Learn about why blinking communicates a lot more than you probably thought; why astronomers think Uranus is tipped over; and the story of "The Blood Countess," a female murderer who may have inspired Bram Stoker’s Dracula.

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In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Your Blinks Communicate More Than You Think — https://curiosity.im/2swQXeP
Astronomers May Have Discovered Why Uranus Is Tipped Over — https://curiosity.im/2sy9Fmk
The Female Murderer Known as "The Blood Countess" May Have Inspired "Dracula" — https://curiosity.im/2swQrgL

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Why Uranus Is Sideways, What Blinking Means, and “The Blood Countess”

The award-winning Curiosity Daily podcast from CuriosityDaily.com will help you get smarter about the world around you. In less than 10 minutes, you’ll get a unique mix of research-based life hacks, the latest science and technology news, and more. Nate Bonham and Calli Gade will help you learn about your mind and body, outer space and the depths of the sea, and how history shaped the world into what it is today.Head to discovery+ to stream even more science content, from Animal Planet to Science Channel. Go to discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial today. Terms Apply. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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Today, you’ll learn about a nasal spray that could one day let those with sleep apnea toss out their CPAP machines, house paint that kills mosquitos, and the incredible giant redwoods… of England.     Sleep Spray    “A novel TASK channel antagonist nasal spray reduces sleep apnea severity in physiological responders: a randomized, blinded, trial.” by Amal M. Osman, et al. 2024.  “Obstructive Sleep Apnea.” by Rob Newsom & Dr. Abhinav Singh. 2024.    Insecticide Paint   “Insecticide paint controls mosquito population up to 1 year, experiment shows.” by Stephanie Soucheray, MA. 2024.  “Mosquito-Borne Human Viral Diseases: Why Aedes aegypti?” by Jeffrey R. Powell. 2018.  “Insecticide paints: a new community strategy for controlling dengue and zika mosquito vectors in Cabo Verde.” by Lara Ferrero Gomez, et al. 2024.  “Special insecticide paint may help curb zika and dengue fever outbreaks.” EurekAlert! 2024.    UK Redwoods   “Hidden giants: how the UK’s 500,000 redwoods put California in the shade.” by James Tapper. 2024.  “11 FActs About Coast Redwoods, the Tallest Trees in the World.” by Melissa Breyer. 2020.  “California: visitors to world’s tallest tree face $5,000 fine and possible jail time.” Associated Press. 2022.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Sleep Spray, Insecticide Paint, UK Redwoods

Today, you’ll learn about an effort to create palm oil without burning down millions of acres of forest, the surprising way polyglots’ brains approach their own native language, and new research on how the powerful psychedelic drug ayahuasca extinguishes fear.    Palm-Less Oil   “They Want to Make Palm Oil in a Lab. Without Palm Trees.” by Dionne Searcey. 2024.  “Things To Know About Palm Oil.” WWF. n.d.   Polyglot Brain   “For people who speak many languages, there’s something special about their native tongue.” by Anne Trafton. 2024.  “Functional characterization of the language network of polyglots and hyperpolyglots with precision fMRI.” by Saima Malik-Moraleda, et al. 2024.    Ayahuasca & Fear    “Ayahuasca accelerates fear extinction via its effect on serotonin receptors.” by Eric. W. Dolan. 2024.  “Ayahuasca-enhanced extinction of fear behaviour: Role of infralimbic cortex 5-HT2a and 5-HT1a receptors.” by Isabel Werle, et al. 2024.  “The Therapeutic Potentials of Ayahuasca: Possible Effects against Various Diseases of Civilization.” by Ede Frecska, et al. 2016.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Palm-Less Oil, Polyglot Brain, Ayahuasca & Fear

