Curiosity Weekly - Discovery

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**Curiosity Weekly – Discovery**

Welcome to Curiosity Weekly from Discovery, hosted by Dr. Samantha Yammine. Once a week, we’ll bring you the latest and greatest in scientific discoveries and break down the details so that you don’t need a PhD to understand it. From neuroscience to climate tech to AI and genetics, no subject is off-limits. Join Sam as she interviews expert guests and investigates the research guiding some of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs affecting our world today.

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

Latest Episodes:

The World’s Oldest Thumb Belongs to a Dinosaur May 25, 2021

Show notes

Learn about the “Monkeydactyl” fossil; whether it’s safe to eat food with freezer burn; and post-death “zombie genes.”

Newly discovered "Monkeydactyl" fossil has the oldest known opposable thumb by Grant Currin

New Jurassic flying reptile reveals the oldest opposed thumb. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/uob-njf041221.php
Zhou, X., Pêgas, R. V., Ma, W., Han, G., Jin, X., Leal, M. E. C., Bonde, N., Kobayashi, Y., Lautenschlager, S., Wei, X., Shen, C., & Ji, S. (2021). A new darwinopteran pterosaur reveals arborealism and an opposed thumb. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.030
Fox, A. (2021, April 16). A Prehistoric Flying Creature Nicknamed “Monkeydactyl” May Have Climbed Trees Using Opposable Thumbs. Smithsonian Magazine; Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/monkeydactyl-may-have-climbed-using-opposable-thumbs-180977531/
Specktor, B. (2021, April 16). Tiny Jurassic “Monkeydactyl” has the oldest pair of thumbs on Earth. Livescience.com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/pterosaur-monkeydactyl-oldest-animal-thumbs.html

Is It Safe to Eat Food That Has Freezer Burn? Originally aired April 26, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/freezer-burn-science-a-giant-flying-reptile-and-ho

Some genes activate in your brain after you die by Cameron Duke

Dachet, F., Brown, J. B., Valyi-Nagy, T., Narayan, K. D., Serafini, A., Boley, N., Gingeras, T. R., Celniker, S. E., Mohapatra, G., & Loeb, J. A. (2021). Selective time-dependent changes in activity and cell-specific gene expression in human postmortem brain. Scientific Reports, 11(1), 6078. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-85801-6
“Zombie” genes? Research shows some genes come to life in the brain after death. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/uoia-gr032321.php?s=09

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free!

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-worlds-oldest-thumb-belongs-to-a-dinosaur

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

Human Screams Communicate a Rainbow of Emotions May 24, 2021

Show notes

Learn about 5G’s wireless power grid potential; the emotions of human screams; and the 3 categories of friendships.

We could use 5G as its own wireless power grid by Grant Currin

Leveraging the 5G network to wirelessly power IoT devices. (2021). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2021/03/210325150019.htm
Eid, A., Hester, J. G. D., & Tentzeris, M. M. (2021). 5G as a wireless power grid. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-79500-x
Gaura, E., & James Peter Brusey. (2021, April 9). Nikola Tesla: 5G network could realise his dream of wireless electricity, a century after experiments failed. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/nikola-tesla-5g-network-could-realise-his-dream-of-wireless-electricity-a-century-after-experiments-failed-158665

Human screams communicate at least six different emotions by Steffie Drucker

Human screams communicate at least six emotions. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/p-hsc040721.php
Kiefer, P. (2021, April 15). The human scream that’s the most recognizable | Popular Science. Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/story/science/human-scream-study/
JV Chamary. (2021, April 23). Are Humans More Sensitive To Screams From Sex Than Fear? Forbes. https://www.forbes.com/sites/jvchamary/2021/04/14/science-human-screams/?sh=2be610c12fc2
Frühholz, S., Dietziker, J., Staib, M., & Trost, W. (2021). Neurocognitive processing efficiency for discriminating human non-alarm rather than alarm scream calls. PLOS Biology, 19(4), e3000751. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pbio.3000751
Screams used with permission from Sascha Frueholz

Friendships fall into three categories by Anna Todd

McCabe, J. (2016). Friends with Academic Benefits. Contexts, 15(3), 22–29. https://doi.org/10.1177/1536504216662237
Wang, A. X. (2016, October 26). Ivy League research says there are three types of social friendships people make. Quartz; Quartz. https://qz.com/819754/ivy-league-research-says-there-are-three-types-of-social-friendships-people-make/
Most People’s Friendships Fall Into One of Three Categories. (2017, January 6). Mentalfloss.com. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/90636/most-peoples-friendships-fall-one-three-categories

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free!

