Learn about pre-performance routines; how panda fur works as camouflage; and how babies are enriched from sign language.

A pre-performance routine makes athletes like Michael Jordan and Rafael Nadal perform better, regardless of what it is by Steffie Drucker

• Athletes with a pre-performance routine perform better. (2021, November 11). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934597
• The effectiveness of pre-performance routines in sports: a meta-analysis. (2021). International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1944271
• Grace Lisa Scott. (2017, July 10). Rafael Nadal’s Rituals Have a Psychological Benefit. Inverse; Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/article/33718-rafael-nadal-and-the-psychology-of-sports-rituals
• Khanna, V. (2020, March). Rafael Nadal’s Rituals: The Mechanism Behind the Rhythm. EssentiallySports. https://www.essentiallysports.com/rafael-nadals-rituals-the-mechanism-behind-the-rhythm-atp-tennis-news/
• Sommer, S. (2013, December 30). 10 Athletes’ Odd Pregame Rituals. Business Insider; Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/athletes-odd-pregame-rituals-2013-12

Believe it or not, a panda's distinctive markings work as camouflage by Cameron Duke

• Giant pandas’ distinctive black and white markings provide effective camouflage, study finds. (2021, October 28). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932725
• Nokelainen, O., Scott-Samuel, N. E., Nie, Y., Wei, F., & Caro, T. (2021). The giant panda is cryptic. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00742-4

For babies, sign language is just as cognitively enriching as spoken language by Steffie Drucker

• To baby brains, language is language, whether signed or spoken. (2021, October 26). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932704
• Goodwin, C., Carrigan, E., Walker, K., & Coppola, M. (2021). Language not auditory experience is related to parent‐reported executive functioning in preschool‐aged deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13677
• American Sign Language. (2021, October 29). NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language#1

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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/pre-performance-routines-panda-camouflage-baby-sign-language

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