Today you’ll learn about what it means for the planet now that we’ve reached a global population of 8 billion people, how leprosy might be able to repair damaged livers, and some information about an asteroid that’s been dubbed a, “Planet-killer.”

World Population Reaches 8 Billion 

• “The world population has now reached 8 billion” by Allison Gasparini
  • https://www.sciencenews.org/article/world-population-8-billion-humans-earth
• “Day of 8 Billion” by United Nations
  • https://www.un.org/en/dayof8billion
• “World population hits 8 billion: What does it mean for the planet?” by CGTN
  • https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-19/World-population-hits-8-billion-What-does-it-mean-for-the-planet--1f47kiG46qs/index.html#:~:text=On%20November%2015%202022%2C%20the,billion%20people%20in%20around%202080.
• “The World Population Just Hit 8 Billion and Here’s How It Will Continue to Grow” by David Adam
  • https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-world-population-just-hit-8-billion-and-heres-how-it-will-continue-to-grow/

Leprosy 

• “Leprosy: Ancient disease able to regenerate organs” By James Gallagher
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63626239.amp
• “In vivo partial reprogramming by bacteria promotes adult liver organ growth without fibrosis and tumorigenesis” by Samuel Hess et al.
  • https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00379-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666379122003792%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
• “Leprosy bacteria use 'biological alchemy'” by James Gallagher
  • https://www.bbc.com/news/health-21056644

Planet-Killer 

• “Largest potentially hazardous asteroid detected in 8 years” by National Science Foundation
  • https://beta.nsf.gov/news/largest-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-detected-8
• “A Deep and Wide Twilight Survey for Asteroids Interior to Earth and Venus” by Scott S. Sheppard et al.
  • https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cff

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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/world-population-reaches-8-billion-leprosy-planet-killer

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