Curiosity Daily

Today, you’ll learn about the brain science behind choking under pressure, a newer, tougher, stronger concrete inspired by bones, and how skin cancer rates in Sweden could offer a sign of hope.  Pressure & Performance  “Choking under pressure: Brain neurons misfire when the stakes are highest.” by Bronwyn Thompson. 2024.  “Research sheds new light on decreased performance under pressure.” by Sara Vaccar. 2024.  “A neural basis of choking under pressure.” by Adam L. Smoulder, et al. 2024.   Bone Concrete  “Tougher concrete, inspired by bone.” EurekAlert! 2024.  “Tough Cortical Bone-Inspired Tubular Architected Cement-Based Material with Disorder.” by Shashank Gupta & Reza Moinin. 2024.   Cancer Decline  “Breaking the trend: Skin cancer incidence in young adults declines.” EurekAlert! 2024.  “Melanoma Incidence and Mortality Trends in Sweden.” by Hildur Helgadottir, 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.

Today, you’ll learn about a new device that can get inside the mind of babies, the edible protein that’s made out of carbon dioxide, and how the modern ideal of the 15-minute city might not be for everyone.   Baby Brain Device   “Wearable brain imaging device shines a light on how babies respond in real-world situations.” UCL. 2024.  “Whole-head high-density diffuse optical tomography to map infant audio-visual responses to social and non-social stimuli.” by Liam H. Collins-Jones, et al. 2024.   CO2 Protein  “Powered by renewable energy, microbes turn CO2 into potentially edible protein and vitamins.” Scimex. 2024.  “Power-to-vitamins: producing folate (vitamin B9) from renewable electric power and CO2 with a microbial protein system.” by Lisa Marie Schmitz, et al. 2024.   15-Minute Cities  “15-minute city: Why time shouldn’t be the only factor in future city planning.” EurekAlert! 2024.  “A universal framework for inclusive 15-minute cities.” by Matteo Bruno 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. 

Today, you’ll learn about how climbing on monkey bars and other risky play could be a gift from our ancestors, the dangers of mold in space, and new evidence on how cravings take root in our brains.   Risky Play  “Risky Play Exercises an Ancestral Need to Push Limits.” by Morgan Kelly. 2024.  “Commemorating the monkey bars, catalyst of debate at the intersection of human evolutionary biology and public health.” by Luke D. Fannin, et al. 2024.   Mold in Space   “Keeping mold out of future space stations.” by Tatyana Woodall. 2024.  “Predicting how varying moisture conditions impact the microbiome of dust collected from the International Space Station.” by Nicholas Nastasi, et al. 2024.   Brain Cravings  “‘Sticky’ brain activity is linked to stronger feelings of craving.” by Mallory Locklear. 2024.  “Network state dynamics underpin basal craving in a transdiagnostic population.” by Jean Ye, 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. 

Today, you’ll learn about a potential positive side to side effects, how mega El Niños triggered the world’s worst mass extinction event, and the antidote to pesticides that could save bees.   Positive Side Effects   “How side effects can improve treatment efficacy: a randomized trial.” by Lieven A. Schenk, et al. 2024.  “Side-effects are often a curse. Can they also be a blessing?” by Katja Wiech, et al. 2024.   Mega El Niño  “Mega El Niños kicked off the world’s worst mass extinction.” by Jake Buehler. 2024.  “Mega El Niño instigated the end-Permian mass extinction.” by Yadong Sun, et al. 2024.   Bee Protector  “Scientists hopeful antidote can help protect bumblebees from pesticides.” by Helena Horton. 2024.  “Ingestible hydrogel microparticles improve bee health after pesticide exposure.” by Julia S. Caserto, 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.  