Today, you’ll learn about a new study shedding light on what species are most vulnerable to extinction from climate change, why species of living fossils take their time evolving, and a new theory about how the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs also impacted birds.     Extinction Risk    “New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change.” University of Oxford. 2024.  “What is mass extinction and are we facing a sixth one?” by Tammana Begum. 2021. Updated 2023.  “Mass extinctions, their causes and consequences: an interview with Douglas H. Erwin and Shuzhong Shen.” by Shucheng Xie. 2023.  “Species and climate change.” IUCN. 2021.  “Humanity’s Fitting Place on the List of Mass Extinction Events.” by Sam Baker. 2018.    Living Fossils   “Study of slowly evolving ‘living fossils’ reveals key genetic insights.” by Mike Cummings. 2024.  “A New Discovery Reveals Why Darwin’s ‘Living Fossil’ Keeps Defying Evolution.” by Tim Newcomb. 2024.  “Giraffe Evolution.” by Adam Atwood. 2024.    Asteroid vs Birds   “An Asteroid Wiped Out Dinosaurs. Did It Help Birds Flourish?” by Carl Zimmer. 2024.  “Dust Might Have Snuffed Out the Dinosaurs.” by Miriam Fauzia. 2023.  “How Did Birds First Take Off?” by Carl Zimmer. 2023.  “Genomes, fossils, and the concurrent rise of modern birds and flowering plants in the Late Cretaceous.” by Shaoyuan Wu, et al. 2024.   Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Extinction Risk, Living Fossils, Asteroid vs Birds

Today, you’ll learn about a compelling study on twins and the nature versus nurture debate, how scientists solved a 60-year-old mystery about bees, and why you shouldn’t go last.     Twin Trauma   “One Twin Was Hurt, the Other Was Not. Their Adult Mental Health Diverged.” by Ellen Barry. 2024.  “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Outcomes.” by Hilda Bjork Danielsdottir, et al. 2024.  “Recognizing the importance of childhood maltreatment as a critical factor in psychiatric diagnoses, treatment, research, prevention, and education.” by Martin H. Teicher, et al. 2022.  “Relationship of Childhood Abuse and Household Dysfunction to Many of the Leading Causes of Death in Adults.” by Vincent J. Felitti MD, FACP, et al. 1998.    Bee Mystery    “A decades-old mystery has been solved with the help of newfound bee species.” by Darren Incorvaia. 2024.  “Canopy specialist Hylaeus bees highlight sampling biases and resolve Michener’s mystery.” by James B. Dorey, et al.    Sequence Bias   “A new study finds that the later we meet someone in a sequence, the more negatively we describe them.” by Douglas Heingartner. 2024.  “Differentiation in social perception: Why later-encountered individuals are described more negatively.” by Alex Koch, et al. 2024.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Twin Trauma, Bee Mystery, Sequence Bias

Today, you’ll learn about a new plan to use waste from beer brewing to clean metal out of our water supply, a study that puts languages like Orc and Klingon to the test, and a discovery about the direction our memories travel in our brains.     Brewer’s Yeast    “The same beer waste that gives us Vegemite could help us recycle metal waste.” n.a. 2024.  “Spent brewer’s yeast as a selective biosorbent for metal recovery from polymetallic waste streams.” by Anna Sieber, et al. 2024.  “What Is E-Waste Recycling and How Is it Done?” by Tin Lok Wu. 2023.    Constructed Languages    “From Star Trek’s Klingon to Tolkien’s Orkish: Unraveling the auditory aesthetics of constructed languages.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.  “Does Orkish Sound Evil? Perception of Fantasy Languages and Their Phonetic and Phonological Characteristics.” by Christine Mooshammer, et al. 2024.    Memory Direction   “Brain Waves Travel in One Direction When Memories Are Made and the Opposite When Recalled.” by Grant Currin. 2024.  “Theta and Alpha Oscillations Are Traveling Waves in the Human Neocortex.” by Honghui Zhang, et al. 2018. “The direction of theta and alpha travelling waves modulates human memory processing.” by Uma R. Mohan, et al. 2024.    Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.  Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Why Uranus Is Sideways, What Blinking Means, and “The Blood Countess”

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