Lockdown Science

This week we’re finding out whether our morning espresso is safe from climate change, getting acquainted with a droopy creature that enjoys a cold bath, being dazzled by some high-tech paint, hearing about Geronimo the hero beaver, asking what monkeys can tell us about making friends after the pandemic, and trying not to yawn along with a pride of lions.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Casetta et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.anbehav.2021.02.010Heter et al (1950): https://doi.org/10.2307/3796322(and a video of the parachuting beavers): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrOE-m7sX9E Li et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1021/acsami.1c02368Plumptre et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.3389/ffgc.2021.626635Testard et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.03.029  Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we’re asking whether octopuses dream of punching fish, finding out how the Amazon rainforest was born, wondering whether we’re heading for a fiery asteroid-generated doom, learning about how major corporations are turning their backs on deep-sea mining, slipping between the pages of an ancient book to find a butterfly, working out what an April fool can tell us about ecological modelling, and getting acquainted with a fearsome new dinosaur.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Brunk et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.biocon.2021.109081Carvalho et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abf1969Gianechini et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1080/02724634.2020.1877151de Souza Medeiros et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.isci.2021.102223 Warren et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1111/2041-210X.13591 Matt Hayes’ guide for iRecord: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iFbLiPV2UaYMusic credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we’re finding out how the moon is powering cars in the Shetlands, asking if cats value kindness, investigating whether a sperm-filled solar-powered lunar ark is viable, wondering whether sleepiness is to blame for a walrus on the Welsh coast, and learning some social skills from a very sneaky beetle.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Journal ClubChijiiwa et al (2021): https://doi.org/10.26451/abc.08.01.03.2021 von Beeren and Tishechkin (2017): https://doi.org/10.1186/s40850-016-0010-x Isolation Recommendationswww.festival.cam.ac.uk/events/battle-beastswww.earthoptimism.cambridgeconservation.org Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we’re finding out whether the magnetic poles flipping killed the Neanderthals, asking how a bird species could hide for 170 years, marvelling at a swarm of tiny robot bees, wondering how two species of sea slugs manage to lose their heads but keep their cool, having a disco party with some glowing sharks, and wishing a very Happy Mother’s Day to the world’s oldest bird mum.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Bioluminescent sharks:Mallefet et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2021.633582Insect drones:YuFeng Chen et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1109/TRO.2021.3053647 & video: https://news.mit.edu/2021/researchers-introduce-new-generation-tiny-agile-drones-0302Black-browed babbler:Akbar et al. (2020): https://static1.squarespace.com/static/5c1a9e03f407b482a158da87/t/6034c09a3440914018d3c306/1614071211606/Black-browed-Babbler.pdfAdams Transitional Geomagnetic Event:Cooper, Turney et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abb8677Autotomising sea slugs:Mitoh and Yusa (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.01.014 The Brilliant Abyss:Helen Scales: https://www.bloomsbury.com/uk/the-brilliant-abyss-9781472966865/ Us and STEMM:https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/us-and-stemm/id1547268807 Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we’re asking what a sarcastic fringehead is, nerding out about Perseverance’s flashy gadgets, finding out how much tyrannical power a naked mole-rat queen has, cooing over an adorable clone, checking if thylacines are back from the dead, and marvelling at Europe’s most active volcano blowing its load.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Barker et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abc6588 Yorzinski (2020): https://doi.org/10.1098/rsbl.2020.0786Know Your Pollinators: https://op.europa.eu/en/publication-detail/-/publication/f229629c-c0c5-11ea-855a-01aa75ed71a1#Music credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/

This week we’re asking whether science can solve one of the world’s greatest conspiracy theories, checking if groundhogs can live forever, delving into Greek myths to find out more about butterflies, being dazzled by a new shade of blue, electrifying ourselves with some genuinely stunning eel research, and finding out what the world’s tiniest chameleon’s rather large secret is.If you find some fun science that you think deserves its place on the show, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us at lockdownsciencepodcast@gmail.com and follow us on @LockdownScience on Twitter and @LockdownSciencePodcast on Instagram.Bastos et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.7121 Gaume and Puzrin (2021): https://doi.org/10.1038/s43247-020-00081-8 Glaw et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-020-80955-1 O’Mara et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2020.12.042 Yang et al. (2021): https://doi.org/10.1039/D0SM01230KMusic credit: Blippy Trance Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com)Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 3.0 Licensehttp://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/