What can a video game teach us about pandemics? What are the different things a sneeze can smell like? And what makes game jams so magical?

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We also learn about: Hakkar the Soulflayer, npc asymptomatic carriers, just reset the world and change the code!, a disease model with real people, death isn’t temporary, show us the patch notes, self protection fatigue, pandemics are complicated, “look for the helpers, you will always find people who are helping”, only humans can simulate humans, “I sneeze so much”, what scents can sneezes have? smells are weird, phantosmia, Ella channeling Tom’s bad jokes, “all the tubes are connected”, piss breath, “how are we functioning?”, Tom made indie games, the first game jam email, 100,000 Guys, the Ludum Dare, “There’s too many days” “Counter Clockwise”, Hungry Knight!, Tom’s first dream game, thesis jam, Pierrec’s french review of Tom’s game.            

Sources:                

Lancet Corrupted Blood Paper

Epidemiology Corrupted Blood Paper

Wired Corrupted Blood Article

PCGamer Corrupted Blood Article

Chen 2013 Epidemic Game

Charlotte Eye, Ear, Note and Throat Associates on Smelly Sneezes

Why does my sneeze smell bad?

Acetone Breath

Bacterid Producing Sweet Smells

Losing Your Smell

Phantosmia

Ammonia Breath

Correlation of Ammonia Breath during Hemodialysis

History of Game Jams

The First Game Jam Email

Pierrec's Revied of Tom's First Game

What are the benefits of reintroducing a species after 400 years? Why do we make rats solve mazes, and can slime molds solve mazes? What is ASMR, and how did it become such a thing?           

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We also learn about: Beavery introductions, vanilla flavor usually isn’t castorium, beavers support everyone in the wetlands, Tom’s gonna make a joke, The Scottish Beaver Trial, impatient beavers, international legal beaver issues, failed reintroductions are beautiful, auto sound mmm rad, autonomus sensory meridian response, her royal majesty’s asmr, and Ella’s favorite ASMR videos. 

Sources:                

Beavers and Castoreum               

RSPB on Beaver Reintroductions               

Scottish Wildlife Trust Report on Beavers in Knapdale               

Scottish Wild Land Group on the Tay Beavers               

Legal Battle over Beavers               

Oranguta Reintroductions               

Short-haired Bumblebee Reintroductions               

Berger-Tal on Openness about Failed Reintroductions               

Conservation Translocations: a Review of Common Difficulties and Promising Directions               

Willard Small's First Rat Maze Study               

Slime Mold Maze Study               

Maze Solving Using Fatty Acid Chemistry               

Tolman's Better Mazes               

Dashiell Maze Criticism               

Morris Water Maze               

Advanced Morris Water Maze Study               

Wire Interview with Mycologist Anne Pringle               

Crinkle Crinkle Little Shirt               

History of ASMR               

The First Dedicated Whispering Channel               

BBC Interview with Whispers Red               

Cardi B ASMR               

ASMR to Help you Sleep Beating you Until your Unconscious               

1300s AD ASMR - Nun Takes Care of You in Bed (You Have the Plague)

To start the new year we learn about the science and history of recording sound, consider whether people with Prosopagnosia experience Pareidolia, and relive what it was like for Caroline to meet the one and only Sir David Attenborough.

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We also learn about: The Phonoautograph, unplayable recordings, “drop the auto, just, Phonograph”, did you write that joke down tom, debunking Edison’s first recording, someone pretending to be a pigeon, Before or After Recorded Audio? Why did it take us so long to record audio? analog vs digital, Janet’s episode, turning pictures into audio, can you believe Janet’s new pennyfarthing? Do people with Farragolia experience glossolalia, cars do have faces, “you just turned into somebdy else”, the answer is ¯\_(ツ)_/¯, aphantasia, throwaway sentences in studies, get high and get deep, and the Caroline Roper Studio for TikToks of Science.            

Sources:                

The Phonoautograph

Debunking Edison's Fist Recording

The Recoording That Never Wanted to be Heard

Early Sound Recordings

Alexander Graham Bell's Ear Phonoautograph

The Dawn of Digital Recording

The Earliest Recording

Prosopagnosia

Fusiforum Face Area

The Case of Ron Blackwell

The Neurons That Mistook a Hat for a Face

Prosopagnosia and Functional Fusiform Face Area

Fusiform Face Area And Pareidolia Linked

Pareidolia Question on r/Prosopagnosia

How Mental Imagery and Pareidolia are Linked

Today we learn about the most interesting topic of all: each other! How did we get into our science fields, and how did we meet? What's our favorite science fact to tell at parties? What advice do we have for aspiring creators?           

