Today, you’ll learn about an effort to create palm oil without burning down millions of acres of forest, the surprising way polyglots’ brains approach their own native language, and new research on how the powerful psychedelic drug ayahuasca extinguishes fear.    Palm-Less Oil    “They Want to Make Palm Oil in a Lab. Without Palm Trees.” by Dionne Searcey. 2024.  “Things To Know About Palm Oil.” WWF. n.d.   Polyglot Brain    “For people who speak many languages, there’s something special...

Today, you’ll learn about a new study shedding light on what species are most vulnerable to extinction from climate change, why species of living fossils take their time evolving, and a new theory about how the asteroid that killed the dinosaurs also impacted birds.     Extinction Risk     “New study reveals insight into which animals are most vulnerable to extinction due to climate change.” University of Oxford. 2024.  “What is mass extinction and are we facing a sixth one?” by Tammana...

Today, you’ll learn about a compelling study on twins and the nature versus nurture debate, how scientists solved a 60-year-old mystery about bees, and why you shouldn’t go last.     Twin Trauma    “One Twin Was Hurt, the Other Was Not. Their Adult Mental Health Diverged.” by Ellen Barry. 2024.  “Adverse Childhood Experiences and Adult Mental Health Outcomes.” by Hilda Bjork Danielsdottir, et al. 2024.  “Recognizing the importance of childhood maltreatment as a critical factor in psychiatric...

Today, you’ll learn about a new plan to use waste from beer brewing to clean metal out of our water supply, a study that puts languages like Orc and Klingon to the test, and a discovery about the direction our memories travel in our brains.     Brewer’s Yeast     “The same beer waste that gives us Vegemite could help us recycle metal waste.” n.a. 2024.  “Spent brewer’s yeast as a selective biosorbent for metal recovery from polymetallic waste streams.” by Anna Sieber, et al. 2024.  “What Is...

Today, you’ll learn about a medication that can successfully treat frostbite, the study of bloodsplatter in space, and a surprising finding about the supposed benefits of small class sizes.    Frostbite Treatment    “The U.S. now has a drug for severe frostbite. How does it work?” by Saugat Bolakhe. 2024.  “Frostbite.” NIH. 2023.  “FDA Approves First Medication to Treat Severe Frostbite.” FDA. 2024.    Blood in Space     “Bloodstain pattern dynamics in microgravity: Observations of a pilot...

Today, you’ll learn about a skin printer that could lead to scar-free surgeries, the possibility of bringing the wooly mammoth back to life, and how to work at being happy.     Printed Skin    “Scar-free surgery prints living skin (and maybe hair) right into wounds.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “New bioink promotes growth & regeneration of 3D-printed muscle tissue.” by Paul McClure. 2023.    Mammoth De-Extinction    “Wooly mammoth de-extinction inches closer after elephant stem cell...

Today, you’ll learn about a radical idea for installing a curtain around a massive ice sheet, how positive vibrations might help people with social anxiety, and new tech that could remove dangerous forever chemicals from our environment.     Glacier Curtain    “Scientists want to build 62-mile-long curtains around the ‘doomsday glacier’ for a $50 billion Hail Mary to save it.” by Ellyn Lapointe. 2024.  “Thwaites Glacier Facts.” International Thwaites Glacier Collaboration. N.d.  “How We Came...

Today, you’ll learn about a surprising discovery inside the worms of Chernobyl, a way to protect metals at sea inspired by barnacles, and foot-eye coordination.     Chernobyl Worms    “Radiation-proof Chernobyl worms offer answers about cancer.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “Chernobyl Accident 1986.” n.a. 2022.  “Environmental radiation exposure at Chornobyl has not systematically affected the genomes or chemical mutagen tolerance phenotypes of local worms.” by Sophia C. Tintori, et al....

Today, you’ll learn about the magic of the upcoming solar eclipse, a simple way to reduce the amount of microplastics in your drinking water, and the connection between self-control and the perception of power.  Livestream of the total solar eclipse on Discovery’s YouTube channel on April 8 at 2:15pm ET here! Eclipse 2024    “What this solar eclipse can teach us about our planet and beyond.” by Kasha Patel. 2024.  “Eclipse Soundscapes Project.” 2024.  “Globe Observer: Eclipse.”...

Today, you’ll learn about a potentially risky new idea to geoengineer our way out of extreme heat, bad news for fans of artificially sweetened drinks, and an incredible new discovery about butterflies.     Geoengineering    “Dehydrate the stratosphere to curb global warming? Scientists float new risky strategy.” by Paul Voosen. 2024.  “Contributions of Stratospheric Water Vapor to Decadal Changes in the Rate of Global Warming.” by Susan Solomon, et al. 2010.  “Considering intentional...

Today, you’ll learn about an alarming new killer behavior in orcas, a potential breakthrough for patients with one of the deadliest cancers, and the brain science behind flow.     Shark Hunter    “Orcas Demonstrating They No Longer Need to Hunt in Packs to Take Down the Great White Shark.” Taylor & Francis. 2024.  “Further insights into killer whales Orcinus orca preying on white sharks Carcharodon carcharias in South Africa.” by A Towner, et al. 2024.  “Top 10 Facts About Orcas.” WWF....

Happy 300 episodes to our Curiosity Daily listeners! Today, you’ll learn about a massive database of human genomes that’s uncovering major new genetic discoveries, the scientists building stone age tools from scratch… and then putting them to work, and a treasure trove of deep sea discoveries in an underwater mountain range.     Human Diversity     “Ambitious survey of human diversity yields millions of undiscovered genetic variants.” by Max Kozlov. 2024.  “NIH’s All of Us Research Program...

