Curiosity Weekly

Today we explore a potential scientific fountain of youth, how cooperation among strangers has, contrary to popular belief, actually increased in recent years, and how the pandemic has caused the perception of time distortion. 

Reverse Aging

• “Scientists actually reversed human aging using a revolutionary new treatment” by Mike Wehner
• https://bgr.com/science/age-reversal-oxygen-therapy/
• “Human aging process biologically reversed in world first” by Sarah Knapton
• https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2020/11/18/human-ageing-process-biologically-reversed-world-first/

Cooperation Increase

• “New study shows that cooperation among strangers in the US has increased since the 1950s” by Douglas Heingartner
  • https://www.psychnewsdaily.com/cooperation-among-strangers-is-increasing/
• “Cooperation among strangers has increased since the 1950s” by Yu Kou
  • https://www.apa.org/news/press/releases/2022/07/cooperation-among-strangers

Time & Covid

• “Study examines distorted time perception during pandemic” by ScienceDaily
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220823170747.htm
• “Trauma, time and mental health — new study unpacks pandemic phenomenon” By Erin Blakemore
  • https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/09/05/covid-mental-health-time-distortion

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.

Find episode transcripts: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/reverse-aging-cooperation-increase-time-covid

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We discuss how digital media affects parents and caregivers, how friends often have similar body odor, and the cancer-sniffing abilities of locusts. 

Parents & Screens 

• “Using digital media to relax is related to lower-quality parenting” by Media Relations, University of Waterloo
  • https://uwaterloo.ca/news/media/using-digital-media-relax-related-lower-quality-parenting
• “Parents attached to digital devices more likely to yell at their kids, are less ‘present’ in their lives” By Chris Melore
  • https://studyfinds.org/digital-media-lousy-parents/

BFFs Smell the Same

• “Scent of a friend: Similarities in body odor may contribute to social bonding” by Noah Sobel
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/06/220627125010.htm

Locusts Find Cancer 

• “Locusts can 'sniff' out human cancer” by Matt Davenport
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220805154405.htm
• “Locusts Can Smell Cancer, And It Could Give Us A Brilliant New Way to Save Lives” by David Nield
  • https://www.sciencealert.com/locusts-are-actually-great-at-sniffing-out-cancer-scientists-find

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/parents-screens-bffs-smell-the-same-locusts-find-cancer

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We delve into which foods that research shows will become more popular as we adjust to climate change, the discovery of a new planet covered in water, and the effects of Arctic storms on ice levels. 

Food for Climate Change 

• “These six foods may become more popular as the planet warms” by Anna Gibbs
  • https://www.sciencenews.org/article/food-climate-future-nutrition-millet-seaweed-cassava-mussels
• “What Is Cassava? Health Benefits and How to Prepare It” by Healthline
  • https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/cassava

New Water Planet 

• “An extrasolar world covered in water?” By University of Montreal
  • https://phys.org/news/2022-08-extrasolar-world.html
• “Newly discovered exoplanet may be a ‘Super Earth’ covered in water” by Laura Baisas
  • popsci.com/science/extrasolar-planet-ocean-water-space/

Stormchasers

• “Arctic storm chasers brave giant cyclones to understand how they chew up sea ice” by Eric Hand
  • https://www.science.org/content/article/arctic-stormchasers-brave-giant-cyclones-understand-chew-sea-ice
• “Climate scientists chase Arctic storms” by Victoria Gill
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/science-environment-62490130

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/food-for-climate-change-new-water-planet-stormchasers

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We discuss how VR is as effective as psychedelics at helping people reach transcendence, whether Stonehenge may have been an ancient calendar, and how COVID-19 has affected women in late pregnancy. 

