Paper Boys

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Nearly everyone has heard the advice “walk 10,000 steps per day to be healthy!” As fitness trackers like FitBit have grown in popularity, many people use the 10,000-step benchmark as their goal for daily fitness. But where did this goal come from? And are there actually measurable health benefits if you walk 10,000 steps per day or more? Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that seeks to quantify the benefits of your daily step tally.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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News channels have been buzzing with the new press releases from Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink. The company hopes to develop new devices that could change the way humans interact with technology by interfacing directly to the brain. Join us this week as James dives into a publicly-available paper published by Neuralink to learn more about the technology that has lit up popular science news.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Stonehenge has puzzled people for centuries. What was the purpose of such a massive rock formation? And how were people able to move such large boulders from quarries 50-150 km away? As scientists and archaeologists have learned more though, a new mystery has appeared: why is there such a high concentration of pig fat on pottery found in the area? Join us this week as Charlie explores a new paper looking at how pig fat may have facilitated the construction of this famous, mysterious site.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Recent research has sparked popular news headlines about the brain “seeing what’s around the corner.” Can your brain actually look around corners? Well, not quite...however, fascinating research from the University of Glasgow has shown that the parts of your brain responsible for vision actually try to predict what you’ll see next--even faster than the time it takes to move your eyes side to side! Join us this week as James breaks down this fascinating neuroscience paper. (Big shout out to Dennis Bontempi for the paper recommendation!)

Find the paper, news, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Bonus episodes and eternal love from James and Charlie at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod.

In the early 20th century, Einstein, Hubble, and other scientists confirmed the universe was expanding. With the exception of a few nearby galaxies, nearly all galaxies are moving away from us. Scientists have long been tempted by the challenging problem that arises from trying to measure how fast these galaxies are moving away, resulting in some fascinating findings. It turns out that by measuring the gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars, we might just find a better answer! Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that improves humanity’s (and the Paper Boys’) understanding of our ever-expanding universe.

Check out the CRAZY paper, old journal papers, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.

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Researchers have long been puzzled about how human language evolved. Humans’ ability to create complex, flexible, spoken language stands out in the animal kingdom, but little is known about how language developed, and particularly, how animals evolved to repeatedly create novel recognizable sounds (“formant modification” as it’s called in the study). Could any other animals learn to manipulate sounds in a similar matter and associate these sounds with meaning? Join us this week as Charlie brings in a fascinating paper (and several adorable videos) about new research seeking to understand if seals could learn to create human-like sounds.

Watch the seal singing videos, read the paper, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Check out our bonus episodes at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!

In the 1980s, neuroscientists put forth the Critical Brain Hypothesis, which suggests our brain operates on a teetering edge between different "phases" of operation. These phase changes characterize the way we think and the way our brain functions. However, our brains have to sit right near the critical point that lies between these phases - just like the thin line between water and ice, for example. Obviously, this hypothesis has been incredibly difficult to prove true - but a new experiment takes us the furthest we've ever been in understanding this dynamic. James dives into the paper to find out what your brain may have in common with avalanches.

Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Support the show at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod.

Humans love to test their limits. Some people run marathons, race triathlons, or climb the world’s highest peaks. All of these endeavors are challenging, but can we quantitatively compare how each undertaking pushes the human body? Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that seeks to determine a ‘hard limit’ on human energy expenditure, both in relatively short duration tasks like running a marathon as well as long duration tasks like running 6 marathons a week for 20 weeks or even being pregnant!

Check out the awesome plot showing the human endurance limit, the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.