Today, you’ll learn about a breakthrough in our understanding of the behavior and abilities of bacteria, the queen ants that cannibalize their sick larvae and recycle it, and how tiny shards of plastic are finding their way into our brains.   Bacteria Behavior  “New discovery of how bacteria navigate their environment could change how we treat infection.” University of Sheffield. 2024.  “Individual bacterial cells can use spatial sensing of chemical gradients to direct chemotaxis on surfaces.” by James H.R. Wheeler, et al. 2024.   Ant Cannibals  “Ant queens cannibalize [sic] their sick offspring - then ‘recycle’ them.” University of Oxford. 2024.  “Ant queens cannibalize infected brood to contain disease spread and recycle nutrients.” by Flynn Bizzell & Christopher D. Pull. 2024.  “Black garden ant.” The Wildlife Trusts. N.d.   Brain Plastic  “Tiny shards of plastic are increasingly infiltrating our brains, study says.” by Sandee LaMotte. 2024.  “Bioaccumulation of Microplastics in Decedent Human Brains Assessed by Pyrolysis Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry.” by Matthew Campen, 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. 

Today, you’ll learn about the connection between chronic sinus infections and anxiety, a new way to recycle plastic by vaporizing it, and how marmosets call each other by name.    Sinuses & Mental Health   “Chronic Rhinosinusitis and Mental Health.” by Najm S. Khan, et al. 2024.  “Chronic Sinusitis.” CDC. 2022.   Vaporizing Plastic  “New process vaporizes plastic bags and bottles, yielding gases [sic] to make new, recycled plastics.” by Robert Sanders. 2024.  “Plastic Pollution.” by Hannah Ritchie, et al. 2022.   Monkey Names  “These monkeys use names to communicate with each other, study finds.” by Lianne Kolirin. 2024.  “These Monkeys Call One Another by Name.” by Emily Anthes. 2024.  “Vocal labeling of others by nonhuman primates.” by Guy Oren, 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. 

Today, you’ll learn about how common table salt could help our bodies fight cancer, an ancient underwater bridge that’s changing what we know about human migration in Europe, and the hyper precise nuclear clock breakthrough.   Salt & Cancer  “Common salt activates anti-tumor cells.” by Charlotte Fuchs and Friederike Gawlik. 2024.  “Sodium chloride in the tumor microenvironment enhances T cell metabolic fitness and cytotoxicity.” by Dominik Soll, et all. 2024.   Ancient Bridge  “Submerged bridge constructed at least 5600 years ago indicates early human arrival in Mallorca, Spain.” by Bogdan P. Onac, et al. 2024.  “What a submerged ancient bridge discovered in a Spanish cave reveals about early human settlement.” ScienceDaily. 2024.  “Mallorca Facts.” Mallorca.com. Nd.   Nuclear Clock   “A nuclear clock prototype hints at ultraprecise timekeeping.” by Emily Conover. 2024.  “How Does the NIST-7 Atomic Clock Work?” by Bruce Morser. 2012.  “A new ultrafast laser emits pulses of light 30 billion times a second.” by Emily Conover. 2018.   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. 

Today, you’ll learn about an injectable pacemaker that dissolves after 5 days, how a black hole is starving a galaxy to death, and the bats with record-high blood sugar levels.   Injectable Pacemaker  “Injectable pacemaker regulates heartbeat for 5 days then dissolves.” by Michael Irving. 2024.  “In situ assembly of an injectable cardiac stimulator.” by Umut Aydemir, et al. 2024.  “Arrythmia.” Cleveland Clinic. N.d.   Black Hole Starves  “Astronomers detect black hole ‘starving’ its host galaxy to death.” EurekAlert! 2024.  “A fast-rotator post-starburst galaxy quenched by supermassive black-hole feedback at z=3.” by Francesco D’Eugenio, et al. 2024.   Bat Blood Sugar  “Sugar assimilation underlying dietary evolution of Neotropical bats.” by Jasmin Camacho, et al. 2024.  “Some bats are surviving and thriving with blood sugar levels that would be lethal for other mammals.” Stowers Institute for Medical Research. 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.