Curiosity Weekly

Learn about how cold the last ice age was, why your body’s stress response can actually be healthy for you, and how to stop a jack-a-lantern from spoiling. Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2020 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominate/ Researchers Know How Cold the Last Ice Age Was...

Learn about why cancer is stranger than we think and how scientists have “teleported” the behavior of real fish into robot fish. Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2020 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominate/ Scientists "teleported" the real-time behavior of a real fish onto a robot...

Learn about the impressive memories of goldfish. Plus, hear from Dr. Kat Arney about why an evolutionary perspective may be the key to fighting cancer. Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2020 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominate/ Goldfish Have Great Memories, Thank You Very Much b...

Learn about three mythological creatures that were inspired by real fossils, how people prefer to root for winning individuals over teams, and how scientists have created interactive paper. Please nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2020 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominate/ Three Mytholo...

Learn about how your schedule might be hurting your health, why the mantis shrimp is able to punch so hard without hurting itself, and who invented the aluminum can. Your Schedule Might be Hurting Your Health — Here's What to Do About It by Reuben Westmaas Your schedule could be killing you. (2017). Popular Science. https://www.popsci.com/your-schedule-could-be-killing-you/ Johnston, J. (2017, Jun...

Learn about what your muscles go through when they get pulled, whether trees have heartbeats, and the real science behind the recovering alcoholics’ mantra “one day at a time.” What Happens When You Pull a Muscle? by Ashley Hamer Pietrangelo, A. (2019). Muscle Strains. Healthline; Healthline Media. https://www.healthline.com/health/strains#treatment4 Lee, S. (2016, February 17). What to Do When Yo...

Cody Cassidy is back to talk about how soap was invented. You’ll also learn about a bias that makes people believe poor people have thicker skin, and how good anxiety can help you get things done. Good Anxiety Can Help You Get Things Done by Reuben Westmaas Must We Suffer to Succeed? | Journal of Individual Differences | Vol 38, No 2. (2017). Journal of Individual Differences. https://econtent.hog...

Learn about why we remember things in the opposite order as we see them and how spiders use atmospheric electricity to balloon through the air. You’ll also learn who actually ate the first oyster from author Cody Cassidy.   You Remember in the Opposite Order as You See by Reuben Westmaas Human brain recalls visual features in reverse order than it detects them: Study challenges traditional hierarc...

Learn how swapping bodies with our pals can alter the way we view ourselves, why California’s redwoods have been able to survive relentless wildfires, and the real reason there are colorful bumps on the sidewalk. (If this episode sounds familiar, congratulations! You got the episode that escaped a week ago. Oops! This one is cleaned up and ready for prime-time.) A study had friends "swap bodies" a...

Scientists renamed human genes because of Microsoft Excel by Grant Currin Vincent, J. (2020, August 6). Scientists rename human genes to stop Microsoft Excel from misreading them as dates. The Verge; The Verge. https://www.theverge.com/2020/8/6/21355674/human-genes-rename-microsoft-excel-misreading-dates Ziemann, M., Eren, Y., & El-Osta, A. (2016). Gene name errors are widespread in the scientific...

Learn how the mathematical mistake of exponential growth bias makes people underestimate the spread of COVID-19, how crocodiles have survived since the dinosaurs, and how puns activate both sides of the brain. "Exponential growth bias" can make people underestimate COVID-19 by Steffie Drucker Robson, D. (2020). Exponential growth bias: The numerical error behind Covid-19. BBC.Com. https://www.bbc....

Learn about how wildfires are powerful enough to create their own storms, how the invention of bags influenced human evolution, and how announcers with low voices can make products larger. Wildfires can create their own storms by Cameron Duke Specktor, B. (2017, December 12). What Are Pyrocumulus Clouds? California Fires Spawn Eerie Formations. Live Science. https://www.livescience.com/61167-what-...

Learn about how rats might not have been all to blame for the bubonic plagues and why we’re more prone to mindlessly eat while we multitask. When It Comes to the Black Death, the Rats May Have Been Framed by Ashley Hamer History.com Editors. (2010, September 17). Black Death. HISTORY. https://www.history.com/topics/middle-ages/black-death Gill, V. (2018, January 15). Black Death “spread by humans...