VR & Transcendence 

• “VR is as good as psychedelics at helping people reach transcendence” by Hana Kiros
  • https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/08/06/1056727/vr-virtual-reality-psychedelics-transcendence/
• “VR Experience Simulates The Feeling Of LSD & Mushrooms” by Kyle Melnick
  • https://vrscout.com/news/vr-experience-simulates-the-feeling-of-lsd-mushrooms/#

Stonehenge Calendar 

• “Stonehenge May Have Been an Ancient Solar Calender” by Tom Metcalfe
  • https://www.nbcnews.com/science/weird-science/stonehenge-may-ancient-solar-calendar-study-finds-rcna18020
• “​​Stonehenge may be an ancient solar calendar” by Sara Novak
  • https://astronomy.com/news/2022/07/stonehenge-may-be-an-ancient-solar-calendar

Pregnant With Covid

• “Higher rates of preterm birth in women infected with COVID-19 in late pregnancy” by Noga Fallach, Yaakov Segal, Jeny Agassy, Galit Perez, Asaf Peretz, Gabriel Chodick, Sivan Gazit, Tal Patalon, Amir Ben Tov, Inbal Goldshtein.
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220720150610.htm
• “Pregnancy outcomes after SARS-CoV-2 infection by trimester: A large, population-based cohort study” by Noga Fallach, Yaakov Segal,Jeny Agassy,Galit Perez,Asaf Peretz,Gabriel Chodick,Sivan Gazit,Tal Patalon,Amir Ben Tov,Inbal Goldshtein
  • https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.027089

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/vr-transcendence-stonehenge-calendar-pregnant-with-covid

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Let’s talk about how dating apps stress us out, the discovery of a massive ancient frog grave, and how gene therapy can potentially cure colorblindness. 

Dating App Data

• “The agony of partner choice: The effect of excessive partner availability on fear of being single, self-esteem, and partner choice overload” by Marina F. Thomas, Alice Binder, and Jörg Matthes.
• https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0747563221003009
• “Science of Dating: How Many Times Should You Swipe on a Dating App?” by Ellen Nguyen.

https://medium.com/tinglymind/science-of-dating-how-many-times-should-you-swipe-on-a-dating-app-acb28e6e709a

Mass Frog Grave

“Ancient frogs in mass grave died from too much sex – new research” by Daniel Falk

• https://theconversation.com/ancient-frogs-in-mass-grave-died-from-too-much-sex-new-research-188562
• “How Frogs Benefited From The Dinosaurs' Extinction” by Merrit Kennedy
  • https://www.npr.org/sections/thetwo-way/2017/07/03/535383841/how-frogs-benefited-from-the-dinosaurs-extinction?t=1661975212547
• “The skeletal taphonomy of anurans from the Eocene Geiseltal Konservat-Lagerstätte, Germany: insights into the controls on fossil anuran preservation” by Daniel Falk, Oliver Wings, and Maria E. McNamara
  • https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/spp2.1453

Cure for Colorblind

• “Gene therapy partly restores cone function in two completely colorblind children” by Science Daily
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220824102951.htm
• “A demonstration of cone function plasticity after gene therapy in achromatopsia” by Mahtab Farahbakhsh, Elaine J Anderson, Roni O Maimon-Mor, Andy Rider, John A Greenwood, Nashila Hirji, Serena Zaman, Pete R Jones, D Samuel Schwarzkopf, Geraint Rees, Michel Michaelides, and Tessa M Dekker
  • https://academic.oup.com/brain/advance-article/doi/10.1093/brain/awac226/6673168?login=false

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.

Find episode transcripts here: 

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Our stories today discuss how bee venom can potentially help fight cancer, the history of manatees, and recent discoveries in how monkeys use tools. 

Bee Venom Kills Cancer

• “Honeybee venom kills aggressive breast cancer cells: Australian study” by Rachel Arthur
  • https://www.biopharma-reporter.com/Article/2020/09/07/Honeybee-venom-kills-aggressive-breast-cancer-cells-study
• “Honeybee venom 'kills some breast cancer cells'” by BBC
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/world-australia-53994058
• “Honeybee venom kills aggressive breast cancer cells” by James Kingsland
  • https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/honeybee-venom-kills-aggressive-breast-cancer-cells#Blocking-messages

Giant Manatees

• “New research tracks the history of manatees across Earth's oceans” by Karl Bates
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220825120334.htm
• “History of Manatees Across World’s Oceans Tracked by New Research” by Cristen Hemingway Jaynes
  • https://www.ecowatch.com/manatee-history-science.html

