Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

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Volcanic Violence, a Salt & Battery, Crustacean Conspiracy Apr 07, 2022

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Today, you’ll learn about a massively mysterious volcanic explosion that literally sent shockwaves around the world, how salty batteries are set to sweeten the competition in the energy storage industry and how scientists have no idea why animals keep evolving into crabs.

A volcanic eruption off the coast of Tonga affected the entire world.

Scientists are Racing to Understand the Fury of Tonga’s Volcano by Robin Andrews

https://www.wired.com/story/tonga-volcano-eruption-science/

Tonga Shrouded by Ash and Mystery After Powerful Volcano Erupts By Natasha Frost, Mitra Taj and Eric Nagourney

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/01/16/world/asia/tonga-tsunami-peru.html

Experts explain why Tonga eruption was so big by Nick Perry

https://www.pbs.org/newshour/science/experts-explain-why-tonga-eruption-was-so-big

Why the Tongan eruption will go in the history of volcanology by Alexandra Witze

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-022-00394-y

NASA scientists estimate Tonga blast at 10 megatons by Geoff Brumfiel

https://www.npr.org/2022/01/18/1073800454/nasa-scientists-estimate-tonga-blast-at-10-megatons

Will sodium-based batteries be the future of electronics?

Facts about Sodium by Stephanie Pappas

https://www.livescience.com/28820-sodium.html

Sodium - Chemical Element by The Editors of Encyclopedia Britannica

https://www.britannica.com/science/sodium#ref278871

A Brief History of Salt by Time Staff

https://time.com/3957460/a-brief-history-of-salt/

Sodium Batteries May Power Your New Electric Car by Gregory Barber

https://www.wired.com/story/sodium-batteries-power-new-electric-car/

Sodium batteries are one step closer to saving you from a mobile phone fire by Robert F. Service

https://www.science.org/content/article/sodium-batteries-are-one-step-closer-saving-you-mobile-phone-fire

Why do animals keep evolving into crabs?

Animals Keep Evolving Into Crabs, and Scientists Don’t Know Why by Ed Browne

https://www.newsweek.com/crabs-evolved-five-times-carcinization-scientists-dont-know-why-1638921#:~:text=It%27s%20true%3A%20Crabs%20keep%20turning,use%20for%20over%20140%20years

Why everything eventually becomes a crab by Sara Kiley Watson

https://www.popsci.com/story/animals/why-everything-becomes-crab-meme-carcinization/

Animals Keep Evolving Into Crabs, Which Is Somewhat Disturbing by Caroline Delbert

https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/a34389129/crab-evolution-carcinization/

Creature Feature - Haunted Beaches: The Fleet-Footed Ghost Crabs by Andrew Hosie

https://museum.wa.gov.au/creature-feature-haunted-beaches-fleet-footed-ghost-crabs

Coconut Crab Claw Strength Rivals Lion’s Bite, Study Shows by Landess Kearns

https://www.huffpost.com/entry/coconut-crab-claw-strength_n_583e0a54e4b0ae0e7cdaa99f

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — 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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16 Psyche, Xenotransplantation, Ocean Waves Become a Rave Apr 06, 2022

Show notes

Today, you’ll learn about a metallic object in space that might be worth seven hundred quintillion dollars, how genetically engineered pig hearts could save tons of human lives and how bioluminescent waves are putting on trippy light shows in the world’s oceans.