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We also learn about: our science origin stories, Tom used to be a theatre kid, Tom’s first podcast, our first TikToks, we’re on a first name basis with Hank, how we met, that time we all freaky friday’d, Ella DESPISED Tom, really long fly sperm, clinical fun fact trials, the immortal jellyfish, hermissenda, moths, Interstellar, The Martian, Demon Slayer, Edge of Tomorrow, advice on getting started on TikTok, Bill Nye could never, The Mower, MMM Honey! and nightmares.

Videos we Mention:                

Caroline’s First Science TikTok               

Tom's First TikTok               

Ella's First Big TikTok               

Caroline's Bloodwood Tree Video               

Ella's Science Speedrun Video               

Tom's RGB Video               

Hank & John's Video about Having Each Other

On a surprisingly deep holiday episode, we ask, what is a genetic chimera, could it save lives, and is it moral? What are Judas Goats, and what are the challenges faced in conservation? And most importantly, what were the first toys in history and what were our favorite toys?

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We also learn about: Why are mythological chimeras all ladies? a Tom/Joe chimera, “It was very dissapointing”, “I expect better evidence”, a Judas Kiss, goats are weird, helicopter tattoos, ring-necked parakeets, relocating hedgehogs, would you download a goat? Helping other human beings, what a concept! Tom’s yo-yo tricks, children existed! the earliest toys, Ella’s duel disk, tamagotchis, and the future of toys.

Sources:                

Chimeras in Mythology

Human Chimeras That Already Exist

Interspecies Organogenesis Generates Autologous Functional Islet

Interspecies Chimerism with Mammalian Pluripotent Stem Cells

Human–animal chimeras: ethical issues about farming chimeric animals bearing human organs

Feral Goat Eradications on Galapagos

Galapagos Goat Eradication

Galapagos Project Isabella

Galapagos Judas Goats

Vegetation and Animal Recovery on Galapagos

Galapagos Invasive Species

Is it Ritual? or is it Children?

Split Twig Observations and Carbon Dating

Ancient Hedgehog Cart (via @trashbandikoot on tiktok)

Business Insider Toy List

When was the first pregnancy test? If we know the biggest and smallest sizes in the universe, what is the middlest size? What's the deal with fanfiction?

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We also learn about: Comedy!, piss prophets, we should know better that science is weird, “Looks like the frog’s ovulating!”, we are in the middle of history, what even is an object, the centi-sand, don't fudge significant figures, Dante’s Self Insert RPF, we get carried away playing the fanfiction pairing game.

Sources:                

Pee is for pregnant: The history and science of urine-based pregnancy tests

Ancient Egyptian Pregnancy Tests

Effects of Hormones on Barley Leaves

Human Chorionic Gonadotropin (HCG)

The Long Gestation of the Modern Home Pregnancy Test

Kevin Kelly NYTimes Review

Solar System Ratio Calculation

Middlest Size Calculation

Fanfiction.net

AO3

What are the uses of randomness, and how do we even get it? What happens to your body when you don't sleep? And is Stardew Valley secretly... a horror game?

 Links we Discuss: 

Infinite Monkey Theorem Results

The Hollow Mask Illusion

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We also learn about: Ella making random noises, chiptune drums, dice fanfiction, the infinite monkey grant, gggggggggggggg, everyone guesses 7 and picks Rock, a very funny joke for our particle physicist listeners, a million random digits, minecraft seeds, the Russian sleep experiment creepypasta, sleep themed band names, the optimal nap, do the dip kids! Maureen the rocking chair champion, um actually it’s called Apophenia, tetris fanfiction, and ludo narrative disonance.

Sources:                

Humans Cannot Consciously Generate Random Number Sequences               

The Predominance Of Seven And The Apparent Spontaneity Of Numerical Choices               

Hannah Fry on Rock Paper Scissors               

Winning at Rock Paper Scissors               

Rock Paper Scissors Strategy               

Hot Hand Fallacy and Gambler's Fallacy               

How the Mind Works               

Galton Discussing Dice for Statistical Experiments               

LHC Tippet and the Random Number Table               

A Million Random Digits               

Radiation is Random               

Modern Nuclear Chemistry               

Sleep Deprivation               

Sleep Stages               

Sleep Debt               

Obesity and Sleep Deprivation               

Part 2               

Cardiovascular Health and Sleep Deprivation               

Microsleep               

Hallucinations               

Rat Sleep Deprivation Study               

Fatal Familial Insomnia               

Fatal Familial Insomnia Stories

How do mind controlling (or rather, behavior controlling) parasites work? Are elephants right or left handed? And what is so great about Naruto Bohemian Rhapsody AMVs?           

