Explore every episode of the podcast Curious by Nature

Dr. Siniša Hrvatin is an assistant professor of biology at MIT and a member of the Whitehead Institute. His lab is uncovering the biological secrets of hibernation and frozen stasis, not just to understand these animals, but to discover how we can copy their tricks to save human lives.

For decades, the standard medical advice for treating a concussion was to go sit in a dark room, turn off your phone, and do absolutely nothing until you felt better. But modern science has completely flipped the script, revealing that hiding out in the dark might actually make your brain recover slower.

Dr. Kouros Emami is a clinical and sports neuropsychologist at the Hospital for Special Surgery, where he works on the cutting edge of head injury recovery. He treats everyone from elite athletes to everyday people, using active movement and specialized exercises to help the brain heal itself.

Dr. Brian Southwell is a Distinguished Fellow at RTI International, where he researches science communication, public trust, and the spread of misinformation. His work focuses on helping researchers and institutions better connect with the communities they serve.

Michael Schutz is a Professor of Music, Cognition, and Percussion at McMaster University, where he researches how auditory alerting systems in healthcare can be vastly improved. By applying centuries of musical composition insight and psychophysical research, he is exploring how healthcare sounds can be re-engineered to cut through critical room noise without being unnecessarily jarring.

Dr. Raihan Khan is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Health Sciences at James Madison University, and Madalynn Nofplot is a JMU Honors College alumna and nursing student. 

They launched a fascinating study to look into how different music genres affect the academic performance and GPAs of college students with and without attention deficit disorder.

Hypersonic vehicles travel a whole mile of sky in just one second. They can be missiles or aircraft, where the friction gets so ridiculously hot that the air around the vehicle literally turns into a blinding shield of electricity. 

Dr. Ian Boyd is the Director of the Center for National Security Initiatives at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he researches multiple aspects of these hypersonic vehicles.

Dr. John Cooke, Chair of the Department of Cardiovascular Sciences at Houston Methodist Hospital, and Research Fellow Dr. Shuang Li are using mRNA technology to heal this process from the inside out.

By delivering a temporary molecular recipe, they prompt cells to produce telomerase, which rapidly accelerates DNA repair and restores telomeres. 

Dr. Mohammad Moghimi is an Assistant Professor of Biomedical Engineering at the Wake Forest University School of Medicine.

His team has developed a "chipless patch" that can sense the tiny electrical differences between healthy tissue and a tumor.

If a salamander loses a leg, it doesn't just heal, it grows a perfect new one. Humans, however, have seemingly lost this "instruction manual" for regeneration over millions of years of evolution.

Dr. Josh Currie is an Assistant Professor of Biology at Wake Forest University. He studies axolotls and zebrafish to understand why these animals can regrow limbs and tails while we can't. 

Sandro Galea is the Margaret Ryan Dean and the Kahn Professor of Public Health at the Washington University School of Public Health. He shares his unique path and perspective on public health and shares ways that WashU is focusing on improving the health for many people locally and globally. 

Iron deficiency affects millions of people, especially women, yet many go years without knowing it, even though it’s one of the most treatable conditions.

Dr. George Goshua is a physician-scientist and assistant professor at Yale School of Medicine, where he studies how gaps in diagnosis and access to care can leave patients untreated. His work highlights how something as simple as iron levels can have long-term effects on energy, pregnancy, and even the next generation.

The episode has also been shared with leadership at the American Society of Hematology (ASH), which is leading national efforts to improve awareness, diagnosis, and treatment of iron deficiency. Learn more through the ASH Iron Deficiency Initiative.

Shaun Davies, Associate Professor of Finance and Faculty Director of the Burridge Center for Finance at the University of Colorado Boulder, explains how financial markets respond to global instability and geopolitical conflict.

For many of us, the constant stream of headlines about conflict in the Middle East can feel overwhelming and disheartening. From an economic perspective, consumers often worry about and struggle with rising food and gas prices.

Meanwhile, do financial markets have the kind of checks and balances needed to withstand periods of high instability?

With AI now able to mimic voices, write convincing messages, and even fake video calls, telling what’s real online is harder than ever.

Sebastian Schuetz is an assistant professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, where he studies how organizations manage cyber risk like data breaches and ransomware attacks. 

Eating healthy doesn’t mean spending more money.

We often assume that more expensive food is better for us, but research shows that price has surprisingly little to do with nutrition.

