Curiosity Weekly

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. &...

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...

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-Fran...

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...

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 antiretrovir...

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...

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...

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, i...

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.    “Mi...

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.    “Asso...

Today, you’ll learn about an accidental discovery of a dial in the brainstem that controls the body’s inflammation level, how centipedes might offer a treatment for kidney disease, and the problem with bringing back our deceased loved ones using AI.    Brainstem Dial     “Found: the dial in the brain that controls the immune system.” by Giorgia Guglielmi. 2024.  &nbsp...

Today, you’ll learn about how sleep isn’t the brain detoxifier we thought it was, a new glass made out of bamboo, and the connection between leprosy and red squirrels in medieval England.     Sleeping Brain    “Sleep does not help brain wash out toxins, study suggests.” by Hannah Devlin. 2024.    “The sleep-deprived human brain.” by Adam J. Krause, et al. 2017. &...

Today, you’ll learn about how reading fiction could make you smarter, the first ever likely transmission of bird flu from a cow to a human, and how a beluga whale communicates with its squishy head.    Fiction Readers      “People who read a lot of fiction tend to have better cognitive skills, study finds.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.    “Cognitive effects and c...

Today, you’ll learn about a new and stimulating method that could potentially help smokers kick the habit, an innovative copper coating that kills bacteria on touchscreens, and the little birds that sometimes make for great stepdads.     Tobacco Treatment    “Can brain stimulation help people kick their tobacco addiction?” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.    “Why Won’t Ou...

Today, you’ll learn about the demand for a compound called squalene that is decimating deepwater shark populations, an amazing effort to create an eco-friendly lubricant using green chemistry, and the surprising connection between shepherds, women, and wildfires.    Shark Oil     “Deepwater Sharks Are Threatened by Demand for Liver Oil.” by David Shiffman. 2024.  &nbs...

Today, you’ll learn about a newly discovered deep sea ghost shark, the best way to treat prolonged grief disorder, and how the blood vessels in our brain coordinate to improve brain functioning.     Ghost Shark     “‘Ghost shark’ with enormous head and giant iridescent eyes discovered off Thailand.” by Elise Poore. 2024.    “Chimaera.” Shark Trust. 2020. &nb...

Today, you’ll learn about the incredible dynamics that make the thresher shark so good at threshing, how people with a rare growth disorder might actually have an advantage that leads to longer lifespans, and why people listen to sad music.     Thresher Shark     Fear the Tails, Not the Jaws, of These ‘Weirdo’ Sharks.” by Kate Golembiewski. 2024.    “Vertebr...

Today, you’ll learn about the possible holy grail of great white shark sightings, a new flu vaccine that could knock out every strain and last a long time, and a map of human consciousness.     Newborn Great White    “Great white sighting may reveal ‘holy grail’ of shark science.” by Katie Hunt. 2024 .   “Novel aerial observations of a possible newborn white shar...

Today, you’ll learn about the rare study of a hammerhead shark embryo, how touching your teammate might help them make free throws, and a super alloy that doesn’t break - it kinks.     Hammerhead Embryos    “Secrets of Hammerhead Sharks Revealed in ‘Very Rare’ Images.” by Robyn White. 2024.    “Bonnethead shark.” David A. Ebert, et al. 2021.    “Are Ham...

Today, you’ll learn about a massive prehistoric shark, the controversial plan to kill millions of barred owls, and how a condition called misophonia could be linked to stress and trauma.     Giant Shark    “Ancient, 30-foot relative of great white shark unearthed in Mexico quarry.” by Melissa Hobson. 2024.    “Exceptionally preserved shark fossils from Mexico elu...

Today, you’ll learn about tiny robotic nerve cuffs, an orangutan that treated its own wound with medicine, and how nostalgia encourages us to take part in rituals.     Robotic Nerve Cuffs    “Robotic nerve ‘cuffs’ could help treat a range of neurological conditions.” University of Cambridge. 2024.    “Peripheral Nervous System (PNS).” Cleveland Clinic. 2022. &nbs...

Today, you’ll learn about a new way to turn certain blood types into universal blood types that could save countless lives, how exercise makes time slow down, and the new plastic made of eggshells that could clean up our water and stop plastic pollution.     Universal Donors    “Bacterial enzyme strips away blood types to create universal donor blood.” by Paul McClure. 202...

Today, you’ll learn about how microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms, the half a billion year old bioluminescent octocoral, and the truth about women’s synchronized menstrual cycles.    Microgravity Effects    “Simulated microgravity affects sleep and physiological rhythms.” EurekAlert! 2024.    “Effect of 60 days of head down tilt bed rest on amplitude...

Today, you’ll learn about the life-crushing conditions on Venus that could actually tell us about life elsewhere in the universe, how indigenous cultural fire burning could help us create healthier forests, and the people who brew beer in their stomachs.     Venus Environment   “To find life in the universe, look to deadly Venus.” EurekAlert! 2024.    “Davinci, a...

Today, you’ll learn about the amazing regenerative effects of thistle extract on damaged nerves, the first synthetic, lab-made cells, and new insights into the development of language in people with autism.     Thistle Extract    “Thistle extract accelerates nerve regeneration by up to 29%.” by Paul McClure. 2024.    “Nerves.” Byju’s. N.d.   “Cnicin promotes...