Learn about whether animals can predict earthquakes, why younger folks experience déjà vu more often, and how software that helped us reach the moon was literally woven by hand. Can Animals Really Sense an Earthquake Coming? A New Study Says Yes by Grant Currin Pratik Pawar. (2020, July 22). Animals Sense Earthquakes Before They Happen. Can They Help Us Predict Disasters? Discover Magazine. https:...

Learn about how children led their own research project into what they really think of adults, how painting eyes on cow butts could help solve a wildlife conservation problem, and whether it’s a good idea to rinse out your recycling. Children led a research project into what they really think of adults by Kelsey Donk Maynard, E., & Barton, S. (2020, August 7). Children reveal what they really thin...

Learn about how a phenomenon called the third-person effect makes us think we’re too smart for advertising to work on us, why scientists used violinists to study how humans sync in a complex network, and why you can relieve pain by holding hands! The Third-Person Effect Is Why We All Think We’re Too Smart for Ad Campaigns by Anna Todd Davison, W. P. (1983). The Third-Person Effect in Communication...

Learn about how that dark sense of humor can mean a higher IQ, the origin of the word “orange,” and how the arctic produces “zombie fires.” A Dark Sense of Humor May Mean You Have a High IQ by Joanie Faletto Willinger, U., Hergovich, A., Schmoeger, M., Deckert, M., Stoettner, S., Bunda, I., Witting, A., Seidler, M., Moser, R., Kacena, S., Jaeckle, D., Loader, B., Mueller, C., & Auff, E. (2017). Co...

Learn whether smiling can actually make you feel happier and why it took John Harrison, a working-class clockmaker, to figure out longitude. It Took a Working-Class Clockmaker to Figure Out Longitude by Ashley Hamer Dr Helen Klus. (2017, October 26). Latitude and Longitude. The Star Garden. http://www.thestargarden.co.uk/Longitude.html Longitude found - the story of Harrison’s Clocks. (2015, Octob...

Learn about how there are two types of empathy — and why we need both, why sturdy steel razors dull, and whether it’s possible to learn perfect pitch. There are two types of empathy, and we need both by Kelsey Donk Empathy Definition | What Is Empathy. (2020). Greater Good Magazine. UC Berkeley. https://greatergood.berkeley.edu/topic/empathy/definition Hot to Help. (2020). Greater Good Magazine. U...

Learn about why everyone claims they’re awful at remembering names; how “hobo code” helped itinerant workers communicate in the 1900s; and whether you probably see yourself as more attractive than you really are. We all think our memories are above average, except for remembering names by Steffi Drucker Finally, One Area Where We Don’t Think We’re Better Than Others: Remembering Names. (2020, Augu...

Learn about how a mutation that evolved to protect us against malaria actually makes us more prone to other diseases; and why astronauts are using old sailing technology (sextants) to navigate through space. Plus: a special update from Cody! A mutation that makes us prone to autoimmune diseases evolved to protect us from malaria by Cameron Duke Khan, N., de Manuel, M., Peyregne, S., Do, R., Prufer...

Learn about how the Epic of Gilgamesh, one of the oldest texts in the world, was first translated not by a scientist, but by an engraver’s apprentice named George Smith; how horses lost their toes; and why sperm swim differently than scientists previously thought. Some Random Guy Stumbled Upon and Translated a Legendary Ancient Text by Reuben Westmaas Damrosch, D. (2007, May). Epic Hero. Smithsoni...

Learn why fragrance-free is NOT the same as unscented, and how a cow named Cosmo was genetically edited so he’ll have more male offspring. There's a big difference between "unscented" and "fragrance free" by Kelsey Donk Schwarcz, J. (2017, July 21). What is the difference between “Unscented” and “Fragrance-free” products? Office for Science and Society. McGill University. https://www.mcgill.ca/oss...

Learn about why short-term pleasures are important for your well-being; a Thorne-Żytkow Object, which is what astronomers call a star within a star; and how science identified the culprit for your smelly armpits: Staphylococcus hominis . Short-term pleasures contribute to well-being just as much as self-control by Kelsey Donk Hedonism leads to happiness. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert....

Learn why pregnancy cravings might be more cultural than biological; and why raindrops don’t damage delicate insect wings. Then, play along at home and test your podcast knowledge with this month’s Curiosity Challenge trivia game. Pregnancy cravings are more cultural than biological by Grant Currin Orloff, N. C., Flammer, A., Hartnett, J., Liquorman, S., Samelson, R., & Hormes, J. M. (2016). Food...