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/human-screams-communicate-a-rainbow-of-emotions

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

Mushrooms Are More Like Humans Than Plants May 21, 2021

Show notes

Learn how mushrooms are more like humans than plants; why your tongue isn’t a muscle; and ferret-training robot badgers.

Mushrooms are more like humans than plants by Grant Currin

More from this author. (2016, January 12). How Are Mushrooms More Similar to Humans than Plants?» Science ABC. Science ABC. https://www.scienceabc.com/nature/how-are-mushrooms-more-similar-to-humans-than-plants.html
Inglis-Arkell, E. (2012, September 7). Why are mushrooms more like humans than they are like plants? io9. https://io9.gizmodo.com/why-are-mushrooms-more-like-humans-than-they-are-like-p-5940434
Steenkamp, E. T., Wright, J., & Baldauf, S. L. (2005). The Protistan Origins of Animals and Fungi. Molecular Biology and Evolution, 23(1), 93–106. https://doi.org/10.1093/molbev/msj011
Baldauf, S. L., & Palmer, J. D. (1993). Animals and fungi are each other’s closest relatives: congruent evidence from multiple proteins. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 90(24), 11558–11562. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.90.24.11558
Burki, F., Roger, A. J., Brown, M. W., & Simpson, A. G. B. (2020). The New Tree of Eukaryotes. Trends in Ecology & Evolution, 35(1), 43–55. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tree.2019.08.008

Why do people say the tongue is the strongest muscle in the body? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Dave)

Julia Calderone,Ben Fogelson. (2014, August 15). Fact or Fiction?: The Tongue Is the Strongest Muscle in the Body. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/fact-or-fiction-the-tongue-is-the-strongest-muscle-in-the-body/
Katherine Harmon Courage. (2014, January 10). Octopus Arms, Human Tongues Intertwine for Science. Scientific American Blog Network. https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/octopus-chronicles/octopus-arms-human-tongues-intertwine-for-science/
The Tongue - Muscles - Innervation - Vasculature - TeachMeAnatomy. (2015). Teachmeanatomy.info. https://teachmeanatomy.info/head/muscles/tongue/

Wildlife conservationists tried to train black-footed ferrets with robots by Cameron Duke

Andrews, R. M. (1989, August 26). “Robo-Badger” Is Scary, But Do Friendly Ferrets Think So? AP NEWS; Associated Press. https://apnews.com/article/3f45b4ae40266310acf8e4fffc70f01a
Biggins, D. E., Vargas, A., Godbey, J. L., & Anderson, S. H. (1999). Influence of prerelease experience on reintroduced black-footed ferrets (Mustela nigripes). Biological Conservation, 89(2), 121–129. https://doi.org/10.1016/s0006-3207(98)00158-x
Edwards, M. C., Ford, C., Hoy, J. M., FitzGibbon, S., & Murray, P. J. (2021). How to train your wildlife: A review of predator avoidance training. Applied Animal Behaviour Science, 234, 105170. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.applanim.2020.105170
Heim, M. (2011, February). Survival Training, Ferret Style. Smithsonian Magazine. https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/survival-training-ferret-style-32562/
Saving the Black-footed Ferret. (2021). Biologicaldiversity.org. https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/species/mammals/black-footed_ferret/index.html

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free!

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/mushrooms-are-more-like-humans-than-plants

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

Roses Smell Different in Space May 20, 2021

Show notes

Learn about emotions in online reviews; how flowers smell in space; and how water efficiency affected human evolution.

