Learn about microvacations, a trick for actually using your vacation days even when you’re super busy; the science behind why darkness is actually faster than the speed of light; and why sand is one of the most valuable resources in human civilization — and why we’re running out of it — with some help from Vince Beiser, author of “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization.”

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com — and learn about sand from author Vince Beiser — to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
To Stay Sane at Work, Try Taking Microvacations — https://curiosity.im/2MqE5mN
Darkness Is Faster Than the Speed of Light — https://curiosity.im/2MxkfGF

Pick up Vince Beiser’s book, “The World in a Grain: The Story of Sand and How It Transformed Civilization,” on Amazon: https://amzn.to/2BvCDas

If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom

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Beating Procrastination, Sand Science (w/ Vince Beiser), and How to Use Your Vacation Days

The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast from CuriosityDaily.com will help you get smarter about the world around you. 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. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Today, you’ll learn about a new study shedding light on what species are most vulnerable to extinction from climate change, why species of living fossils take their time evolving, and a new theory about how the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs also impacted birds.     Extinction Risk    “New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change.” University of Oxford. 2024.  “What is mass extinction and are we facing a sixth one?” by Tammana Begum. 2021. Updated 2023.  “Mass extinctions, their causes and consequences: an interview with Douglas H. Erwin and Shuzhong Shen.” by Shucheng Xie. 2023.  “Species and climate change.” IUCN. 2021.  “Humanity’s Fitting Place on the List of Mass Extinction Events.” by Sam Baker. 2018.    Living Fossils   “Study of slowly evolving ‘living fossils’ reveals key genetic insights.” by Mike Cummings. 2024.  “A New Discovery Reveals Why Darwin’s ‘Living Fossil’ Keeps Defying Evolution.” by Tim Newcomb. 2024.  “Giraffe Evolution.” by Adam Atwood. 2024.    Asteroid vs Birds   “An Asteroid Wiped Out Dinosaurs. Did It Help Birds Flourish?” by Carl Zimmer. 2024.  “Dust Might Have Snuffed Out the Dinosaurs.” by Miriam Fauzia. 2023.  “How Did Birds First Take Off?” by Carl Zimmer. 2023.  “Genomes, fossils, and the concurrent rise of modern birds and flowering plants in the Late Cretaceous.” by Shaoyuan Wu, et al. 2024.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Extinction Risk, Living Fossils, Asteroid vs Birds

Today, you’ll learn about a compelling study on twins and the nature versus nurture debate, how scientists solved a 60-year-old mystery about bees, and why you shouldn’t go last.     Twin Trauma   “One Twin Was Hurt, the Other Was Not. Their Adult Mental Health Diverged.” by Ellen Barry. 2024.  “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Outcomes.” by Hilda Bjork Danielsdottir, et al. 2024.  “Recognizing the importance of childhood maltreatment as a critical factor in psychiatric diagnoses, treatment, research, prevention, and education.” by Martin H. Teicher, et al. 2022.  “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults.” by Vincent J. Felitti MD, FACP, et al. 1998.    Bee Mystery    “A decades-old mystery has been solved with the help of newfound bee species.” by Darren Incorvaia. 2024.  “Canopy specialist Hylaeus bees highlight sampling biases and resolve Michener’s mystery.” by James B. Dorey, et al.    Sequence Bias   “A new study finds that the later we meet someone in a sequence, the more negatively we describe them.” by Douglas Heingartner. 2024.  “Differentiation in social perception: Why later-encountered individuals are described more negatively.” by Alex Koch, et al. 2024.    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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twin Trauma, Bee Mystery, Sequence Bias

Today, you’ll learn about a new plan to use waste from beer brewing to clean metal out of our water supply, a study that puts languages like Orc and Klingon to the test, and a discovery about the direction our memories travel in our brains.     Brewer’s Yeast    “The same beer waste that gives us Vegemite could help us recycle metal waste.” n.a. 2024.  “Spent brewer’s yeast as a selective biosorbent for metal recovery from polymetallic waste streams.” by Anna Sieber, et al. 2024.  “What Is E-Waste Recycling and How Is it Done?” by Tin Lok Wu. 2023.    Constructed Languages    “From Star Trek’s Klingon to Tolkien’s Orkish: Unraveling the auditory aesthetics of constructed languages.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.  “Does Orkish Sound Evil? Perception of Fantasy Languages and Their Phonetic and Phonological Characteristics.” by Christine Mooshammer, et al. 2024.    Memory Direction   “Brain Waves Travel in One Direction When Memories Are Made and the Opposite When Recalled.” by Grant Currin. 2024.  “Theta and Alpha Oscillations Are Traveling Waves in the Human Neocortex.” by Honghui Zhang, et al. 2018. “The direction of theta and alpha travelling waves modulates human memory processing.” by Uma R. Mohan, et al. 2024.    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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Brewer’s Yeast, Constructed Languages, Memory Direction

Today, you’ll learn about a medication that can successfully treat frostbite, the study of bloodsplatter in space, and a surprising finding about the supposed benefits of small class sizes.    Frostbite Treatment   “The U.S. now has a drug for severe frostbite. How does it work?” by Saugat Bolakhe. 2024.  “Frostbite.” NIH. 2023.  “FDA Approves First Medication to Treat Severe Frostbite.” FDA. 2024.    Blood in Space    “Bloodstain pattern dynamics in microgravity: Observations of a pilot study in the next frontier of forensic science.” by Zack Kowalske, et al. 2024.  “How Did NASA’S ‘Vomit Comet’ Get Its Name? A Brief History.” GoZeroG. 2023.    Small Classes   “Small Class Sizes Not Better for Pupils’ Grades or Resilience, Says Study.” Taylor & Francis. 2024.  “Typologies of secondary school student academic resilience in science with classroom and school context predictors.” by Tao Jiang, et al. 2024.    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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Frostbite Treatment, Blood in Space, Small Classes

Today, you’ll learn about a skin printer that could lead to scar-free surgeries, the possibility of bringing the wooly mammoth back to life, and how to work at being happy.     Printed Skin   “Scar-free surgery prints living skin (and maybe hair) right into wounds.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “New bioink promotes growth & regeneration of 3D-printed muscle tissue.” by Paul McClure. 2023.    Mammoth De-Extinction   “Wooly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell breakthrough.” by Sascha Pare. 2024.  “Scientists Are Reincarnating the Woolly Mammoth to Return in 4 Years.” by Tim Newcomb. 2023.  “Why Are Scientists Trying to Bring Back the Woolly Mammoth?” by Teresa Ehrlich. 2022.   Learning Happiness   “Happiness can be learnt, but we have to work at it - study finds.” University of Bristol. 2024.  “Unit information: Science of Happiness.” University of Bristol. Course catalog.  “The Science of Well-Being.” Coursera Course.  “The Science of Happiness Course.” Greater Good Science Center. N.d. “Managing Happiness.” Harvard. Ongoing.      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.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Beating Procrastination, Sand Science (w/ Vince Beiser), and How to Use Your Vacation Days

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