Today, you’ll learn about how we learn the same information differently from people we like than from those we don’t like, a drug men already take that could have incredible added benefits, and a weed that could feed a hungry world.     Learning From Friends     “The brain is ‘programmed’ for learning from people we like.” Lund University. 2024.  “Ingroup sources enhance associative inference.” by Marius Boeltzig. 2023.    Hair & Heart     “Common hair loss and prostate drug may also cut...

Today, you’ll learn about how ADHD might have actually helped our ancient ancestors thrive, the way pollution makes it hard for nighttime pollinators to stop and smell the flowers, and a new study that suggests lions, tigers, and other big cats can tell who’s talking to them.     ADHD Foraging    “Attention deficits linked with proclivity to explore while foraging.” by David Barack. 2024.  “What is ADHD?” NIH. n.d.  “Foraging theory upscaled: the behavioural ecology of herbivore movement.” by...

Today, you’ll learn about mind-reading machines, the brightest object in the known universe, and the potential power punch of cinnamon.    Mind-Reading    “Mind-reading devices are revealing the brain’s secrets.” by Miryam Naddaf. 2024.  “The brain-reading devices helping paralysed people to move, talk and touch.” by Liam Drew. 2022.  “The rise of brain-reading technology: what you need to know.” by Liam Drew. 2023.  “How our brains decode speech: special neurons process certain sounds.” by...

Today, you’ll learn about hurricanes so powerful they need a new category, bacteria linked to young-onset colo-rectal cancer, and ancient treasures made out of meteorites.     Category 6    “In a warming world, climate scientists consider category 6 hurricanes.” EurekAlert! 2024. “How do hurricanes form?” NOAA. 2023.  “AMCR’s Wehner Explores Impact of ‘Extreme Event Attribution’ on Climate Science Research.” by Kathy Kincade. 2023.  “Saffir-Simpson Hurricane Scale.” NOAA. n.d.   Colo-Rectal...

Today, you’ll learn about the surprising effect our immune system has on our emotional health, a new discovery about the biological clock of plants, and how researchers are rediscovering the science of psychedelics.     Stress & Immunity    “Mount Sinai Study Shows That Circulating Immune Cells Drawn to the Brain During Stress Can Control Emotional Behaviors.” Mt. Sinai. 2024.  “Major Depressive Disorder.” by Navneet Bains & Sara Abdijadid. 2023.  “Circulating myeloid-derived MMP8 in...

Today, you’ll learn about the link between body temperature and depression, how taking the the Polar Bear Plunge could soothe symptoms of menopause, and a new sticker that can detect organ failure.     Depression Temp    “Are Body Temperature and Depression Linked? Science Says, Yes.” by Jess Berthold. 2024.  “Surprising Link Discovered Between Body Temperature and Depression.” by Jess Berthold. 2024.    Cold Water Menopause    “Cold water swimming improves menopause symptoms.” EurekAlert!...

Today, you’ll learn about a new blood test that can detect signs of psychosis and guide precision treatment, a gene mutation that happened in two different high altitude populations thousands of years apart, and new findings of the mental impacts of polycystic ovary syndrome.     Psychosis Blood Test    “Blood test predicts psychosis risk, most effective treatments.” UI School of Medicine. 2024.  “The Link Between Schizophrenia and Substance Use Disorder: A Unifying Hypothesis.” by Jibran Y....

Today, you’ll learn about a new rapid test for detecting fentanyl, a hyper-sensitive new lead detector, and the mathematical proof that Bach… was a great composer.     Fentanyl Rapid Test      “Researchers Develop Rapid Test for Detecting Fentanyl.” by Kim Horner. 2024.  “Fentanyl and the U.S. Opioid Epidemic.” Claire Klobucista & Mariel Ferragamo. 2023.  “Naloxone-AuNPs@ZIF-8-Based Impedimetric Sensor Platform for Ultrasensitive Detection of Fentanyl and Fabrication of Fen-Track...

Today, you’ll learn about how a population of female chimps have surprisingly been found to go through menopause and live well beyond their reproductive years, an ancient tsunami and its devastating impact on stone age populations, and the dire effects of sexism in science.     Chimp Menopause     “Surprisingly long-lived wild female chimps go through menopause.” by Bruce Bower. 2023.  “Wild Chimps Shown to Undergo Menopause for the First Time.” by Joanna Thompson. 2023.  “Evolutionarily,...

Today, you’ll learn about a potential breakthrough in the treatment of ovarian cancer, how just passively listening can help you learn things much more quickly, and the ant that changed the lion’s cuisine.     Ovarian Cancer Treatment    “mRNA therapeutic successfully combats ovarian cancer in mice.” by Monika Raab, et al. 2023.  “Key Statistics for Ovarian Cancer.” by American Cancer Society. 2024.  “The Long History of mRNA Vaccines.” by Chris Beyrer. 2021.    Passive Learning    “Passive...

Today, you’ll learn about how we experience colors differently as we age, a discovery from the time of the very first continents on Earth, and the impact of mobile phones on infant health - it’s not what you might expect.    Aging & Colors     “Colours fade as people age.” UCL. 2024.  “Pupil responses to colorfulness are selectively reduced in healthy older adults.” By Janneke E. P. van Leeuwen, et al. 2023.    First Continents    “Researchers uncover source rocks of the first real...

Today, you’ll learn about the possible dangers of growing leafy greens in microgravity, a study that let AI tag along with a toddler to learn language the human way, and research on stabilizing elephant populations on the African savannah.     Microgravity Gardening    “Simulated microgravity facilitates stomatal ingression by Salmonella in lettuce and suppresses a biocontrol agent.” by Noah Totsline, et al. 2024.  “The Future.” NASA. N.D.  “What will astronauts eat during long missions in...