Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

Latest Episodes:

Fusion: Homeward Bound, The Last Light Show, Burnout Blues Jun 15, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how the next step in nuclear fusion is actually a real estate question, how the death of our sun would be a beautiful thing to see if we were around to witness it, and how an athlete’s desire for perfection can lead to them burning out with their sport altogether.

Nuclear plants near the nuclear family.

“The World's First Nuclear Fusion Power Plant Is Coming” by Caroline Delbert
- https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/energy/a34850835/worlds-first-nuclear-fusion-power-plant/
“The UK Atomic Energy Authority (UKAEA) has asked residents in five areas to provide feedback on potential plans to construct a prototype nuclear fusion power plant.” by Jack Loughran
- https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2022/01/locations-for-the-uk-s-first-fusion-energy-power-plant-revealed

A new take on sun flares.

“Scientists Figured Out How And When Our Sun Will Die, And It's Going to Be Epic” by Michelle Starr
- https://www.sciencealert.com/scientists-figured-out-how-and-when-our-sun-will-die-and-it-s-going-to-be-epic
“Sun 'will flare into massive planetary nebula when it dies,” by Ian Sample
- https://www.theguardian.com/science/2018/may/07/sun-will-flare-into-massive-planetary-nebula-when-it-dies
“Celestial Objects: Nebulae” by SeaSky
- http://www.seasky.org/celestial-objects/nebulae.html

Perfection can be dangerous.

“Obsession with failure and hunt for perfection linked to burnout” by University of Essex
- https://www.essex.ac.uk/news/2022/04/22/obsession-with-failure-linked-to-burnout
“What Causes Athlete Burnout? A New Study Suggests Perfectionism Plays A Role” By Victoria Forster
- https://www.forbes.com/sites/victoriaforster/2022/04/22/what-causes-athlete-burnout-a-new-study-suggests-perfectionism-plays-a-role/?sh=2ba2544f2152

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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/fusion-homeward-bound-the-last-light-show-burnout-blues

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The Explorers Club - An Interview with Nina Lanza Jun 10, 2022

Show notes

Today for our Explorers Club series, we are about to be hit by a meteorite of space knowledge as we have a wildly accomplished scientist and researcher entering our atmosphere, Dr. Nina Lanza. She is the Team Lead for Space and Planetary Exploration in Space and Remote Sensing at Los Alamos National Laboratory. She is also the Principle Investigator of the ChemCam instrument on the Mars Curiosity Rover (sadly not sponsored by us) and a team member for the SuperCam instrument on the Mars Perseverance rover. She’s an expert on Mars and does a lot of research on meteorites and minerals that can tell us about the interactions between rocks, soil, atmosphere, and water on the planet.

Nina Lanza Interview from 4/23/22
Dr. Nina Lanza - About Nina
- https://www.ninalanza.com/about-nina/
NASA's Curiosity Rover Measures Intriguing Carbon Signature on Mars
- https://mars.nasa.gov/news/9113/nasas-curiosity-rover-measures-intriguing-carbon-signature-on-mars/?site=msl
2020 Mission Perseverance Rover - SuperCam
- https://mars.nasa.gov/mars2020/spacecraft/instruments/supercam/
Mount Sinai - Manganese
- https://www.mountsinai.org/health-library/supplement/manganese#:~:text=Manganese%20is%20a%20trace%20mineral,clotting%20factors%2C%20and%20sex%20hormones.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/explorers-club-nina-lanza

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Human Venom, Car Battery Blues, Magic and Personalities Jun 09, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how humans could potentially evolve to be venomous, the challenges of repurposing used electric car batteries, and how people who hate magic are more likely to have certain socially aversive traits, like needing to control social situations.

The good and the bad side of snake venom.

