Curiosity Weekly

A Harmful Mutation Evolved for Good, Why Astronauts Are Using Old Sailing Tech in Space, and Cody’s Message


Listen Later

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, K., Marques-Bonet, T., Varki, N., Gagneux, P., & Varki, A. (2020). Multiple Genomic Events Altering Hominin SIGLEC Biology and Innate Immunity Predated the Common Ancestor of Humans and Archaic Hominins. Genome Biology and Evolution, 12(7), 1040–1050. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa125
  • McRae, M. (n.d.). Humans Might Be So Sickly Because We Evolved to Avoid a Single Devastating Disease. ScienceAlert. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.sciencealert.com/we-evolved-a-way-to-beat-a-deadly-infection-but-it-made-us-vulnerable-to-other-diseases
  • Varki, A. (2008). Sialic acids in human health and disease. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 14(8), 351–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2008.06.002

Astronauts Are Using Old Sailing Technology in Space by Elizabeth Howell

  • Holt, G. N., Wood, B. Sextant Navigation on the International Space Station: A Human Space Exploration Demo. (February 2019). NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS). NASA.gov. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190001296
  • International Space Station Cupola Observational Module. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/cupola.html
  • Apollo 13 Accident. (2016). Nasa.gov. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html

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/a-harmful-mutation-evolved-for-good-why-astronauts-are-using-old-sailing-tech-in-space-and-codys-message

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

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Curiosity WeeklyBy Discovery

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

915 ratings


More shows like Curiosity Weekly

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,020 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

44,007 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,275 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,735 Listeners

BrainStuff by iHeartPodcasts

BrainStuff

1,649 Listeners

Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

941 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,081 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

975 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,439 Listeners

Something You Should Know by Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media

Something You Should Know

4,213 Listeners

Life Kit by NPR

Life Kit

4,850 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,571 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,066 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,311 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,685 Listeners