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Daily Science Brief


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  • 56. The Final Episode

    06:43||Ep. 56
    An announcement explaining why I'm cancelling the podcast. If you want more information about it, I wrote a public blog post over on the Patreon page. Check it out. https://www.patreon.com/c/DailyScienceBrief

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  • 55. Penguin Spears, Ocean Currents, and a Gladiator Bear

    09:47||Ep. 55
    Penguins with dagger-like beaks, a collapsing Atlantic current, a brain map of 600,000 cells, and a bear skull that proves gladiators fought wild animals.SOURCESEarly penguins may have used dagger-like beaks to skewer prey | New Scientist Key Atlantic current could start collapsing as early as 2055, new study finds | Live Science Map of 600,000 brain cells rewrites the textbook on how the brain makes decisions | Live Science Skull of bear held captive to fight Roman gladiators discovered near ancient amphitheater in Serbia | Live Science
  • 54. How to Sweet-Talk an AI

    10:18||Ep. 54
    Why scrolling on the toilet could be bad for your health, why we may have way less carbon storage underground than we thought, whether plant-based dog food really works, and how humans and AIs fall for the same persuasion tricks.SOURCESSmartphone scrolling on the toilet could increase risk of haemorrhoids | New Scientist We may have 10 times less carbon storage capacity than we thought | New Scientist Plant-based dog foods provide almost all the nutrients pets need | New Scientist These psychological tricks can get LLMs to respond to “forbidden” prompts | Ars Technica
  • 53. Can We Recycle Every Car?

    10:23||Ep. 53
    Blobs from failed planets hiding in Mars, a possible anti-aging drug, a surprising benefit of the hepatitis B vaccine, and recycling old cars into new ones.SOURCESDozens of mysterious blobs discovered inside Mars may be the remnants of 'failed planets' | Live Science Rapamycin may extend lifespans by protecting against DNA damage | New Scientist Hepatitis B vaccine linked with a lower risk of developing diabetes | New Scientist Can we finally recycle all of the metal in scrap cars? | New Scientist
  • 52. Red Onion, Green Energy

    09:53||Ep. 52
    Volcanoes can lead to revolutions, onions powering solar panels, a spacecraft predicting solar storms, and computers you can throw in the wash.SOURCESVolcanic eruptions may have helped spark the French Revolution | New Scientist Scientists turned to a red onion to improve solar cells — and it could make solar power more sustainable | Live Science Spacecraft used to forecast solar storm 15 hours before it hit Earth | New Scientist Scientists cram an entire computer into a single fiber of clothing — and you can even put it through your washing machine | Live ScienceFibre computer enables more accurate recognition of human activity | EurekAlert! - AAAS
  • 51. Spiders Throw Nature's Creepiest Rave

    10:14||Ep. 51
    Stress in pregnancy may prime babies for eczema. Pee tests could help eliminate cervical cancer. Spiders use fireflies as glowing bait. China builds a macaque-sized brain supercomputer.SOURCESThe foundations of eczema may start to be laid down in the womb | New ScientistStress-Related Maternal Factors During Pregnancy in Relation to Childhood Eczema: Results From the LISA Study | JIACIUrine tests detect high-risk HPV as effectively as DIY vaginal swabs | New ScientistSpiders seen keeping fireflies as glowing prisoners that draw more prey to their webs | Live ScienceChina's 'Darwin Monkey' is the world's largest brain-inspired supercomputer | Live Science
  • 50. Shocking New Eye Treatment

    09:58||Ep. 50
    A brain-inspired AI outsmarts ChatGPT, a new zap for your eyeballs could replace LASIK, middle age isn’t the low point it used to be, and CPR in space gets a boost from machines.SOURCESScientists just developed a new AI modeled on the human brain — it's outperforming LLMs like ChatGPT at reasoning tasks | Live Science Early test of new laser-free eye treatment shows promise | Live Science We're no longer at our unhappiest during middle age | New Scientist CPR in space could be made easier by chest compression machines | New Scientist