SciShow Tangents

A new year means New Year’s resolutions! Lots of people are probably getting their fitness on, whether it’s by joining a gym or putting on yoga YouTube videos. So this week, we’re stretching our muscles to explore the science of exercise!

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

Myostatin-related muscle hypertrophy:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK1498/

Increased blood volume:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17630597/

New brain cells:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-11/nwsu-eib111217.php

[Fact Off]

Thinking about muscles: 

https://www.physiology.org/doi/full/10.1152/jn.00386.2014

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/how-to-grow-stronger-without-lifting-weights/

Animals on wheels: 

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/281/1786/20140210.full

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4760155/

https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/09/14/409409.full.pdf

[Ask the Science Couch]

Flexibility:

http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_2.html

http://web.mit.edu/tkd/stretch/stretching_3.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3273886/

[Butt One More Thing]

Space underwear: 

https://www.reuters.com/article/us-space-underwear-idUSTRE52M6ER20090323

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This week, we’re joined by evolutionary biologist and science communicator Dr. Sally LePage to talk all about parasites! How did we deal with them before modern medicine? Are there any parasites bigger than their hosts? And is parasite-ception a thing!?

Sources:

[Fact Off]

Fruit fly fungus:

Frog flatworm:

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/phenomena/2013/02/13/a-flurry-of-frog-legs/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4330773/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00436-011-2451-z

https://www.nytimes.com/1996/10/13/us/many-reports-of-deformities-among-frogs-are-puzzling.html

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4636111/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Cuckoos: 

https://www.audubon.org/news/the-brilliant-ways-parasitic-birds-terrorize-their-victims

https://web.stanford.edu/group/stanfordbirds/text/essays/Brood_Parasitism.html

Plants:

http://ipm.ucanr.edu/PMG/PESTNOTES/pn7496.html

https://csfs.colostate.edu/forest-management/common-forest-insects-diseases/dwarf-mistletoe/

[Butt One More Thing] - pick the one that we end up using (probably Hank’s)

Tick anus:

https://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/717730_2

Poop bean sprout:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3192079/

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From website banners to scratch-and-sniff magazine spreads, you’ve probably been the target of thousands of ads. Like, you’re even going to hear one during this podcast—we gotta eat! At this point, you might feel like you’re immune to advertising, because there’s no way a ridiculous infomercial could make you want a reusable juice box. But the psychology behind advertising has always been powerful. So this week, we’re diving into the science of when ads work, when they don’t, and when they’ve led to some pretty serious problems like the opioid epidemic.

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797613502732

https://academic.oup.com/jcr/article-abstract/44/4/877/3829544?redirectedFrom=fulltext

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-03/uom-ita031116.php

[Fact Off]

Brand partnerships:

Opioid epidemic:

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-advertising-shaped-first-opioid-epidemic-180968444/

https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMp1508818

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5125194/

[Ask the Science Couch]

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2017-05/uoia-scs051817.php

http://www.nber.org/papers/w20171.pdf

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2014/06/a-dangerous-question-does-internet-advertising-work-at-all/372704/

https://www.theatlantic.com/business/archive/2011/08/why-good-advertising-works-even-when-you-think-it-doesnt/244252/

[Butt One More Thing]

https://thequackdoctor.com/index.php/dr-youngs-rectal-dilators/

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Eggs have tons of different sizes, textures, and protective shells, from giant ostrich eggs to squishy fish egg clusters. But, scientifically, they all boil down to the same thing: an egg is just a reproductive cell that can be fertilized by a sperm to make an embryo. This week, we’re cracking the science of eggs wide open!

[Truth or Fail]

Brown trouts:

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20150214-fake-orgasms-and-other-sex-lies

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0003347200915859?via%3Dihub

Octopuses:

https://www.mbari.org/deep-sea-octopus-broods-eggs-for-over-four-years-longer-than-any-known-animal/

https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0103437

Trilobites:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/01/170124124905.htm

https://pubs.geoscienceworld.org/gsa/geology/article-abstract/45/3/199/195237/pyritized-in-situ-trilobite-eggs-from-the?redirectedFrom=fulltext

[Fact Off]

Stick insect eggs:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2018-05/ku-tsi052318.php

https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2015/10/stick-insects-lure-ants-fatty-knobs

https://www.nytimes.com/2018/06/05/science/stick-insects-eggs-birds.html

Humsters: 

http://www.stillhq.com/pdfdb/000360/data.pdf

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/mrd.1120230307

https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4471-3310-0_5

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/1725451

[Ask the Science Couch]

Egg shape: 

https://galapagosconservation.org.uk/whale-shark-reproduction/

https://scripps.ucsd.edu/centers/cmbc/2018/05/15/hydrothermal-vents-incubators-for-deep-sea-skate-egg-cases/

https://books.google.com/books?id=zg1mDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT158&lpg=PT158

http://science.sciencemag.org/content/356/6344/1249

http://www.bbc.com/earth/story/20160304-one-animal-has-more-babies-than-any-other

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Have you ever wanted to lick the Moon and find out what that grey dust tastes like? If so, you’re in luck. This week, we’re sampling the science of taste, from the Apollo 16 mission reports to how the flavor compounds in amniotic fluid may affect babies’ food preferences. Apparently, it can get garlicky in there. But can non-human animals develop a sense of taste? And is “pine mouth” a real thing, or is it just what happens when Hank eats mysterious seeds he finds in the forest?

