Curiosity Weekly

Today, you’ll learn about the fastest mini robots ever created, how Bigfoot sightings may help scientists study bear populations, and the link between financial stress and poor health. 

Insect Robots 

• Mini-robots modeled on insects may be smallest, lightest, fastest ever developed.” Washington State University. 2024.  
• “A New 1-mg Fast Unimorph SMA-Based Actuator for Microrobotics.” by Conor K. Trygstad, et al. 2023.  

Bigfoot & Bears 

• “Bigfoot: If it’s there, could it be a bear?” by Floe Foxon. 2024.  
• “Study finds bigfoot sightings correlate with black bear populations.” by John Timmer. 2024.  
• “All 3,313 Sasquatch sightings, mapped.” PBS. 2013.  

Chronic Stress 

• “Financial stress linked to worse biological health.” UCL. 2024.  
• “Stress symptoms: Effects on your body and behavior.” Mayo Clinic Staff. 2023.  
• “How stress affects your health.” APA. Updated 2022.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about a new test that can show how well each of your organs are aging, some interesting links between comfort food and stress, and a surprising finding about certain snails. 

Organ Age 

• “Are your organs ageing well? The blood holds clues.” by Max Kozlov. 2023.  
• “Blood test shows if organs are ageing fast or slowly.” by Michelle Roberts. 2023.  

Comfort Food  

• “Comfort eating can impair body’s recovery from stress, study shows..” by Rachel Hall. 2023.  
• “Stress and Eating Behaviors.” by Yvonne H. C. Yau & Marc N. Potenza. 2013.  
• “Fatty foods can impair the body’s response to everyday stress - study.” by Jet Veldhuijzen van Zanten. 2023.  

Speedy Snails  

• “Japanese snail adaptation and speciation in anti-predation escape behavior.” by Yuta Morii. 2023.  
• “The divergence of mobility and activity associated with anti-predator adaptation in land snails.” by Yuta Morii, et al. 2023.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about ants that play doctor to their fellow ants after going into battle, a possible game-changing way to sequester carbon at the bottom of the ocean, and the changes that can happen in the female mind during menstruation.  

Ant Doctors 

• “Ants Recognize Infected Wounds and Treat Them.” Universitat Wurzburg. 2024.  
• “Innovative drugs, chemicals, and enzymes within the animal production chain.” by Yousef I. Hassan, et al. 2018.  
• “Targeted treatment of injured nestmates with antimicrobial compounds in ant society.” by Erik. T. Frank, et al. 2023.  
• Ant Video. N.d.  

Sequestered Carbon 

• “To combat climate change, companies bury plant waste at sea.” by Saima Sidik. 2023.  
• “Biomass Storage in Anoxic Marine Basins: Initial estimates of geochemical impacts and CO2 sequestration capacity.” by Morgan Reed Raven, et al. 2023.  
• “2023 Global Carbon Budget Report Emphasizes Urgent Need to Reduce Global Emissions.” by Laura Chaibongsai. 2023.  

Menstrual Brain 

• “The menstrual rhythm of the brain.” Max Planck Gesellschaft. 2023.  
• “Ultra-high-field 7T MRI reveals changes in human medial temporal lobe volume in female adults during menstrual cycle.” by Rachel G. Zsido, et al. 2023.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about a breakthrough in our understanding of how the brain creates long-term memories, the effect of chronic childhood ear infections on the development of language, and how salt may have helped shape the planet Mercury.  

Long-Term Memories 

• “Neurons aren’t the only cells that make memories in the brain, rodent study reveals.” by Emily Cooke. 2023.  
• “Brain Microvascular Pericytes in Vascular Cognitive Impairment and Dementia.” by Maiko T. Uemura, et al. 2020.  
• “All you need to know about neurons.” by Tim Newman. 2023.  

Ear Infections 

• “Chronic childhood ear infections delay language development.” by Eric Hamilton. 2024.  
• “Ear Infections in Children.” NIH. 2022.  
• “Early otitis media puts children at risk for later auditory and language deficits.” by Susan Nittrouer & Joanna H. Lowenstein. 2024. 

Mercury Salt 

• “Salt may have carved out Mercury’s terrains, including glacierlike features.” by Shi En Kim. 2024.  
• “The Chaotic Terrains of Mercury Reveal a History of Planetary Volatile Retention and Loss in the Innermost Solar System.” by J. Alexis P. Rodrigues, et al. 2020.  
• “Mercury’s stunning landscape mapped.” by Christopher Crockett. 2016.  
• “Mercury Facts.” NASA. n.d.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about a new polymer that could battle antibiotic resistant infections, a possible new way to detect life on other planets from afar, and what to expect when you’re expecting to adopt a furry friend,  

Powerful Polymer 

• “Texas A&M Team Develops Polymers That Can Kill Bacteria.” by Shana K. Hutchins. 2023.  
• “The global threat of antibiotic resistance.” ReAct. N.d.  
• “Ring-opening metathesis polymerization of N-methylpyridinium-fused norbornenes to access antibacterial main-chain cationic polymers.” by Sarah N. Hancock, et al. 2023.  

Exoplanet CO2  

• “A carbon-lite atmosphere could be a sign of water and life on other terrestrial planets, MIT study finds.” by Jennifer Chu. 2023.  
• “Atmospheric carbon depletion as a tracer of water oceans and biomass on temperate terrestrial exoplanets.” by Amaury H.M.J. Triaud, et al. 2023.  
• “How do astronomers find exoplanets?” by Daniela Breitman. 2017.  

Adoption Science  

• “What To Expect When You Adopt A Shelter Pet, According To Scientists.” by Holly Large. 2023.  
• “18 Interesting Pet Adoption Statistics & Facts to Know in 2024.” by Misty Layne. 2024.  
• “Do Dogs Cry? Signs Your Beloved Pup Might Be Sad.” by Tom Hale. 2023.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about how hearing aids may help you live longer, a potential breakthrough that could help usher in the age of quantum computing, and the incredible power of simply saying, “Hi”.  

Hearing Aids 

• “Hearing aids may help people live longer.” EurekAlert! 2024.  
• “Association between hearing aid use and mortality in adults with hearing loss in the USA: a mortality follow-up study of a cross-sectional cohort.” by Janet S. Choi, M.D. et al. 2024.  
• “The Impact of Hearing Loss and Its Treatment on Health-Related Quality of Life Utility: a Systematic Review with Meta-analysis.” by Ethan D. Borre, et al. 2023.  

Quantum Error Eraser  

• “Quantum computers inch closer to viability with new ‘error eraser’.” by H. Hannan. 2024.  
• “40 years of quantum computing.” Nature Reviews Physics. 2022.  
• “Erasure conversion in a high-fidelity Rydberg quantum simulator.” by Pascal Scholl, et al. 2023.  

Smalltalk 

• “New study highlights the psychological power of minimal social interactions.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2023.  
• “Minimal Social Interactions and Life Satisfaction: The Role of Greeting, Thanking, and Conversing.” by Esra Ascigil, et al. 2023.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about communicating with sleepers, a possible new miracle cure for skin injuries called super melanin, and the secret social lives of garter snakes.  

Dreamtalk 

• “The study of dreams: Scientists uncover new communication channels with dreamers.” by Basak Turker & Delphine Oudiette. 2024.  
• “Behavioral and brain responses to verbal stimuli reveal transient periods of cognitive integration of the external world during sleep.” by Basak Turker, et al. 2023.  
• “Lucid dreaming incidence: A quality effects meta-analysis of 50years of research.” by David T. Saunders, et al. 2016.  
• “Lucid Dreaming Verified by Volitional Communication during REM Sleep.” by Stephen P. La Berge, et al. 1981.  

Super Melanin 

• “‘Super melanin’ heals skin injuries from sunburn, chemical burns.” by Marla Paul. 2023.  
• “Topical application of synthetic melanin promotes tissue repair.” by Dauren Biyashev, et al. 2023.  
• “Molecules in focus: Melanin.” by P. Riley. 1997.  
• “Inhibitors of Melanogenesis: An Updated Review.” by Thanigaimalai Pillaiyar, et al. 2018.  

Garter Snakes  

• “Garter snakes make friends, organize their society around females.” by Joseph Howlett. 2023.  
• “Social networks reveal sex- and age-patterned social structure in Butler’s gartersnakes.” by Morgan Skinner, et al. 2024.  

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

Today, you’ll learn about a bacterial discovery that challenges our understanding of how and when life formed on Earth, the importance difference between self control and willpower, and the truth about whether or not your dog really loves you.  

Origin of Life 

• “Scientists Just Made a 1.75 Billion-Year-Old Discovery About the Origin of Life.” by Mirjam Guesgen. 2024.  
• “The Great Oxygenation Event as a consequence of ecological dynamics modulated by planetary change.” by Jason Olejarz, et al. 2021.  
• “Microbes and minerals may have set off Earth’s oxygenation.” by Jennifer Chu. 2022.  

Self Control vs Willpower 

• “Most people say self-control is the same as willpower. Researchers disagree.” by Sujata Gupta. 2024.  
• “Nearly two in five Americans have a New Year’s Resolution planned for 2021.” Ipsos. 2020.  
• “New Year’s resolution statistics.” finder. 2021.  
• “What’s inside is all that counts? The contours of everyday thinking about self-control.” by Juan Pablo Bermudez, et al. 2023.  

Puppy Love 

• “Does Your Dog Truly Love You? Science Has the Answer.” by Adam Piore. 2023.  
• “Machine learning gives glimpse of how a dog’s brain represents what it sees.” ScienceDaily. 2022.  
• “A glimpse into the dog’s mind: A new study reveals how dogs think of their toys.” by Eotvos Lorand University. 2022.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about a supervitamin you might already be taking some good news about the health of the world’s forests, and a new study that mapped ketamine’s effects on the brain.  

B12 

• “Vitamin B12 emerges as key player during cellular reprogramming.” by Alba Vilchez-Acosta. 2023.  
• “Vitamin B12: A key player in cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration.” ScienceDaily. 2023.  

Healthy Forests 

• “Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned - or thinned.” by Kara Manke. 2023.  
• “2023 North American Wildfires.” CDP. 2023.  
• “Forest restoration and fuels reduction work: Different pathways for achieving success in the Sierra Nevada.” by Scott L. Stephens, et al. 2023.  

Ketamine & the Brain 

• “New Study Maps Ketamine’s Effects on Brain.” by Christopher D. Shea. 2023.  
• “Ketamine.” reviewed by Melisa Puckey. 2023.  
• “Whole-brain mapping reveals the divergent impact of ketamine on the dopamine system.” by Malika S. Datta, et al. 2023.  
• “Understanding Ketamine Treatment for Depression.” n.a. 2023.  

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.

Today, you’ll learn about how your ears are eavesdropping on your eyes, a bold new study on the anti-inflammatory effects of psychedelics, and an astonishing new discovery linking hoarding disorder with ADHD. 

Ears & Eyes  

• “Your Eyes Talk to Your Ears. Scientists Know What They’re Saying.” by Dan Vahaba. 2023.  
• “Research Discovery: Astonishing Connection Between Vision and Hearing.” by Doug Garfield. 2023.  
• “Parametric information about eye movements is sent to the ears.” by Stephanie N. Lovich, et al. 2023.  

Psilocybin & Depression  

• “Psilocybin induces acute and persisting alterations in immune status in healthy volunteers: An experimental, placebo-controlled study.” by N.L. Mason, et al. 2023.  
• “Study suggests single dose of psilocybin safe and effective as treatment for major depressive disorder.” by Justin Jackson. 2023.  
• “Increased global integration in the brain after psilocybin therapy for depression.” by Richard E. Daws, et al. 2022.  

ADHD & Hoarding 

• “Strong connection found between ADHD and hoarding disorder.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2023.  
• “Hoarding disorder.” by Mayo Clinic Staff. 2023.  
• “Who really hoards? Hoarding symptoms in adults with attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD) and healthy controls.” by Giacomo Grassi, et al. 2023.  

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.