Emotions matter more than ratings when it comes to online reviews by Kelsey Donk

“Emotional” reviews predict business success, new study shows. (2021). Northwestern.edu. https://news.northwestern.edu/stories/2021/04/emotional-reviews-predict-business-success-new-study-shows
Rocklage, M. D., Rucker, D. D., & Nordgren, L. F. (2021). Mass-scale emotionality reveals human behaviour and marketplace success. Nature Human Behaviour. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41562-021-01098-5

Roses Smell Different In Space—And You Can Smell Like Them Too by Ashley Hamer

Space Rose Pleases the Senses | NASA Spinoff. (2002). Nasa.gov. https://spinoff.nasa.gov/spinoff2002/ch_1.html
Space Scents | Science Mission Directorate. (2002). Nasa.gov. https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2002/18dec_scents
Frequent Questions: The Many Versions of Shiseido Zen. (2010, January 31). Blogspot.com. http://perfumeshrine.blogspot.com/2010/01/frequent-questions-many-versions-of.html
Impulse Perfumes And Colognes. (2020). Fragrantica. https://www.fragrantica.com/designers/Impulse.html

Human bodies use up to 50% less water than our primate cousins, which may have helped us spread throughout the globe by Cameron Duke

Humans evolved to be the water-saving ape. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/du-het030221.php
Pontzer, H., Brown, M. H., Wood, B. M., Raichlen, D. A., Mabulla, Audax. Z. P., Harris, J. A., Dunsworth, H., Hare, B., Walker, K., Luke, A., Dugas, L. R., Schoeller, D., Plange-Rhule, J., Bovet, P., Forrester, T. E., Thompson, M. E., Shumaker, R. W., Rothman, J. M., Vogel, E., & Sulistyo, F. (2021). Evolution of water conservation in humans. Current Biology. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.02.045

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free!

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/roses-smell-different-in-space

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

How LEDs Work (w/ LED Pioneer George Craford) May 19, 2021

Show notes

Learn about the “birthday paradox.” Then, George Craford — one of the pioneers of LED lighting — talks LED innovation.

The Birthday Paradox by Cameron Duke

Science Buddies. (2012, March 29). Probability and the Birthday Paradox. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/bring-science-home-probability-birthday-paradox/
TED-Ed. (2017). Check your intuition: The birthday problem - David Knuffke [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KtT_cgMzHx8
Understanding the Birthday Paradox – BetterExplained. (2021). Betterexplained.com. https://betterexplained.com/articles/understanding-the-birthday-paradox/

Learn more about George Craford and the QEPrize:

The Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering: https://qeprize.org/
George Craford's bio: https://www.nae.edu/128635/Dr-M-George-Craford

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free! You can also listen to our show as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/how-leds-work-w-led-pioneer-george-craford

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Octopuses Have Sleep Cycles, Too May 18, 2021

Show notes

Learn about imaginary beams of motion coming from people’s eyes; where lost luggage ends up; and octopus sleep cycles.

Following someone's gaze may involve imagining a beam of motion from their eyes by Grant Currin

Our Brains “See” Beams Of Motion Emanating From People’s Faces Towards The Object Of Their Attention. (2021, February 25). Research Digest; Research Digest. https://digest.bps.org.uk/2021/02/25/our-brains-see-beams-of-motion-emanating-from-peoples-faces-towards-the-object-of-their-attention/
Guterstam, A., & Graziano, M. S. A. (2020). Visual motion assists in social cognition. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(50), 32165–32168. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2021325117
Guterstam, A., & Graziano, M. S. A. (2020). Implied motion as a possible mechanism for encoding other people’s attention. Progress in Neurobiology, 190, 101797. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pneurobio.2020.101797
Guterstam, A., Wilterson, A. I., Wachtell, D., & Graziano, M. S. A. (2020). Other people’s gaze encoded as implied motion in the human brain. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(23), 13162–13167. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.2003110117

This Is Where Most of the Lost Luggage in the US Ends Up originally aired May 10, 2018 https://omny.fm/shows/curiosity-daily/everything-repellent-clothing-resonant-breathing-a