Monkey Masturbation

• “Some Monkeys Use Stone Tools for Pleasure, Study Suggests” by Emily Anthes
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/26/science/monkeys-sex-toys-masturbation.html
• “Monkeys in Indonesia use rocks as 'sex toys'” by Patrick Pester
  • https://www.livescience.com/monkey-stone-sex-toy-hypothesis

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/bee-venom-kills-cancer-giant-manatees-monkey-masturbation

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We explore how online learning affects the body, how mood affects alcohol cravings in both men and women, and how dogs have evolved to manipulate us! 

Online Learning

• “Online teaching triggers a different response in the body” by Meike Drießen
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220817104031.htm
• “Neuroanatomy, Parasympathetic Nervous System” by Jacob Tindle & Prasanna Tadi.
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK553141/#:~:text=The%20parasympathetic%20nervous%20system%20predominates,digestion%20and%20urination.%5B1%5D

Alcohol Cravings

• “Mood Influences Alcohol Craving Differently in Men and Women” by Neuroscience News
  • https://neurosciencenews.com/mood-alcohol-cravings-21321/
• “Liking, Wanting and the Incentive-Sensitization Theory of Addiction” by Kent C. Berridge and Terry E Robinson
  • https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5171207/#:~:text=The%20incentive%2Dsensitization%20theory%20posits,an%20amplification%20of%20'liking'.
• “Mood Shifts Have Opposite Impact on Alcohol Cravings in Men and Women” by Leah Kuntz
  • https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/view/mood-shifts-have-opposite-impact-on-alcohol-cravings-in-men-and-women

Manipulative Dogs

• “Our Dogs Do Manipulate Us, According to Science” by Ulrike Lemmin-Woolfrey
  • https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/our-dogs-do-manipulate-us-according-to-science
• “Dog Faces Are Faster than Wolf Faces” by Anne Burrows & Kailey Omstead.
  • https://www.eventscribe.net/2022/EB2022/fsPopup.asp?PresentationID=1027886&query=burrows&mode=presinfo

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/online-learning-alcohol-cravings-manipulative-dogs

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Today we discuss how recycling used personal protective equipment can make stronger concrete, a rise in ADHD symptoms among male weightlifters who take steroids, and the battle of the sexes among male and female butterflies!

PPE Concrete

• “PPE can be recycled to make stronger concrete” by Gosia Kaszubska and Will Wright
  • https://www.rmit.edu.au/news/all-news/2022/august/ppe-concrete
• “Recycled PPE could strengthen concrete” by The Engineer
  • https://www.theengineer.co.uk/content/news/recycled-ppe-could-strengthen-concrete

Steroid Use and ADHD 

• “ADHD symptoms and use of anabolic androgenic steroids among male weightlifters” by Emilie Kildal, Bjørnar Hassel & Astrid Bjørnebekk
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-022-12977-w#:~:text=AAS%20use%20among%20weightlifters%20is,drug%20prevention%20strategies%20in%20sports.
• “ADHD symptoms are more prevalent in male weightlifters who use steroids, study finds” by Patricia Y. Sanchez
  • https://www.psypost.org/2022/08/adhd-symptoms-are-more-prevalent-in-male-weightlifters-who-use-steroids-study-finds-63795

Butterfly Chastity

• “In butterfly battle of sexes, males deploy ‘chastity belts’ but females fight back” by Halle Marchese and Natalie van Hoose
  • https://www.floridamuseum.ufl.edu/science/male-butterflies-deploy-chastity-belts/
• “Is Sexual Conflict a Driver of Speciation? A Case Study With a Tribe of Brush-footed Butterflies” by Ana Paula S Carvalho, Ryan A St Laurent, Emmanuel F A Toussaint, Caroline Storer, Kelly M Dexter, Kwaku Aduse-Poku, and Akito Y Kawahara
  • https://academic.oup.com/sysbio/article/70/3/413/5901062?login=false
• “Ruff Sex: A Chastity Belt for Dogs” by Buck Wolf
  • https://web.archive.org/web/20110410200915/http://www.aolnews.com/2010/02/08/ruff-sex-a-chastity-belt-for-dogs/

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/ppe-concrete-steroid-use-and-adhd-butterfly-chastity

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Today we learn about how doppelgangers can share similar DNA, a recent discovery of a lost lineage in Indonesia, and recent advancements in finding out what causes Alzheimer’s. 