“Could Humans Ever be Venomous?” by Stephanie Pappas
- https://www.livescience.com/could-humans-be-venomous.html
“How Snake Venom Kills… and Saves Lives” by James Paterson
- https://letstalkscience.ca/educational-resources/stem-in-context/how-snake-venom-kills-and-saves-lives
“Protein Folding: The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly” by Harvard University
- https://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2010/issue65/
“This Animal Can Kill 10 Grown Men, But Its Body Adapted To Save Itself” by Tara Yarlagadda
- https://www.inverse.com/science/the-strange-reason-why-poisonous-animals-survive-their-own-toxins

A new era for batteries.

“Cars are Going Electric. What Happens to the Used Batteries?” by Gregory Barber and Aarian Marshall
- https://www.wired.com/story/cars-going-electric-what-happens-used-batteries/
“Transportation of Electric Vehicle Lithium-ion Batteries at End-of-life: A Literature Review” by Margaret Slattery, Jessica Dunn, and Alissa Kendall
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0921344921003645
“Global Implications of the EU Battery Regulation” by Hans Eric Melin, Mohammad Ali Rajaeifar, Anthony Y. Ku, Alissa Kendall, Gavin Harper, and Oliver Heidrich
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.abh1416
“The Lithium Mine Versus the Wildflower” by Gregory Barber
- https://www.wired.com/story/lithium-mine-for-batteries-versus-the-wildflower/

Who hates magic?!

“People who hate magic tend to be higher in socially aversive traits, according to new research” By Mane Kara-Yakouabian
- https://www.psypost.org/2022/04/people-who-hate-magic-are-higher-in-socially-aversive-traits-according-to-new-research-62968
“Who hates magic? Exploring the loathing of legerdemain.” By Paul J. Silvia et al.
- https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2022-45549-001

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/human-venom-car-battery-blues-magic-and-personalities

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An Eternal Hug, Flea Jump Facts, Fitness Feedback Loops Jun 08, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about an ancient couple found buried in an embrace, why it’s so darn hard to keep fleas off your beloved pets, and how your body’s natural chemistry can help you get a leg up on diet and exercise if you begin to build the habits.

They took “til death do you part” seriously.

“1,500-year-old burial in China holds lovers locked in eternal embrace” by Laura Geggel
- https://www.livescience.com/buried-lovers-embrace-china.html
“1,500-Year-Old Skeletons Found Locked in Embrace in Chinese Cemetery” by Livia Gershon
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1500-year-old-chinese-skeletons-found-locked-embrace-180978509/

Fleas won’t be making it to the Olympics

“How Do Fleas Jump?” by Kate Latham
- https://insectcop.net/how-do-fleas-jump/
“A Flea’s Fantastic Jump Takes More Than a Muscle” by Josh Cassidy
- https://www.kqed.org/science/1957872/a-fleas-fantastic-jump-takes-more-than-muscle

Exercising affects one’s cravings.

“Intense exercise while dieting may reduce cravings for fatty food” by Sara Zaske
- https://news.wsu.edu/press-release/2022/04/21/intense-exercise-while-dieting-may-reduce-cravings-for-fatty-food/
“Acute high-intensity interval exercise attenuates incubation of craving for foods high in fat” by Georgia E. Kirkpatrick
- https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/oby.23418
“Ubiquitous nutrients suppress appetite and promote movement” By Fabrio Bergamin
- https://ethz.ch/en/news-and-events/eth-news/news/2022/04/ubiquitous-nutrients-suppress-appetite-and-promote-movement.html

Find episode transcripts here:

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The Explorers Club - An Interview with Richard Garriott Jun 03, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll hear our interview with Richard Garriott, the president of the Explorers Club. Garriott is not only the first American second generation astronaut, but also the first person to visit both poles, outer space and dive to the Mariana Trench. He started out as a video game designer, and as soon as he made enough money, he began investing in human space flight, creating a company called Space Adventures.