16 Psyche may be worth $700 quintillion dollars, but it’ll take a probe visiting the planetesimal to find out.

16 Psyche: An Asteroid once thought to be worth $700 quintillion by Chris Young

https://interestingengineering.com/asteroid-psyche-700-quintillion

Asteroid 16 Psyche Thought to Be Worth $10,000 Quadrillion Could Be a “Rubble Pile” by Aristos Georgiou

https://www.newsweek.com/asteroid-16-psyche-worth-10000-quadrillion-rubble-pile-1599787

16 Psyche: The asteroid that could make every person on Earth a billionaire by Paul Ratner

https://bigthink.com/hard-science/space-miners-race-to-an-asteroid-worth-quintillions/#rebelltitem2

NASA TO STUDY A $700 QUINTILLION ‘GOLDMINE’ ASTEROID by Matthew Hart

https://nerdist.com/article/nasa-studying-goldmine-asteroid-700-quintillion-dollars/

Hubble Telescope reveals asteroid Psyche’s rusty surface by Amy Oliver

https://earthsky.org/space/hubble-asteroid-psyche-iron-nickel-rust-protoplanet/

Science of Psyche: Unique Asteroid Holds Clues to Early Solar System by Naomi Hartono

https://www.nasa.gov/feature/jpl/science-of-psyche-unique-asteroid-holds-clues-to-early-solar-system

Asteroid Psyche by NASA

https://solarsystem.nasa.gov/asteroids-comets-and-meteors/asteroids/16-psyche/in-depth/

One man was the lucky recipient of a heart transplant from an unlikely source - can organs from animals help humans?

Will animal-to-human organ transplants overcome their complicated history? by Laura Beil

https://www.sciencenews.org/article/animal-human-organ-transplants-pig-kidney-heart-history

Man gets genetically modified pig heart in world-first transplant by BBC News with analysis by Michelle Roberts

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-59944889

First-ever pig-to-human heart transplant offers hope for thousands in need of organs by Karen Weintraub

https://www.usatoday.com/story/news/health/2022/01/10/human-pig-heart-transplant/9152951002/

The ethics of a second chance: Pig heart transplant recipient stabbed a man seven times years ago by Lizzie Johnson and William Wan

https://www.washingtonpost.com/dc-md-va/2022/01/13/pig-heart-transplant-stabbing-david-bennett/

Bioluminescent waves are lighting up the oceans for swimmers and sealife alike.

Dolphins, Surfers and Waves Sparkle in Bright Blue Bioluminescent Glow Off California Coast by Katherine J. Wu

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/dolphins-waves-sparkle-bioluminescent-glow-california-coast-180974766/

The science behind bioluminescent waves by Harry Baker

https://marinemadness.blog/2020/05/12/the-science-behind-bioluminescent-waves/

Bioluminescent Waves Light Up the Shoreline by Amanda Maxwell

https://now.northropgrumman.com/bioluminescent-waves-light-up-the-shoreline/

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Introducing: Curiosity Daily Apr 02, 2022

Show notes

The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast from CuriosityDaily.com will help you get smarter about the world around you — every day. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll get a unique mix of research-based life hacks, the latest science and technology news, and more. Nate Bonham and Calli Gade will help you learn about your mind and body, outer space and the depths of the sea, and how history shaped the world into what it is today.

Head to discovery+ to stream even more science content, from Animal Planet to Science Channel. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms Apply.

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From the Archives: Where Does Mold Come From? Apr 01, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 4/3/2020. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about the shocking prevalence of torture scenes in movies; why durian, the world’s smelliest fruit, smells so bad; and where mold comes from.

Torture is prevalent and effective in movies (but not in real life) by Kelsey Donk

Torture Prevalent, Effective in Popular Movies, Study Finds – University of Alabama News | The University of Alabama. (2020). Ua.Edu. https://www.ua.edu/news/2020/01/torture-prevalent-effective-in-popular-movies-study-finds/
Delehanty, C., & Kearns, E. (2019). Wait, There’s Torture in Zootopia?: Examining the Prevalence of Torture in Popular Movies. SSRN Electronic Journal. https://doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3342908

