Curiosity Weekly

Cells may be the building blocks of life (and highschool biology), but who knew they were so complicated? Dr. Samantha Yammine digs into different types of cells and their functions with editorial correspondent Teresa Carey as they discuss the difficulties in defining what a cell even is. Then, Sam speaks with Dr. Sébastien Calvignac-Spencer, a pathogen evolutionary biologist about his work investigating diseases from history. Finally, some curious researchers and entrepreneurs are cultivating actual salmon meat in bioreactors so Sam investigates the process behind growing fish in a lab including the potential ecological effects of cell-cultured salmon hitting the market.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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. 

The new season of Naked and Afraid premieres Sunday, March 9, 2025 at 8pm EST on Discovery.   To celebrate, host Dr. Samantha Yammine talks to legendary survivalist Rob Nelson about his experiences thriving in some of the most extreme conditions on the planet. Rob also gets into some of the facts and myths behind common survival techniques. Then, Sam is joined by Naked and Afraid survivalist, Mandy Horvath. Mandy is the show’s first bi-lateral amputee contestant and she speaks on the physical, environmental, and emotional challenges of participating on the show. Sam also digs into the science behind what’s really going on with our bodies when trapped in the wilderness.   Link to Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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.   

Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Tiara Moore who is a marine ecologist and the founder of Black in Marine Science to talk about her research as well as her advocacy work to ensure equitable systems are in place for Black scientists within the scientific community. Sam digs into a deep sea sponge that has inspired researchers to create a filter that can protect our oceans from a future oil spill and a recent study released where scientists created mice using the DNA from two sperms.   Link to full Show Notes HERE  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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.

The White Lotus is about to be back on our screens on Max so today, we’re diving into the latest trend among elite travelers: longevity tourism. Then, our host Sam speaks to Dr. Jodi Halpern about the mental health effects that come along with the rise of AI technology. And finally, we explore the ins and outs of fracking.Link to all sources hereFollow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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.

With Valentine’s Day around the corner, today our host Dr. Samantha Yammine digs into the science behind what really causes butterflies in your stomach when you’re experiencing infatuation. Then, astrobiologist Dr. Lynn Rothschild joins us to discuss extremophiles and what they can tell us about potential life on other planets. And finally, we discuss the ins and outs of the FDA’s recent ban of Red Dye 3. Red Dye 3“FDA bans red dye No. 3 from foods, nearly 35 years after it was barred from cosmetics because of potential cancer risk.” by JoNel Aleccia. 2025Source 2, Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16,17 Extremophiles“Lynn J. Rothschild.” by NASA. 2024.Butterflies“Why Do I Feel Butterflies in My Stomach When I’m on a Date?” by Trisha Pasricha. 2023Source 2 , 3 , 4, 5, 6, 7, 8

Today, we dive into the science around man’s best friend to celebrate the Puppy Bowl airing on Animal Planet, February 9th. Sam explores what’s really going on with the recent phenomenon of people teaching their dogs to communicate through word buttons. Dr. Janet Hoy-Gerlach joins the show to discuss her research into the mental health benefits of emotional support animals. Finally, we tackle the power and possibility of a dog’s sense of smell.   Canine Chat “Soundboard-trained dogs produce non-accidental, non-random and non-imitative two-button combinations.” by Amelia P. M. Bastos, Zachary N. Houghton, et al. 2024.  Source 2  Source 3 Source 4  Emotional Support Animals  “Exploring Benefits of Emotional Support Animals (ESAs): A Longitudinal Pilot Study with Adults with Serious Mental Illness (SMI).” by Janet Hoy-Gerlach, Aviva Vincent, Barry Scheuermann, Mamta Ojha. 2022. Source 2  Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Sniffer Dogs  “Massachusetts schools use dogs to sniff out Covid-19.” by Gary Tuchman. 2024. Source 2 Source 3 Source 4 Source 5 Source 6 Source 7 Source 8 Source 9 Source 10 

On today’s episode, we dive into the tech helping us respond to the growing risk of wildfires, including the use of AI systems and smoke detectors. Then, Sam speaks to Dr. Linda Charmaraman from the Youth, Media & Wellbeing Research Lab about a recent study that looks into misinformation on TikTok when it comes to diagnosing ADHD. Finally, we talk about how both blind and sighted humans are encouraging greater neuroplasticity in their brains through learning echolocation.  Wildfire Tech  “Canada Report: 2023 Fire Season.” Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre. 2023. “Fact Sheet: Climate Change and Wildfires.” Canadian Climate Institute. 2024.  Source 3, Source 4, Source 5, Source 6, Source 7, Source 8, Source 9, Source 10, Source 11, Source 12 #ADHDtestSource 1, Source 2, Source 3Human EcholocationSource 1, Source 2, Source 3, Source 4Newscast SoundbitesSource 1, Source 2

Electro-Agriculture “Scientists Grow Crops in Near-Total Darkness Thanks to New ‘Electro-Agriculture’ Technique.” by Adam Kovac. 2024 “Electro-agriculture: Revolutionizing farming for a sustainable future.” by Bradie S. Crandall, Marcus Harland-Dunaway, Robert E. Jinkerson, et al. 2024  Space Exploration with Dr. Robert Lillis“An ESCAPADE to Mars, on the cheap.” The Planetary Society. 2021.“ESCAPADE: Mission to Mars.” Rocketlab. “Mission to Mars - ESCAPADE.” Rocketlab.“Dr. Rob Lillis.” Harvath Law Group.  “MAVEN Maps Electric Currents around Mars that are Fundamental to Atmospheric Loss.” by William Steigerwald. 2020.   Stem Cell Vision Repair “Induced pluripotent stem-cell-derived corneal epithelium for transplant surgery: a single-arm, open-label, first-in-human interventional study in Japan.” by Takeshi Soma, Yoshinori Oie, Hiroshi Takayanagi, Shoko Matsubara, et al. 2024 “World First: Stem Cell Transplant Restores Vision in Multiple People.” by Carly Cassella. 2024.  “Stem cell transplant shows promise for vision loss.” by Rebecca Turner. 2024.“Limbal Stem Cell Deficiency.” ColumbiaDoctors. “Induced Pluripotent Stem Cells.” UCLA Broad Stem Cell Research Center. Newscast Soundbites Mars ExplorationFollow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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.

Welcome to Curiosity Weekly from Discovery! This week, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Anastasia Buyalskaya, a behavioral scientist, to unravel habit formation and debunk the 21-day myth. We also learn about a newly discovered link between musical training and left-handedness. Plus, hear about some space station bacteria that are flexing their superpowers!   Habit Formation  “What Machine Learning Can Teach Us About Habit Formation.” by Anastasia Buyalskaya. 2024.  Space Bacteria  “Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Found on ISS Mutating to Become Functionally Distinct.” by Elizabeth E. Keller. 2024. “Mutant Superbugs Pose a Threat to Human Life in Space.” by Javier Yanes. 2024.  Leftie Musicians  “Left-Handed Musicians Appear to Develop Unique Brain Pathways for Language Processing.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.  Newscast Soundbites Microorganisms discovered on the Mir Space Station Space Station Live: Studying Basic Biology in Space  There Are Microbes in Space?!  Follow Curiosity Weekly on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Dr. Samantha Yammine — for free! Still curious? Get 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.