Professor William Masters is an economist at Tufts University’s Friedman School of Nutrition, where he studies how food prices relate to health and environmental impact. His work reveals that it’s possible to eat both nutritious and climate-friendly meals, without spending more.

What if your body is quietly guiding your food choices in ways you don’t even realize?

Jeff Brunstrom is a professor of experimental psychology at the University of Bristol, where he studies how our brains, behavior, and environment shape the way we eat.

His research suggests that we’re not just passively consuming food, we may have “nutritional intelligence,” where our bodies push us toward certain foods to meet our needs. But in today’s world of ultra-processed meals, that system can be disrupted, leading us to eat more without realizing why.

Why is brain cancer so hard to treat, and what if the brain itself is helping it spread? 

Glioblastoma is one of the most aggressive cancers, not because it forms a single tumor, but because it spreads like invisible threads throughout the brain, making it nearly impossible to remove completely. 

Dr. Sheila Singh is a Professor of Neuro-Oncology and Neurosurgery at King’s College London, Co-Head of the School of Cancer (with Pharmaceutical Sciences), and Director of the Comprehensive Cancer Center, while also serving as a part-time Professor of Surgery and Biochemistry at McMaster University. Her research uncovers how brain cells may actually be helping cancer grow and spread, and how existing drugs could be repurposed to stop it.

Every year, researchers publish discoveries that could improve our lives, from health to technology to public policy. But much of that work never reaches the people who could benefit from it. It stays behind paywalls, written in technical language, and shared mostly within academic circles.

Dr. Quan Xie is an associate professor of digital advertising at Southern Methodist University. Her research explores how scholars can better share their work using storytelling, digital platforms, and tools like AI to bring research beyond the journal and into the real world.

How do you know if you have a genetic condition that increases your risk of certain types of cancer? 

For people with inherited conditions like Lynch syndrome, the risk of cancer is much higher, yet most don’t even know they have it. 

Dr. Eduardo Vilar-Sanchez is a physician-scientist at The University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center, working on new ways to stop cancer early, including a vaccine designed to train the immune system to recognize and fight it. 

Newswise’s Jessica Johnson shares highlights from a recent trip visiting communications teams and researchers across universities in the southeastern United States.

Below are some of the research stories featured in this episode.

• ARPA-H PRINT Program Supports WFIRM-Led Award to Create on-Demand, Bioprinted Kidneys, Published by Wake Forest University
• How Studying Yeast in the Gut Could Lead to Better Drugs, Published by North Carolina State University
• How health risk communication best practices can improve community flood risk communication, Published by RTI International
• Healthy habits can make your brain age more slowly, study finds, Published by University of Florida
• New FAU Research Strengthens Evidence Linking Alcohol Use to Cancer, Published by Florida Atlantic University
• Efficacy of Service Dogs with Veterans with Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD): Community Reintegration, Published by Nova Southeastern University
• The Miami Project to Cure Paralysis at the University of Miami Miller School of Medicine Selected as U.S. Site for Neuralink Clinical Trial, Published by University of Miami – Miller School of Medicine

New Study Could Show How TikTok’s Algorithm Affects Youth Mental Health, Published by Georgia Tech

February brought a wide range of compelling research stories from universities across the country. From the University of Utah’s powerful study, “Banning Lead in Gas Worked. The Proof Is in Our Hair,” to the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine’s findings in “Pink Noise Reduces REM Sleep and May Harm Sleep Quality,” scientists are uncovering insights that directly impact our daily lives.

We also saw Binghamton University, SUNY publish “Record-Breaking Antarctic Drill Reveals 23 Million Years of Climate History,” the University of Nebraska–Lincoln explore business strategy in “Research Shows Companies Can Gain Advantage by Prioritizing Customer Privacy,” and Johns Hopkins Medicine report on long-term brain health in “Cognitive Speed Training Linked to Lower Dementia Incidence Up to 20 Years Later.”

Let’s take a closer look at what made these stories stand out this month.

Jeff Grabmeier who recently retired as the Senior Director of Research Communications at Ohio State University. Jeff spent decades working to help turn complex research into stories that informed and connected with the media and public readers. 

Jeff is a goldmine of information and knowledge about research communications. But also, he has changed the lives of many researchers through his amazing communications efforts. If you are a researcher, scholar, or leader in higher education, Jeff is the type of person you want to be close by. 

Luca Ziegler, PhD Candidate at West Virginia University and Mental Performance Consultant, studies how psychological flexibility helps athletes and performers succeed under pressure.