We finally discovered alternating sleep states in an octopus by Cameron Duke

Medeiros, S. L. de S., Paiva, M. M. M. de, Lopes, P. H., Blanco, W., Lima, F. D. de, Oliveira, J. B. C. de, Medeiros, I. G., Sequerra, E. B., Souza, S. de, Leite, T. S., & Ribeiro, S. (2021). Cyclic alternation of quiet and active sleep states in the octopus. IScience, 0(0). https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102223
Schnell, A. (2021, April 1). Sleeping octopuses might experience fleeting dreams – new study. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/sleeping-octopuses-might-experience-fleeting-dreams-new-study-158237#:~:text=During%20quiet%20sleep%2C%20octopuses%20are

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/octopuses-have-sleep-cycles-too

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

Introverts Fared Better Than Extroverts During the Pandemic May 17, 2021

Show notes

Learn about introverts’ and extroverts’ pandemic response; astronaut farts; and why violet and purple are different.

Introverts fared better than extroverts during the pandemic by Kelsey Donk

Benz, M. (2021). COVID-19 and College Students: Introverts Coped Better than Extroverts During Shutdown. Medicalresearch.com. https://medicalresearch.com/mental-health-research/covid-19-and-college-students-introverts-coped-better-than-extroverts-during-shutdown/57012/
Extroverts and introverts showed differences in mood during early COVID 19 pandemic. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/p-eai032221.php
Rettew, D. C., McGinnis, E. W., Copeland, W., Nardone, H. Y., Bai, Y., Rettew, J., Devadenam, V., & Hudziak, J. J. (2021). Personality trait predictors of adjustment during the COVID pandemic among college students. PLOS ONE, 16(3), e0248895. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0248895

In the 1960s, people were worried that astronaut farts were a fire hazard by Grant Currin

Krulwich, R. (2010, October 4). Space Propulsion Made Easy: Eat Beans. NPR.org. https://www.npr.org/sections/krulwich/2010/09/16/129908529/space-propulsion-made-easy-eat-beans
Seriously Science. (2018, August 23). Farts: An Under-appreciated Threat to Astronauts. Discover Magazine; Discover Magazine. https://www.discovermagazine.com/the-sciences/farts-an-underappreciated-threat-to-astronauts
Starr, M. (2018). Here’s The Really Gross Reason Why You Don’t Want to Burp in Space. ScienceAlert. https://www.sciencealert.com/here-s-the-really-gross-reason-why-you-don-t-want-to-burp-in-space
Calloway DH, Murphy EL. (2021). Intestinal hydrogen and methane of men fed space diet. Life Sciences and Space Research, 7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12197533/

Violet and purple are completely different forms of color by Ashley Hamer

Pappas, S. (2010, April 29). How Do We See Color? Livescience.com; Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/32559-why-do-we-see-in-color.html
https://www.facebook.com/sciencequestionswithchris. (2012). Why are there only six fundamental colors: red, orange, yellow, green, blue, and violet? Science Questions with Surprising Answers. https://wtamu.edu/~cbaird/sq/2012/12/04/why-are-there-only-six-fundamental-colors-red-orange-yellow-green-blue-and-violet/
Color. (2021). Gsu.edu. http://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/vision/specol.html
Marian, J. (2021). Difference between “violet” and “purple.” Jakubmarian.com. https://jakubmarian.com/difference-between-violet-and-purple/

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/introverts-fared-better-than-extroverts-during-the-pandemic

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

Using AI to Play Ancient Board Games May 14, 2021

Show notes

Learn why learning too much can make you less passionate and how AI is resurrecting ancient board games. Plus: trivia!