DNA & Lookalikes

• “People with similar faces likely have similar DNA, study finds” by Cell Press
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/08/220823115609.htm
• “Your Doppelgänger Is Out There and You Probably Share DNA With Them” by Kate Golembiewski
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2022/08/23/science/doppelgangers-twins-dna.html

Extinct Lineage Found

• “Ancient remains found in Indonesia belong to a vanished human lineage” by Laura Geggel
  • https://www.livescience.com/mysterious-ancient-human-lineage-indonesia.html
• “Genome of a middle Holocene hunter-gatherer from Wallacea” by Selina Carlhoff, Akin Duli, Kathrin Nägele, Muhammad Nur, Laurits Skov, Iwan Sumantri, Adhi Agus Oktaviana, Budianto Hakim, Basran Burhan, Fardi Ali Syahdar, David P. McGahan, David Bulbeck, Yinika L. Perston, Kim Newman, Andi Muhammad Saiful, Marlon Ririmasse, Stephen Chia, Hasanuddin, Dwia Aries Tina Pulubuhu, Suryatman, Supriadi, Choongwon Jeong, Benjamin M. Peter, Kay Prüfer, Adam Powell, Johannes Krause, Cosimo Posth & Adam Brumm.
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-021-03823-6?utm_medium=affiliate&utm_source=commission_junction&utm_campaign=CONR_PF018_ECOM_GL_PHSS_ALWYS_DEEPLINK&utm_content=textlink&utm_term=PID100052172&CJEVENT=0aa54713288c11ed800d2e440a1c0e0d

Alzheimer’s Viruses

• “Common viruses may be triggering the onset of Alzheimer's disease” by Mike Silver
  • https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2022/07/220729173148.htm

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/dna-lookalikes-extinct-lineage-found-alzheimers-viruses

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A Swedish company has created a new anti-hangover pill that reduces the short-term effects of drinking, whale poop is helping our ocean’s ecosystems, and a recent drought in Texas revealed the footprints from a dinosaur over 100 million years ago. 

Anti-Hangover Pill

• “Myrkl: new anti-hangover pill said to break down up to 70% of alcohol in an hour – what you need to know“ by Ashwin Dhanda
  • https://theconversation.com/myrkl-new-anti-hangover-pill-said-to-break-down-up-to-70-of-alcohol-in-an-hour-what-you-need-to-know-186357
• “'Anti-Hangover' Pill Myrkl Now Available in the UK: Does It Work?” by Taylor Leamey
• https://www.cnet.com/health/nutrition/anti-hangover-pill-myrkl-now-available-in-the-uk-does-it-work/

Perks of Whale Poop

• “Why you should care about whale poo” by Dr. Asha de Vos
  • https://www.ted.com/talks/asha_de_vos_why_you_should_care_about_whale_poo?language=en
• “ALUMNI STORIES: 'A PILE OF WHALE POOP INSPIRED ME TO WORK IN CONSERVATION’” by Tabitha Whiting
  • https://www.alumni.ox.ac.uk/quad/article/alumni-stories-whale-poop-inspired-me

Found Dino Tracks 

• “Watch How Texas Man Found Huge Dinosaur Tracks in Riverbed Dried From Drought” by Andy Corbley
  • https://www.goodnewsnetwork.org/watch-how-texas-man-found-huge-dinosaur-tracks-in-riverbed-dried-from-drought/
• “Dinosaur tracks revealed in Texas as severe drought dries up river” by Gloria Oladipo
  • https://www.theguardian.com/science/2022/aug/24/dinosaur-tracks-footprints-texas-drought-river

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.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/anti-hangover-pill-perks-of-whale-poop-found-dino-tracks

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