Richard Garriott Interview from 4/23/22
- https://app.trint.com/editor/_xFCb8WQRFyO4qID1o4q4A

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/explorers-club-richard-garriott

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The Amazon’s Future, Sugar Rush Retcon, A Study on Studies Jun 02, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about the state of the Amazon rainforest, the truth behind the mythical sugar rush, and how studies involving MRI scans may have been too small to produce significant results, but researchers may have found a solution.

The forest needs attention - not the company.

“75% of Amazon rainforest shows signs of loss, a 'tipping point' of dieback, study shows” by Doyle Rice
- ttps://www.usatoday.com/story/news/world/2022/03/07/amazon-rainforest-dieback-deforestation-climate-change-study/9380372002
“Fires in the Amazon are out of Control. Again” by Benji Jones
- https://www.vox.com/down-to-earth/2021/8/27/22639885/amazon-rainforest-fires-climate-change-2021
“Heaviest Object on Earth Weighs 116B Pounds” by Jenn Gidman
- https://www.newser.com/story/259238/the-10-heaviest-objects-on-earth.html
“A Framework for Quantifying Resilience to Forest Disturbance” by Timothy Bryant, Kristen Waring, Andrew Sánchez Meador, and John B. Bradford
- https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/ffgc.2019.00056/full
“7 Organizations You Can Support to Protect the Amazon Rainforest” by Erica Sánchez, Pia Gralki, and Joe McCarthy
- https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/organizations-donate-amazon-rainforest/

Maybe sugar isn’t the problem.

“Sugar rush or high on life? Dieticians explain why kids become hyperactive at parties” by Kate Dorrell
- https://www.abc.net.au/everyday/sugar-rush-dietician-does-sweet-food-make-kids-hyperactive/100839044
“There’s No Such Thing as a Sugar Rush, According to Science” by Joshua A. Krisch
- https://www.fatherly.com/health-science/theres-no-thing-sugar-rush-according-science/

Data sets need to grow to bolster studies.

“M.R.I.s Are Finding Connections Between Our Brain Activity and Psychology” By Kim Tingley
- https://www.nytimes.com/2022/04/19/magazine/mri-brain-activity-psychology.html
“Reproducible brain-wide association studies require thousands of individuals” By Scott marek et al
- https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-022-04492-9
“Brain scans may reveal a lot about mental illness, but not until studies get bigger” by Jon Hamilton
- https://www.npr.org/sections/health-shots/2022/04/26/1094319294/mri-brain-scan-mental-illness-brain-research

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-amazons-future-sugar-rush-retcon-a-study-on-studies

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A Clutterful Mind, Heir To The Earth, Partnership Jun 01, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about why our ability to remember things seems to get worse with age—it’s not memory loss, which animals could become the new dominant species in the event of our extinction, and how an unsupportive romantic partner can actually affect the way you think and feel about yourself.

Maybe your mom was right about cleaning your room.

“How Memory ‘Clutter’ Makes it Harder to Remember Things as we Get Older” by Alexander Easton
- https://theconversation.com/how-memory-clutter-makes-it-harder-to-remember-things-as-we-get-older-176767
“Memory Issues for Older People Could be the Result of ‘Clutter’” by Sarah Sloat
- https://www.nbcnews.com/science/science-news/memory-issues-older-people-result-clutter-rcna15133

The next era for animals.

“When humans are gone, what animals might evolve to have our smarts and skills?” by Joanna Thompson
- https://www.livescience.com/what-animals-will-fill-human-niches
“Can introduced animals replace extinct ones?” by Brigitte Osterath
- https://www.dw.com/en/can-introduced-animals-replace-extinct-ones/a-16937417

Couples therapy may in fact help your brain.

