Curiosity Weekly – Details, episodes & analysis

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. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

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. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, you’ll learn about the smart soil that gives plants a massive boost even when they’re watered less, how our love of certain odors could be more nurture than nature, and a moss that could one day fill greenhouses on Mars. 

Smart Soil  

• “‘Smart soil’ grows 138% bigger crops using 40% less water.” by Michael Irving. 2024.  
• “Climate Change Indicators: Drought.” EPA. 2024.  
• “Water for Prosperity and Peace.” Unesco. 2024.  
• “Self-watering SMAG-soil pulls moisture from the air.” by Ben Coxworth. 2020.  
• “Self-Irrigation and Slow-Release Fertilizer Hydrogels for Sustainable Agriculture.” by Jungjoon Park, et al. 2024.  

Smell Preferences 

• “Do you smell what I smell? New study reveals surprising variability in odor preferences.” by Mane Kara-Yakoubian. 2024.  
• “Is the perception of odour pleasantness shared across cultures and ecological conditions? Evidence from Amazonia, East Africa, New Guinea, Malaysia, and Poland.” by Piotr Sorokowski, et al. 2024.  

Mars Moss 

• “Scientists find desert moss ‘that can survive on Mars’.” by Nicola Davis. 2024.  
• “The extremotolerant desert moss Syntrichia caninervis is a promising pioneer plant for colonizing extraterrestrial environments.” by Xiaoshuang Li, et al. 2024.  
• “This desert moss has the potential to grow on Mars.” Science News. 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.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Today, you’ll learn about a new discovery that turns our understanding of hunter-gatherer diets on its head, the effect of self-checkout on our sense of loyalty to grocery stores, and some good news about the majestic emperor penguin.  

Hunter-Gatherer Diets 

• “Hunter-gatherers were mostly gatherers, says archaeologist.” by Hannah Devlin. 2024.  
• “Paleo diet: What is it and why is it so popular?” by Mayo Clinic Staff. 2022.  
• “What Paleo diets get wrong: We’re not evolved for meat, and our ancestors ate carbs.” by Julia Belluz. 2015.  

Self-Checkouts 

• “Does Self-Checkout Impact Grocery Store Loyalty?” Drexel News. 2024.  
• “Must-Know Self Checkout Statistics [Latest Report].” by Lorena Castillo. 2023.  
• “Self-checkout now comprises nearly 40% of grocery checkout options, study says.” by Catherine Douglas Moran. 2022.  
• “Feeling rewarded and entitled to be served: Understanding the influence of self- versus regular checkout on customer loyalty.” by Farhana Nusrat & Yanliu Huang. 2024.  

Penguin Colonies 

• “Scientists Discover Four New Emperor Penguin Colonies From Satellite Images of Antarctica.” by Sarah Kuta. 2024.  
• “Top 10 Facts About Emperor Penguins.” WWF. 2023. 

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. 

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Alda talks to Curiosity Daily hosts Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer about to how to connect better with others, what’s stopping people from believing in science (and how to change their minds), exercises he uses to build empathy, and more.

Additional resources from Alan Alda:

• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University — https://www.aldacenter.org/
• Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda — https://www.aldacommunicationtraining.com/podcasts/
• Sign up for Alan’s newsletter on his official website — http://alanalda.com/
• Follow @alanalda on Twitter — https://twitter.com/alanalda

Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/alan-alda-on-communicating-better-believing-in-science-and-building-connections-and-empathy

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Alan Alda talks to Curiosity Daily hosts Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer about how to be a better communicator by making human connections. Plus, learn about why oceans don’t sink into the Earth.

Additional resources from Alan Alda:

• Alan Alda Center for Communicating Science at Stony Brook University — https://www.aldacenter.org/
• Clear+Vivid with Alan Alda — https://www.aldacommunicationtraining.com/podcasts/
• Sign up for Alan’s newsletter on his official website — http://alanalda.com/
• Follow @alanalda on Twitter — https://twitter.com/alanalda

Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/alan-alda-on-how-to-communicate-better-by-making-connections-plus-why-oceans-dont-sink

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about an easy way to catch someone in a lie; a possible scientific explanation for why your vestibular system may be to blame for out-of-body experiences; and the healthiest way to prepare broccoli, according to science.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

• To Catch Someone in a Lie, Science Says Go Low-Tech — https://curiosity.im/2qr2Nt3
• Out-of-Body Experiences May Be Explained by Inner Ear Damage — https://curiosity.im/2Bmxce3
• This Is the Healthiest Way to Prepare Broccoli, According to Science — https://curiosity.im/32qCCAU

Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/how-to-tell-when-someones-lying-out-of-body-experiences-and-healthiest-way-to-cook-broccoli

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about modern-day gold mining from Rick Ness and Tony Beets, two of the stars of Discovery’s #1 TV show, “Gold Rush.” In that vein, Curiosity Daily hosts Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer explain sluice boxes, resistivity surveys, and other gold mining techniques. They also discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about why you stop liking new music as you get older: https://curiosity.im/33G3ixC

Please support this episode’s sponsor! Get your first month of KiwiCo FREE by visiting https://www.kiwico.com/curiosity

More from Discovery’s #1 show, Gold Rush:

• Gold Rush official website — https://www.discovery.com/shows/gold-rush
• DiscoveryGO — https://go.discovery.com/watch/discovery
• @GoldRushTV on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/GoldRushTV/
• Gold Rush on Facebook — https://www.facebook.com/GoldRush/
• Follow @Gold_Rush on Twitter — https://twitter.com/Gold_Rush
• Follow @GoldrushRick on Twitter — https://twitter.com/GoldrushRick

Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/gold-mining-w-gold-rush-stars-rick-ness-and-tony-beets-and-why-musical-tastes-change

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about why backformation can make you invent new words without realizing it; how animals mourn their dead; and how you can get better sleep by walking more.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

• Backformation Can Make You Invent New Words Without Realizing It — https://curiosity.im/2pqsBor
• 3 Animals That Mourn Their Dead — https://curiosity.im/2MeWHnV
• To Get Better Sleep, Try Walking More — https://curiosity.im/2phjpTA

Today is the LAST DAY to nominate Curiosity Daily for Best Technology & Science Podcast in the 2019 Discover Pods Awards! It's free and only takes a minute. Thanks so much! https://awards.discoverpods.com/nominations/

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/sleep-better-by-walking-more-how-animals-mourn-their-dead-and-words-from-backformation

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Learn about the best way to deal with impostor syndrome; whether it’s more important to sit less or exercise more; and why the peak end rules says experiences are all about the ending.

In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:

• The Best Way to Deal with Impostor Syndrome, According to a New Study
• Which Is More Important: Sitting Less or Exercising More?
• The Peak End Rule Says Experiences Are All About The Ending

Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. 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.

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/focus-on-the-ending-how-to-deal-with-impostor-syndrome-and-sit-less-or-exercise-more

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.