Read Tom's essay on Tor.com!           

Get tickets to Ella's science comedy show!           

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We also learn about: being cancelled by ants, Ella tries to pronounce latin names, bugs losing their butts, the parasite of the day, thanks for the parasites Charlie! Phylogenetic Inirtia, I DON’T OWN QUEEN OR NARUTO I DONT OWN ANYTHING, and Torchwood X Florence & The Machine fanvids!

Sources:

Mind Control: How Parasites Manipulate Cognitive Functions in Their Insect Hosts               

Ophiocordyceps unilateralis               

How a parasitic fungus turns ants into zombies               

A specialized fungal parasite

This Parasite Drugs Its Hosts With the Psychedelic Chemical in Shrooms

Parasites brainwash grasshoppers into death dive

How does rabies cause aggression?

Rabies virus modifies host behaviour through a snake-toxin

Parasite makes mice lose fear of cats permanently

Brain parasite may strip away rodents' fear of predators, not just of cats

Parasites - Toxoplasmosis

Right or Left: Elephant calves pick their trunk handedness early on in life

On this SpoOoOoky Halloween episode we learn about a slew of truly spooky frogs, investigate which animal has the most bones, and see how capitalism may have led to the rise of witch hunts!       

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We also learn about: fluorescence, dinosaur eating frogs (technically), CAN A SPIDER EAT A DINOSAUR??? (NOT CLICKBAIT), frog shazam, Ella learns to love the Freddy Krueger Frog, wishing you a happy bones day, evo-devo, deregionalization, how would antlers wear pants?, the origin of gossip, down with capitalism!

Sources:                

Horror frog breaks own bones to produce claws               

Frogs with Claws, Frogs with Hair               

Vampire Flying Frog               

New pumpkin toadlet species found               

How the Newly Discovered, Mud-Loving ‘Zombie’ Frog Got Its Name               

The Freddy Krueger Frog               

Freddy Krueger Frog Audio               

Freddy Krueger Frog Video

Devil Frog               

Vampire Squid               

Skeletal Structure, University of Idaho

Skeleton, Postcranial, Rommel & Reynolds

New Bedford Whaling Museum

Axial patterning in snakes and caecilians, Woltering et al.

Florida Museum

From Lizard to Snake; Behind the Evolution of an Extreme Body Plan, Woltering

Witches, Witch-Hunting and Women, Sylvia Federici

What does a time illusion look like? Why are bees electrically charged? Who is the real Shakespeare?           

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We also learn about: Yanney and Laurel, bad science magic tricks, Carly Rae Jepsen's seminal hit Call Me Maybe, Temporal Odor Mixtures, how many bees are in a bolt of lightning, The Flower Dome, fake flowers and fake bees, the flat moon theory, and the Voldemort Codex.

Sources:          

Dixon, N. F., & Spitz, L. (1980). The detection of auditory visual desynchrony. Perception, 9(6), 719–721. https://doi.org/10.1068/p090719           

Stratton, G. M. (1896). Some preliminary experiments on vision without inversion of the retinal image. Psychological Review, 3(6), 611–617. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0072918           

Stratton, G. M. (1896). Some preliminary experiments on vision without inversion of the retinal image. Psychological Review, 3(6), 611–617. https://doi.org/10.1037/h0072918           

Cunningham, D., Billock, V., & Tsou, B. (2001). Sensorimotor Adaptation to Violations of Temporal Contiguity. Psychological Science, 12, 532 - 535. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9280.d01-17

Alais, D., Carlile, S., (2005). Synchronizing to real events: Subjective audiovisual alignment scales with perceived auditory depth and speed of sound. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 102(6), 2244-2247. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.0407034102

Stetson, C., Cui, X., Montague P.R., Eagleman, D.M., (2006). Motor-Sensory Recalibration Leads to an Illusory Reversal of Action and Sensation. Neuron, 51(5), 651-659. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.neuron.2006.08.006.

Perl O, Nahum N, Belelovsky K, Haddad R. The contribution of temporal coding to odor coding and odor perception in humans. Elife. 2020;9:e49734. Published 2020 Feb 7. https://doi.org/10.7554%2FeLife.49734

Montgomery, C., Vuts, J., Woodcock, C.M. et al. Bumblebee electric charge stimulates floral volatile emissions in Petunia integrifolia but not in Antirrhinum majus. Sci Nat 108, 44 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00114-021-01740-2