“Having an unsupportive romantic partner is associated with neurophysiological changes in error processing” by Eric W. Dolan
- https://www.psypost.org/2022/04/having-an-unsupportive-romantic-partner-is-associated-with-neurophysiological-changes-in-error-processing-62977
“Unsupportive romantic partner behaviors increase neural reactivity to mistakes” by Erin N Palmwood
- https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0167876021008886

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/a-clutterful-mind-heir-to-the-earth-partnership

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The Explorers Club - An Interview with Josh Gates May 27, 2022

Show notes

Calli and Nate interview members of The Explorers Club, and today you’re going to hear from a man who largely represents what The Explorers Club is all about - Josh Gates. Josh Gates is a fearless explorer and adventurer and host of Discovery's popular, long running series Expedition Unknown. He's also hosting a brand new series that chronicles the incredible history of the club, called Tales from The Explorers Club.

Interview conducted with Josh Gates on 5/3/22.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-explorers-club-josh-gates

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Seeing Stars, Seagull Staredown, Itsy Bitsy Microdrones May 26, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how cultures across the world often make constellations from the same groups of stars due to the nature of vision and perception, what to do when an animal tries to steal your food during a picnic on the beach, and drones smaller than a red blood cell that can be controlled using only the power of light.

Does your star pattern look like my star pattern?

“Constellations Across Cultures: How Our Visual Systems Pick Out Patterns in the Night Sky” from the Association for Psychological Science
- https://www.psychologicalscience.org/news/releases/2022-march-constellations-across-cultures.html
“Perceptual Grouping Explains Similarities in Constellations Across Cultures” by Charles Kemp, Duane W. Hamacher, Daniel R. Little, and Simon J. Cropper
- https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/09567976211044157
“The Big Dipper (the Plough)”
- https://nineplanets.org/the-big-dipper
The Astronomical League
- https://www.astroleague.org/content/constellations-other-cultures-checklist

Staring contests really do work.

"Stare at Seagulls and They'll Leave Your Food Alone” by Mindy Weisberger
- https://www.livescience.com/staring-at-seagulls-stops-stealing.html
“Stare seagulls out to save your snacks, researcher says” by Ian Sample
- https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/07/stare-seagulls-out-to-save-your-snacks-researcher-says
“Staring down seagulls can stop them stealing your chips” by Sam Wong
- https://www.newscientist.com/article/2212592-staring-down-seagulls-can-stop-them-stealing-your-chips/
“Herring gulls respond to human gaze direction” by Madeleine Goumas
- https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2019.0405

Sun doesn’t just give plants life, but drones, too.

“Microdrones With Light-driven Nanomotors” By Universitat Wurzburg
- https://www.uni-wuerzburg.de/en/news-and-events/news/detail/news/licht-motoren-fuer-mikrodrohnen-1/
“Light-Driven Motors Power Tiny Drones” By Patricai Daukantas
- https://www.optica-opn.org/home/newsroom/2022/april/light-driven_motors_power_tiny_drones/
“Polarization” by The Physics Classroom
- https://www.physicsclassroom.com/class/light/Lesson-1/Polarization#:~:text=Polarized%20light%20waves%20are%20light,of%20methods%20of%20polarizing%20light

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/seeing-stars-seagull-staredown-itsy-bitsy-microdrones

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Whiff of Victory, Bones be Chattin’, Desalination Innovation May 25, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about how the human sense of smell may be much better than we ever thought, how the bones inside your body are having interesting conversations with your organs, and a new innovation in desalination technology that uses significantly less energy than its predecessors.

What’s that smell?

“Let’s obliterate the myth that humans have a bad sense of smell” by Brian Resnick
- https://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2017/5/11/15614748/human-smell-good-science
“Mechanisms of scent-tracking in humans” by Jess Porter et Brent Craven, Rehan M Khan, Shao-Ju Chang, Irene Kang, Benjamin Judkewitz, Jason Volpe, Gary Settles & Noam Sobel
- https://www.nature.com/articles/nn1819
“Humans Can Discriminate More than 1 Trillion Olfactory Stimuli” by C. Bushdidm, O. Magnascol, B. Vosshalland, and A. Keller
- https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1249168
“Poor human olfaction is a 19th-century myth” by John P. Mcgann
- https://www.science.org/doi/full/10.1126/science.aam7263

Your body talks without talking.