Learning too much about your passion may make you less passionate about it by Kelsey Donk

Lange, A. (2021, March 28). Your passionate hobby might make you less passionate, study finds. The Academic Times. https://academictimes.com/your-passionate-hobby-might-make-you-less-passionate-study-finds/
Rocklage, M. D., Rucker, D. D., & Nordgren, L. F. (2021). Emotionally Numb: Expertise Dulls Consumer Experience. Journal of Consumer Research. https://academic.oup.com/jcr/advance-article-abstract/doi/10.1093/jcr/ucab015/6171148

Episodes referenced in Curiosity Challenge Trivia game:

What do these things have in common: https://www.curiositydaily.com/we-can-use-dna-for-data-storage
Memorable postal codes: https://www.curiositydaily.com/post-traumatic-growth-is-a-pandemic-silver-lining/
Slug that cuts off its own head: https://www.curiositydaily.com/you-can-totally-bs-a-bser/

The Digital Ludeme Project is using AI to learn the rules of ancient board games by Grant Currin

Schultz, I. (2019, September 26). Researchers Are Using Artificial Intelligence to Reconstruct Ancient Games. Atlas Obscura; Atlas Obscura. https://www.atlasobscura.com/articles/ancient-games-artificial-intelligence
Digital Ludeme Project. (2021). Ludeme.eu. http://ludeme.eu/index.html
Play the games: https://ludii.games/

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/using-ai-to-play-ancient-board-games

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

When the Pursuit of Knowledge Goes Wrong (w/ Physicist Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein) May 13, 2021

Show notes

Learn about Mauna Kea and how the pursuit of knowledge can be harmful. Plus: the smallest measurement of gravity ever.

Additional resources from Dr. Chanda Prescod-Weinstein:

Pick up "The Disordered Cosmos: A Journey into Dark Matter, Spacetime, & Dreams Deferred" on Amazon: https://amzn.to/32JjzDu
Website: http://www.cprescodweinstein.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/IBJIYONGI

Learn more about Mauna Kea:

Pu’uhuluhulu, P. o. (2020). Pu’uhonua o Pu’uhuluhulu. https://www.puuhuluhulu.com/
TMT International Observatory. (2020). TIO. https://www.tmt.org/
United States Public Law 103-150, informally known as the Apology Resolution: https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/STATUTE-107/pdf/STATUTE-107-Pg1510.pdf
Maunakea and TMT misinformation fact check | University of Hawaii System. (2021). Hawaii.edu. https://www.hawaii.edu/maunakea-stewardship/maunakea-tmt-fact-check/

Scientists captured the smallest measurement of gravity on record by Briana Brownell

Rothleitner, C. (2021). Ultra-weak gravitational field detected. Nature, 591(7849), 209–210. https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-021-00591-1
Westphal, T., Hepach, H., Pfaff, J., & Aspelmeyer, M. (2021). Measurement of gravitational coupling between millimetre-sized masses. Nature, 591(7849), 225–228. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41586-021-03250-7
Lewis, G. (2016, February 12). Timeline: the history of gravity. The Conversation. https://theconversation.com/timeline-the-history-of-gravity-54528

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/when-the-pursuit-of-knowledge-goes-wrong-w-physicist-dr-chanda-prescod-weinstein

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Go Ahead, Google Your Symptoms May 12, 2021

Show notes

Learn about the benefits of Googling symptoms; truly random number generation; and why science is about storytelling.

Googling symptoms makes patients better at self-diagnosis by Steffie Drucker

A visit to “Dr. Google” makes patients better at diagnosis. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/bawh-avt032621.php
Levine, D. M., & Mehrotra, A. (2021). Assessment of Diagnosis and Triage in Validated Case Vignettes Among Nonphysicians Before and After Internet Search. JAMA Network Open, 4(3), e213287. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2021.3287
Why this doctor wants you to consult with “Dr. Google” to help diagnose your symptoms. (2021, April). CBC. https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/as-it-happens-tuesday-edition-1.5969736/why-this-doctor-wants-you-to-consult-with-dr-google-to-help-diagnose-your-symptoms-1.5971609

Why Computers Can Never Generate Truly Random Numbers by Ashley Hamer

Mads Haahr. (n.d.). Introduction to Randomness and Random Numbers. Random.org. https://www.random.org/randomness/
DeMichele, T. (2015, November 21). Computers Can Generate True Random Numbers - Fact or Myth? Fact / Myth. http://factmyth.com/factoids/computers-can-generate-true-random-numbers/

Additional resources from Chanda Prescod-Weinstein: