Curiosity Weekly

Today, you’ll learn about how people who have lost the power of speech could get their voices back through AI, the cool truth about the weighted blanket fad, and an 8-billion-year-old blast from outer space.  

Speech Reconstruction 

• “Neural Networks Help Reconstruct Speech From Brain Activity.” Technology Networks. 2023.  
• “How Intel Gave Stephen Hawking a Voice.” by Joao Medeiros. 2015.  
• “Distributed feedforward and feedback cortical processing supports human speech production.” by Ran Wang, et al. 2023. 

Weighted Blankets 

• “Weighted blankets improve sleep in children with ADHD, study shows.” by Stacey Coleen Lubag. 2023.  
• “The Problem With This Year’s Most Comfortable Holiday Fad.” by Ashley Fetters. 2018.  
• “The Origin Of Weighted Blankets - How Did It All Start? A History Lesson.” by Larry. 2023.  
• “The efficacy of weighted blankets for sleep in children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder—A randomized controlled crossover trial.” by Maria Lonn, et al. 2023.  

Space Radio Burst 

• “A radio burst traveled 8 billion years to reach Earth. It’s the farthest ever detected.” by Eric Lagatta. 2023.  
• “A luminous fast radio burst that probes the Universe at redshift 1.” by S.D. Ryder, et al. 2023.  
• “Record-breaking fast radio burst offers path to weigh the Universe.” EurekAlert! 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. 

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Today, you’ll learn about the hunt for the elusive sixth taste, a new discovery showing how HIV keeps fighting the immune system even with effective treatment, and the altruism of bees.  

Sixth Taste 

• “And then there were 6 - kinds of taste, that is.” by Darrin S. Joy. 2023.  
• “How does our sense of taste work?” NIH. 2020.  
• “Researchers Say Ammonium Is the Sixth Basic Taste: Here’s What to Know.” by Julia Ries. 2023.  

HIV Immunity Battle 

• “‘Dormant’ HIV has ongoing skirmishes with the body’s immune system.” by John Carey. 2023.  
• “10 Things to Know About HIV Suppression.” NIH. 2020. 
• “Spontaneous HIV expression during suppressive ART is associated with the magnitude of function of HIV-specific CD4 and CD8 T cells.” by Mathieu Dube, et al. 2023.  

Altruistic Bees 

• “Honey bees may inherit altruistic behavior from their mothers.” by Katie Bohn. 2023.  
• “Beyond conflict: Kinship theory of intragenomic conflict predicts individual variation in altruistic behaviour.” by Sean T. Bresnahan, 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.

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Today you’ll learn about how scientists are using a drug meant for arthritis to mimic blood transfusions, how cinnamon could potentially be improving our brain’s health, and how a new filter is capable of removing 99% of microplastics from water.   

Young Blood  

• “Arthritis drug mimics "young blood" transfusions to reverse aging in mice” By Michael Irving  
• “Stromal niche inflammation mediated by IL-1 signalling is a targetable driver of haematopoietic ageing” by Carl A. Mitchell et al.  
• “Will revitalizing old blood slow aging?” by COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY IRVING MEDICAL CENTER  

Cinnamon Memory   

• “Cinnamon and cognitive function: a systematic review of preclinical and clinical studies” by Samaneh Nakhaee et al.  
• “Cinnamon Improves Your Memory And Cognition” by GrrlScientist  

Microplastic Filter  

• “High-efficiency water filter removes 99.9% of microplastics in 10 seconds” By Michael Irving  
• “Supramolecular Engineering of Amorphous Porous Polymers for Rapid Adsorption of Micropollutants and Solar-Powered Volatile Organic Compounds Management” by Wansu Cho et al.  
• “Meet Gilbert: The robotic fish designed to help clean plastic from our waterways” by Steven Yabionski  
• “What are volatile organic compounds (VOCs)?” by EPA  
• “Eco-friendly materials capable of purifying water at high speed with inexpensive raw materials” by DGIST (Daegu Gyeongbuk Institute of Science and Technology)  

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.

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Today you’ll learn about a zombie virus recovered from the arctic permafrost and brought back to life, some good news about 26 Australian animal species that have been brought back from the brink, and how a new pill could potentially limit the levels of “bad” cholesterol in the body.   

Zombie Virus   

• “Scientists have revived a ‘zombie’ virus that spent 48,500 years frozen in permafrost.” By Katie Hunt. 2023.   
• “Arctic permafrost is thawing rapidly. It affects us all.” By Katie Hunt. 2022.   

Back From the Brink  

• “Researchers find 26 Australian species recovered from the brink of extinction.” abc.net. 2023.   
• “Lights at the end of the tunnel: The incidence and characteristics of recovery for Australian threatened animals.” by Woinarski, et al. 2023.   
• “Humpback whales no longer listed as endangered after major recovery.” by Claudia Long. 2022.   
• “Red List: Summary Statistics.” n.a. N.d.   

Bad Cholesterol  

• “Oral pill cuts bad cholesterol by 60% in phase 2 clinical trial” By Michael Irving  
• “Efficacy and safety of the oral PCSK9 inhibitor MK-0616: a phase 2b randomized controlled trial” by Christie M. Ballantyne et al.  
• “What Is the Difference Between Good and Bad Cholesterol?” by Keck Medicine of USC  
• “Coronary artery disease” by Mayo Clinic  
• “PCSK9 gene” by MedLine Plus  

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Today you’ll learn about how ancient Roman concrete can heal itself, the recent discovery of a virovore, and how a new study looks into whether or not we can control feelings of guilt through the placebo effect.   

Roman Concrete Magic   

• “Scientists may have found magic ingredient behind ancient Rome’s self-healing concrete” by Jacklin Kwan  
• “Why modern mortar crumbles, but Roman concrete lasts millennia” by ZAHRA AHMAD  

Virovore   

• “First "virovore" discovered: An organism that eats viruses” By Michael Irving  
• “The consumption of viruses returns energy to food chains” by John P. DeLong et al.  

Placebo Guilt  

• “Placebos reduce feelings of guilt – even when people know they’re taking one” by Jeremy Howick  
• “Deceptive and open-label placebo effects in experimentally induced guilt: a randomized controlled trial in healthy subjects” by Dilan Sezer, Cosima Locher & Jens Gaab  

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.

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Today you’ll learn about how scientists are using AI to talk to animals, the discovery of new, very big, very old candidate galaxies, and how there just may be an extra layer in the earth’s inner core.  

AI Animal Translator   

• “How Scientists Are Using AI to Talk to Animals” by Sophie Bushwick  
• “Bat Chatter Is More Than a Cry in the Dark” By Christopher Intagliata  
• “In Honeybee Dance, Direction Is Key” By Kate Wong  

Big Old Galaxies    

• “Webb telescope spots super old, massive galaxies that shouldn’t exist” by Daniel Strain  
• “A population of red candidate massive galaxies ~600 Myr after the Big Bang” by Ivo Labbé et al.  
• “New space telescope to peer back at the universe’s first galaxies” by Daniel Strain  
• “First Galaxies Born Sooner After Big Bang Than Thought” By Space.com Staff 
• “How Did Galaxies Form?” by David J. Eicher  
• “Two Remarkably Luminous Galaxy Candidates at z ≈ 10–12 Revealed by JWST” by Rohan P. Naidu et al.  
• “Quasars: Brightest Objects in the Universe” By Nola Taylor Tillman  

Inner Inner Core  

• “Bouncing seismic waves reveal distinct layer in Earth's inner core” by AUSTRALIAN NATIONAL UNIVERSITY  
• “Up-to-fivefold reverberating waves through the Earth’s center and distinctly anisotropic innermost inner core” by Thanh-Son Phạm & Hrvoje Tkalčić  
• “Core” by National Geographic  

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Today we discuss the psychological effects of listening to podcasts, how climate change actually makes us more likely to engage in hate speech, and how giving plants alcohol in the form of ethanol can make them resistant to drought.   

Podcast Friends   

• “Listening to podcasts may help satisfy our psychological need for social connection, study finds” by Beth Ellwood  
• “Why people listen: Motivations and outcomes of podcast listening” by Stephanie J. Tobin  

Drunk Plants   

• “Getting Plants ‘Drunk’ Insulates them Against Drought, According to New Research” by Andy Corbley  
• “Pretreating soil with ethanol protects plants from drought, study finds” by Khurram Bashir  

Hot Temper   

• “AI-Based Research Reveals That Extreme Temperatures Fuel Online Hate Speech” by Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research  
• “Online Hate Speech Increases During Extreme Hot and Cold Weather, Study Shows” by Jeffrey Kluger  

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.

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Today we discuss how nicknames for young boys can help them socialize better, how archaeologists in Poland have unearthed the grave of a woman people feared might return from the dead, and a new study that disproves Freud’s theory that more successful people are unhealthier than less successful people.   

Boyhood Nickname   

• “Why You Should Ask Men About Their Boyhood Nicknames” By Jett Stone  
• “Why Men Need to Prioritize, and Celebrate, Their Friendships” by Jett Stone  

Vampire Grave   

• “Archaeologists unearth remains of 17th-century female “vampire” in Poland” by Jennifer Oullette  
• “Ancient human bloodsucker? Skeleton of female 'vampire' unearthed in Europe during dig” by Natalie Neysa Alund  

Wrecked by Success   

• “New psychology research rebuts Sigmund Freud’s “wrecked by success” hypothesis” by Vladimir Hedrih  
• “Wrecked by Success? Not to Worry” by Harrison J. Kell et al.  

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. 

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Today, you’ll learn about how your next scrape might be healed using algae, what ancient Mayans can teach us about water conservation, and the skincare routines… of humpback whales 

Healing Algae 

• “Plasma tech transforms blue-green algae into wound-healing wonder.” by Paul McClure. 2023.  
• “Health Benefits of Blue-Green Algae: Prevention of Cardiovascular Disease and Nonalcoholic Fatty Liver Disease.” by Chai Siah Ku, et al. 2013.  
• “Transforming Spirulina maxima Biomass into Ultrathin Bioactive Coatings Using an Atmospheric Plasma Jet: A New Approach to Healing of Infected Wounds.” by Tuyet Pham, et al. 2023.  

Mayan Reservoirs 

• Ancient Maya reservoirs, constructed wetlands, and future water needs.” by Lisa J. Lucero. 2023.  
• “Who were the Maya? Decoding the ancient civilization’s secrets.” by Erin Blakemore. 2022.  

Humpback Skincare 

• “What’s at Play: Humpback Whale Interaction with Seaweed Is a Global Phenomenon.” by Jan-Olaf Meynecke & Hilla Kela. 2023.  
• “Kelping is a ‘global phenomenon’ sweeping the world of humpback whales, scientists say.” by Sascha Pare. 2023.  
• “Humpback whales: Facts about the singers of the sea.” by Patrick Pester. 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. 

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Today, you’ll learn about how our sense of smell can change how we see colors, the pickiness of bees, and research that shows how listening to this show will increase your sense of well-being. 

Smells and Colors  

• “Our sense of smell changes the colors we see, show scientists.” by Mischa Dijkstra. 2023.  
• “Let’s obliterate the myth that humans have a bad sense of smell.” by Brian Resnick. 2017.  
• “Odors modulate color appearance.” by Ryan J. Ward, et al. 2023.  

Bee Preferences 

• “Honeybees are more selective in their choices for nutrition than previously thought.” by Helena Wirta. 2023.  
• “Honeybees’ foraging choices for nectar and pollen revealed by DNA metabarcoding.” by Matti Leponiemi, et al. 2023.  
• “Are honey bees, wild bees still in trouble?” by Diana Yates. 2023.  

Science and Well-Being 

• “Awe-inspiring science can have a positive effect on mental wellbeing, new research finds.” University of Warwick. 2023.  
• “Spirituality of Science: Implications for Meaning, Well-Being, and Learning.” by Jesse L. Preston, 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. 

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