Scientists discovered why durian is the world's smelliest fruit by Kelsey Donk

A Love Letter to a Smelly Fruit. (2013, December 3). The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2013/12/08/travel/a-love-letter-to-a-smelly-fruit.html
Discovering what makes durian stink. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/lfla-dwm022820.php
Identification of an Important Odorant Precursor in Durian: First Evidence of Ethionine in Plants. (2019). Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jafc.9b07065
Maninang, J. S., Lizada, M. C. C., & Gemma, H. (2009). Inhibition of aldehyde dehydrogenase enzyme by Durian (Durio zibethinus Murray) fruit extract. Food Chemistry, 117(2), 352–355. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.foodchem.2009.03.106
Ethanethiol - American Chemical Society. (2020). American Chemical Society. https://www.acs.org/content/acs/en/molecule-of-the-week/archive/e/ethanethiol.html

Where does mold come from? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Tim)

USDA FSIS. (2013). Molds on Food: Are They Dangerous? https://www.fsis.usda.gov/wps/wcm/connect/a87cdc2c-6ddd-49f0-bd1f-393086742e68/Molds_on_Food.pdf?MOD=AJPERES
Stradley, L. (2016, April 5). Food Molds – Are Molds Dangerous. What’s Cooking America. https://whatscookingamerica.net/Q-A/Mold.htm
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. (2019). BAM Chapter 18. U.S. Food and Drug Administration. https://www.fda.gov/food/laboratory-methods-food/bam-yeasts-molds-and-mycotoxins

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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From the Archives: The Academic Benefits of Emotional Intelligence Mar 31, 2022

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From the Archives: Where Dogs Get Their Personalities Mar 30, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 10/4/2019. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about how dogs’ personalities are rooted in their DNA; one skill that doesn’t get worse as you get older; and how your sense of smell works.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

Dogs' Personalities Are Rooted in Their DNA — https://curiosity.im/2OfDwvJ
Scientists Have Identified One Skill that Doesn't Deteriorate with Age — https://curiosity.im/2LwW5tm

Additional resources discussed:

How does the sense of smell work? | HowStuffWorks — https://health.howstuffworks.com/mental-health/human-nature/perception/question139.htm
Human Nose Can Detect a Trillion Smells | Science — https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2014/03/human-nose-can-detect-trillion-smells

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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From the Archives: Why You Yawn During Exercise Mar 25, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 2/28/2020. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about how quitting smoking may reawaken healthy cells; how researchers figured out how to tell the age of crime scene fingerprints to help investigators; and why you sometimes yawn while exercising or singing.

Quitting smoking doesn’t just slow lung damage, but can also reawaken undamaged cells by Grant Currin

Gallagher, J. (2020, January 29). Lungs “magically” heal damage from smoking. BBC News. https://www.bbc.com/news/health-51279355
Pfeifer, G. P. (2020, January 29). Smoke signals in the DNA of normal lung cells. Nature, 578(7794), 224–226. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-020-00165-7
Yoshida, K., Gowers, K. H. C., Lee-Six, H., Chandrasekharan, D. P., Coorens, T., Maughan, E. F., Beal, K., Menzies, A., Millar, F. R., Anderson, E., Clarke, S. E., Pennycuick, A., Thakrar, R. M., Butler, C. R., Kakiuchi, N., Hirano, T., Hynds, R. E., Stratton, M. R., Martincorena, I., … Campbell, P. J. (2020, January 29). Tobacco smoking and somatic mutations in human bronchial epithelium. Nature, 578(7794), 266–272. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-020-1961-1

It's been impossible to tell the age of crime scene fingerprints — until now by Grant Currin

Determining Fingerprint Age with Mass Spectrometry Imaging via Ozonolysis of Triacylglycerols. (2020, January 3). Analytical Chemistry. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/acs.analchem.9b04765
Residues in fingerprints hold clues to their age. (2020, January 22). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/acs-rif012220.php

Why we yawn during exercise by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Kate in Pennsylvania)

