Curiosity Weekly

Why Is Life Based on Carbon and Not Silicon?


Listen Later

Learn about why life is based on carbon and not silicon, whether you should be using plastic or wood cutting boards, and how jealous feelings can help maintain friendships.

Why is life based on carbon and not silicon? by Cameron Duke

  • Cosmic Evolution - Future. (2020). Harvard.Edu. https://www.cfa.harvard.edu/~ejchaisson/cosmic_evolution/docs/fr_1/fr_1_future5.html
  • Could silicon be the basis for alien life forms, just as carbon is on Earth? (1998, February 23). Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-silicon-be-the-basi/
  • Petkowski, J. J., Bains, W., & Seager, S. (2020). On the Potential of Silicon as a Building Block for Life. Life, 10(6), 84. https://doi.org/10.3390/life10060084

Should you be using plastic or wood cutting boards? by Joanie Faletto

  • Original episode: https://www.curiositydaily.com/plastic-vs-wood-cutting-boards-what-water-tastes-l/

Jealous feelings can help maintain friendships by Kelsey Duke

  • Jealous feelings can act as a tool to strengthen friendships. (2020). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/08/200811153911.htm
  • Krems, J. A., Williams, K. E. G., Aktipis, A., & Kenrick, D. T. (2020). Friendship jealousy: One tool for maintaining friendships in the face of third-party threats? Journal of Personality and Social Psychology. Advance online publication. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspi0000311

Episode referenced in recap:

  • https://www.curiositydaily.com/why-we-search-for-aliens-seth-shostak-seti-motivat/

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Ashley Hamer and Natalia Reagan (filling in for Cody Gough). You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY

 

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-is-life-based-on-carbon-and-not-silicon

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

...more
View all episodesView all episodes
Download on the App Store

Curiosity WeeklyBy Discovery

  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6
  • 4.6

4.6

915 ratings


More shows like Curiosity Weekly

View all
TED Radio Hour by NPR

TED Radio Hour

22,020 Listeners

Radiolab by WNYC Studios

Radiolab

44,007 Listeners

Freakonomics Radio by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

Freakonomics Radio

32,275 Listeners

Hidden Brain by Hidden Brain, Shankar Vedantam

Hidden Brain

43,735 Listeners

BrainStuff by iHeartPodcasts

BrainStuff

1,649 Listeners

Big Picture Science by Big Picture Science

Big Picture Science

941 Listeners

Science Vs by Spotify Studios

Science Vs

12,081 Listeners

Discovery by BBC World Service

Discovery

975 Listeners

Science Friday by Science Friday and WNYC Studios

Science Friday

6,439 Listeners

Something You Should Know by Mike Carruthers | OmniCast Media

Something You Should Know

4,213 Listeners

Life Kit by NPR

Life Kit

4,850 Listeners

Short Wave by NPR

Short Wave

6,571 Listeners

People I (Mostly) Admire by Freakonomics Radio + Stitcher

People I (Mostly) Admire

2,066 Listeners

Unexplainable by Vox

Unexplainable

2,311 Listeners

The Economics of Everyday Things by Freakonomics Network & Zachary Crockett

The Economics of Everyday Things

1,685 Listeners