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What do the Hubble Space Telescope, the International Space Station, and the Moon have in common? They’re all satellites that orbit the Earth! This week, we’re going extraterrestrial to talk about the dreams, discoveries, and debacles that went into Mir and other weirdly cool human-made satellites. Plus, we dig into burning questions, like whether the Sun can be considered a satellite. And we’re big enough space nerds that we try to explain some celestial mechanics.

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

https://www.wired.com/2014/07/orange-juice-toothpaste/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3354153/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4684458/

http://wayback.archive-it.org/7993/20171114232622/https://www.fda.gov/Food/RecallsOutbreaksEmergencies/SafetyAlertsAdvisories/ucm247099.htm

[Fact Off]

Moon dust: 

https://science.nasa.gov/science-news/science-at-nasa/2006/30jan_smellofmoondust

Bees and Pesticides:

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/08/180828204911.htm

http://rspb.royalsocietypublishing.org/content/285/1885/20180655

https://www.imperial.ac.uk/news/187907/the-more-pesticides-bees-more-they/

[Ask the Science Couch]

Developing taste: 

https://www.npr.org/2011/08/08/139033757/babys-palate-and-food-memories-shaped-before-birth

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/7583013

http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/107/6/e88.full

[Butt One More Thing]

Sea cucumber eating:

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2013/03/14/giant-sea-cucumber-eats-with-its-anus/

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With American Thanksgiving around the corner, turkey is on everyone’s mind! So this week, we’re taking a closer look at flightless birds of all shapes and sizes! What prevents some birds from using their wings to fly? Did Australians really start a war against emus? Plus, we’ll answer your burning questions about the sex lives of many, many different kinds of birds! Wow!

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

Inaccessible Island rail:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1055790318301763?via%3Dihub

https://gizmodo.com/how-a-tiny-flightless-bird-ended-up-on-an-island-in-the-1830188012

Ostrich egg globes:

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/08/130821-ostrich-globe-map-discovery-science-nation/

Emu War:

https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/running-ponies/the-great-emu-war-in-which-some-large-flightless-birds-unwittingly-foiled-the-australian-army/  

[Fact Off]

Crested penguins:

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-02/s-ppi021016.php

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00265-016-2060-z

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2016-06/uod-ppc062816.php

https://www.nature.com/articles/srep28785

Ratite reproduction:

https://zslpublications.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1469-7998.2011.00858.x

http://mentalfloss.com/article/80394/10-facts-about-cassowaries

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/discoblog/2011/12/08/finally-the-ostrich-penis-provides-the-answer-to-a-long-standing-question/#.W6FsOZNKhxw

https://www.merckvetmanual.com/exotic-and-laboratory-animals/ratites/reproduction-of-ratites

[Ask the Science Couch]

Kākāpō:

https://blog.nationalgeographic.org/2018/03/22/happy-hatchday-21-years-of-conservation-success-for-the-kakapo/

https://phys.org/news/2015-11-rimu-berry-game-changer-kakapo.html

https://evolution.berkeley.edu/evolibrary/news/060401_kakapo

[Butt One More Thing]

Ostrich urine & feces:

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1095643303000060

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We’re delving into the complicated world of scientific hoaxes. Some are just goofs that went a little too far, but others have had serious negative impacts on public health.

Welcome, traveler, to the first episode! This is Sam from December of 2020. I can't believe, more two years later, we're still playing this goofy game! 

If you're starting here, you have a long and grand adventure ahead of you. It only gets way better from here!

If you're working your way backwards... well, you did it! Hopefully a new episode will be coming out soon, otherwise what will you listen to while you do your chores??

Sources:

[Truth or Fail]

Cello Scrotum:

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1610985/

https://www.bmj.com/content/338/bmj.b379

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/7853564.stm

Surfer’s Ear:

http://ent.uci.edu/more-at-uc-irvine/conditions/surfers-ears.asp

Jeep Butt: 

https://publichealth.gwu.edu/departments/healthpolicy/CHPR/downloads/mil_prep042605.pdf

http://www.academia.edu/19875506/Pilonidal_sinus_Jeeps_disease_An_improved_model_of_care

[Fact Off]

Mary Toft:

http://special.lib.gla.ac.uk/exhibns/month/aug2009.html

https://academic.oup.com/past/article/238/1/43/4822513

Parapsychology:

http://www.tricksterbook.com/truzzi/ZS-Issues-PDFs/ZeteticScholarNos12-13.pdf

http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.617.9791&rep=rep1&type=pdf

https://www.csicop.org/uploads/files/martin-gardner-pdfs/landmark-pk-hoax.pdf

https://web.archive.org/web/20060503224225/http://www.banachek.org/nonflash/project_alpha.htm

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z1S5CRcqJQo

[Ask the Science Couch]

Andrew Wakefield:

https://www.bmj.com/content/342/bmj.c5347

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2323045/

https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/vpd/mmr/public/index.html

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2010/jan/28/andrew-wakefield-mmr-vaccine

[Butt One More Thing]

Fake coprolite: 

https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2014/07/140729-dinosaur-coprolite-paleontology-dung-fossil-auction/

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Introducing the lightly competitive knowledge showcase from the geniuses behind the YouTube series SciShow. Every Tuesday, join Hank Green, Ceri Riley, Stefan Chin, and Sam Schultz as they try to one-up and amaze each other with weird and funny scientific research... while not getting distracted. There will be tangents about video games, music, weird smells, surprisingly deep insights about life, and of course, poop, but it always comes back to the science.

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