Provine, R. R., Tate, B. C., & Geldmacher, L. L. (1987). Yawning: No effect of 3–5% CO2, 100% O2, and exercise. Behavioral and Neural Biology, 48(3), 382–393. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0163-1047(87)90944-7
Massen, J. J. M., Dusch, K., Eldakar, O. T., & Gallup, A. C. (2014). A thermal window for yawning in humans: Yawning as a brain cooling mechanism. Physiology & Behavior, 130, 145–148. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.physbeh.2014.03.032
The science of the exercise yawn. (2017). Furthermore from Equinox. https://furthermore.equinox.com/articles/2017/09/yawning
McKinney, James C. The Diagnosis and Correction of Vocal Faults. (2005). Google Books. https://books.google.com/books?hl=en&lr=&id=znaCDwAAQBAJ&oi=fnd&pg=PA1&dq=singing+yawn&ots=DKpXxdwhGJ&sig=IjgkdxkqyENjWLoXJTDaYB94G30#v=onepage&q=yawn&f=false

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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From the Archives: A Brain-Training Task to Reduce Motion Sickness Mar 24, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 11/5/2020. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about a simple brain-training task that may reduce motion sickness, what parasites found in medieval human remains can tell us about eradicating them today, and the two main reasons why everything takes longer than you think it will.

A Simple Brain-Training Task May Reduce Motion Sickness by Kelsey Donk

You can train your brain to reduce motion sickness. (2020). Warwick.Ac.Uk. https://warwick.ac.uk/newsandevents/pressreleases/you_can_train
Smyth, J., Jennings, P., Bennett, P., & Birrell, S. (2021). A novel method for reducing motion sickness susceptibility through training visuospatial ability – A two-part study. Applied Ergonomics, 90, 103264. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.apergo.2020.103264

Parasitic Worms Found in Medieval Human Remains May Hold the Secret for Eradicating Them Today by Cameron Duke

Flammer, P. G., Ryan, H., Preston, S. G., Warren, S., Přichystalová, R., Weiss, R., Palmowski, V., Boschert, S., Fellgiebel, K., Jasch-Boley, I., Kairies, M.-S., Rümmele, E., Rieger, D., Schmid, B., Reeves, B., Nicholson, R., Loe, L., Guy, C., Waldron, T., … Smith, A. L. (2020). Epidemiological insights from a large-scale investigation of intestinal helminths in Medieval Europe. PLOS Neglected Tropical Diseases, 14(8), e0008600. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pntd.0008600
Parasitic worms found in medieval human remains hold secret for eradicating them today. (2020, September). Science | AAAS. https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/09/parasitic-worms-found-medieval-human-remains-hold-secret-eradicating-them-today
Intestinal worms. (2016). World Health Organization. https://www.who.int/intestinal_worms/more/en/

The 2 Main Reasons Why Everything Takes Longer Than You Think It Will by Anna Todd

Original episode: https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-everything-takes-longer-than-you-think-storm-p/

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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From the Archives: Do People Think in Words or Pictures? Mar 23, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 2/21/2020. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about whether people think in words or in pictures; why brussels sprouts really are tastier than they used to be; and why buying luxury items might make you feel like an impostor.

Whether People Think in Words or Pictures by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Alicia)

(2020). Twitter. https://twitter.com/KylePlantEmoji/status/1221713792913965061
Heavey, C. L., & Hurlburt, R. T. (2008). The phenomena of inner experience. Consciousness and Cognition, 17(3), 798–810. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.concog.2007.12.006
Pristine Inner Experience. (2020). Psychology Today. https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/pristine-inner-experience
Amit, E., Hoeflin, C., Hamzah, N., & Fedorenko, E. (2017). An asymmetrical relationship between verbal and visual thinking: Converging evidence from behavior and fMRI. NeuroImage, 152, 619–627. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuroimage.2017.03.029

