 2024.
“Microneedle-mediated Delivery of Immunomodulators Restores Immune Privilege in Hair Follicles and Reverses Immune-Mediated Alopecia.” by Nour Younis, et al. 2024.

Aphantasia

“Aphantasia linked to abnormal brain responses to imagined and observed actions.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“What It’s Like to Be ‘Mind Blind’.” by Nayantara Dutta. 2022.
“Explicit and implicit motor simulations are impaired in individuals with aphantasia.” by William Dupont, et al. 2024.

Ultrasound Coffee

“Cold brew coffee in under 3 minutes? Ultrasound makes it possible.” by Paul Ridden. 2024.
“Laser-extracted cold-brew coffee could be a Monday-morning game changer.” by Loz Blain. 2022.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Asthma & ADHD, Whale Codas, Hidden Lithium Jul 25, 2024

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the possible link between asthma, ADHD, and income in children, how whale communication is much more complex than we thought, and the secret lithium hidden away for millions of years under Pennsylvania.

Asthma & ADHD

“ADHD, asthma, and economic hardship: New research suggests a causal pathway.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.
“Associations between symptoms of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, socioeconomic status and asthma in children.” by Makiko Omura, et al. 2024.

Whale Codas

“Contextual and combinatorial structure in sperm whale vocalizations.” by Pratyusha Sharma, et al. 2024.
“Behaviors: Communicating.” Sperm Whales: Dominica. 2018.

Hidden Lithium

“Estimates of lithium mass yields from produced water sourced from the Devonian-aged Marcellus Shale.” by Justin Mackey. 2024.
“The Middle Devonian.” Palaeos. 2000.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Our TOPPODCAST Picks

Follow Us

Stay Connected

Curiosity Weekly – Discovery

Related Podcasts

Links

Stay Connected