Why Brussels Sprouts Taste Better Now by Steffie Drucker

From Culinary Dud To Stud: How Dutch Plant Breeders Built Our Brussels Sprouts Boom. (2019, October 30). NPR.Org. https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2019/10/30/773457637/from-culinary-dud-to-stud-how-dutch-plant-breeders-built-our-brussels-sprouts-bo
Beck, A. (2019, November 7). It’s Not Your Imagination, Brussels Sprouts Really Do Taste Better Now. Better Homes & Gardens; Better Homes & Gardens. https://www.bhg.com/news/brussels-sprouts-less-bitter/
Pearson, H. (2006, September 18). Distaste for sprouts in the genes. Nature. https://doi.org/10.1038/news060918-1
Perman, A. (2011, November 1). The “brussels sprouts” gene: TAS2R38 | Anna Perman’s Genetic Spaghetti. The Guardian; The Guardian. https://www.theguardian.com/science/blog/2011/nov/01/brussel-sprout-gene
Neuroscience for Kids - Bitter Taste Gene. (2003, July 15). Washington.edu. http://faculty.washington.edu/chudler/bitter.html
Masur, L. (2019, December 26). The Top 10 Food Trends of the Entire Decade. Kitchn; Apartment Therapy, LLC. https://www.thekitchn.com/decade-food-trends-2010-2019-22973978

Luxury Buying Makes People Feel Fake by Kelsey Donk

Luxury consumption can fuel “impostor syndrome” among some buyers. (2019). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-12/bc-lcc122019.php
Wong, K. (2020, January 30). Why Your Designer Bag Is Making You Feel Worse. The Financial Diet. https://thefinancialdiet.com/luxury-consumer-imposter-syndrome/
Goor, D., Ordabayeva, N., Keinan, A., & Crener, S. (2019). The Impostor Syndrome from Luxury Consumption. Journal of Consumer Research. https://doi.org/10.1093/jcr/ucz044

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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From the Archives: The 13 Emotions Music Evokes Mar 18, 2022

Show notes

This episode originally aired on 2/4/2020. New episodes coming soon.

Learn about the 13 categories of emotions that music makes you feel; how scientists solved the mystery of two strangely small tyrannosaurus rex fossils; and surprising things that happen to a pregnant person’s body.

Research Suggests That Music Evokes 13 Key Emotions by Kelsey Donk

Anwar, Y. (2020, January 6). Ooh là là! Music evokes at least 13 emotions. Scientists have mapped them. Berkeley News. https://news.berkeley.edu/2020/01/06/music-evokes-13-emotions/
Noonan, D. (2020, January 6). Is a Sad Song Sad for Everyone? Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/is-a-sad-song-sad-for-everyone/
Cowen, A. S., Fang, X., Sauter, D., & Keltner, D. (2020). What music makes us feel: At least 13 dimensions organize subjective experiences associated with music across different cultures. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(4), 1924–1934. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910704117

Two Tiny T-Rexes Turned Out to Be Teenagers by Mae Rice

Secrets behind T. rex’s bone crushing bites: T. rex could crush with 8,000 pound bite forces. (2017). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/05/170517090520.htm
Researchers learn more about teen-age T.Rex. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/osuc-rlm122019.php
Woodward, H. N., Tremaine, K., Williams, S. A., Zanno, L. E., Horner, J. R., & Myhrvold, N. (2020). Growing up Tyrannosaurus rex: Osteohistology refutes the pygmy “Nanotyrannus” and supports ontogenetic niche partitioning in juvenile Tyrannosaurus. Science Advances, 6(1), eaax6250. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.aax6250

Surprising Things Pregnancy Does to the Body by Kelsey Donk

Nierenberg, C. (2015, May 19). Body Changes During Pregnancy. Livescience.Com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/50877-regnancy-body-changes.html
Catriona Harvey-Jenner. (2017, April 12). 10 weird things you didn’t realise happen to your body during pregnancy. Cosmopolitan; Cosmopolitan. https://www.cosmopolitan.com/uk/body/health/a9266776/weird-things-happen-to-body-during-pregnancy/
Cari Wira Dineen. (2016, May 4). Crazy Ways Your Body Changes During Pregnancy. Parents; Parents. https://www.parents.com/pregnancy/my-body/changing/crazy-ways-your-body-changes-during-pregnancy/

Want to learn even more? Head to discovery+ to stream from some of your favorite shows. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms apply.

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