Everyone tells athletes and performers to “stay calm under pressure.” But what if the secret to peak performance isn’t staying calm at all? High-stakes moments, from championship games to career-defining opportunities, don’t just test skill. They test how well we handle pressure.

In this episode, Ziegler explains how psychological flexibility, staying open, aware, and in control during stressful moments, can help athletes reach flow and clutch states when it matters most, offering insights that apply not only to sports but to high-pressure situations in everyday life.

Dr. Bruce Stamos, Orthopedic Surgeon and Sports Medicine Specialist at Hackensack Meridian Ocean University Medical Center, treats athletic injuries and studies how players recover and stay on the field during high-stakes competition.

The Super Bowl isn’t just a battle of talent, it’s also a test of endurance and physical resilience. By the end of the season, many players are dealing with fatigue, lingering injuries, and the constant risk that one sudden movement, like an ACL tear, could change the course of the game.

In this episode, Dr. Stamos pulls back the curtain on what professional athletes are dealing with behind the scenes, explaining how medical teams manage injuries, monitor recovery, and make strategic decisions to keep players performing at the highest level.

Dr. Danielle Dick, Director of the Rutgers Addiction Research Center and Professor at Rutgers University, studies how genetics and environment interact to influence substance use and addiction across the lifespan.

Most people will encounter alcohol or other substances at some point in their lives. For many, that use remains occasional and manageable. For others, it becomes something far more disruptive. Understanding why substance use leads to severe challenges for some but not for most has become a central question in addiction research.

In this episode, Dr. Dick explains how the answer may lie in the complex interaction between our genes and our environments, unfolding from childhood into adulthood. By identifying genetic risk factors and tracing how they influence mental health and addiction outcomes, researchers hope to develop better strategies for prevention, early intervention, and treatment.

Every January, we promise ourselves this will be the year we finally change. Better habits, bigger goals, stronger willpower. And yet, by February, most of those resolutions are already gone. So what’s really going on? 

We are joined this week by Dr. E.J. Masicampo of Wake Forest University to talk about the psychology behind why New Year’s resolutions fail, and the surprisingly simple strategies that actually make change stick. If you’ve ever wondered why motivation fades or how to work with your brain instead of against it, this conversation is for you.

Dr. Robert Haley of the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center, has spent years researching the unexplained illnesses affecting veterans of the first Gulf War.

For more than 30 years, many veterans have reported persistent symptoms including fatigue, cognitive problems, vertigo, and chronic pain, often without a clear medical explanation. Early theories struggled to solve the mystery, but advances in brain imaging are now providing new clues.

In this episode, I’m joined by Roger Johnson, the founder of Newswise. Roger launched Newswise in the early days of personal computing with a simple but powerful idea: make credible science and research news easier for journalists to find and use.

We explore the origins of Newswise, the role of curiosity in journalism and science, and how early technology reshaped the way information is shared. We also talk about creativity, asking better questions, and what the future may hold for science communication in an evolving media landscape.

Dr. Jessica Troilo of West Virginia University, Associate Professor in Child Development and Family Studies and Associate Dean for Research and Faculty Affairs in the College of Applied Human Sciences, studies how families build healthy relationships and navigate everyday challenges.

During the holidays, families often connect in more ways than just gathering around the table. Quality time can create opportunities for meaningful interaction and shared experiences, but it can also bring stress, expectations, and sometimes tension.

Dr. Edward Yoon of the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York, Chief of Interventional Radiology, is working on new ways to treat chronic back pain using advanced imaging and minimally invasive procedures.

For millions of people who suffer from back pain, finding lasting relief can be an ongoing struggle. Traditional treatments like epidural injections often provide only temporary relief and don’t always address the root cause of the problem.

Dr. Yoon explains how combining high-tech imaging with minimally invasive techniques can offer a more effective approach to treatment, helping patients find longer-lasting relief while considering the broader landscape of musculoskeletal care.

Professor Parke Wilde of Tufts University, Professor of Nutrition Policy and Food Economics, studies the economics of nutrition assistance programs and how food affordability affects communities.

Questions about food prices have become increasingly urgent for many Americans, especially during the holidays. As families make decisions about how to stretch their grocery budgets, food insecurity becomes a growing concern.

Dr. Cory Haltman, Assistant Professor of Marketing at Indiana University’s Kelley School of Business, studies the psychology behind gift-giving and how people make decisions when choosing presents.

Gift-giving can be enjoyable, but it can also become stressful when we start overthinking it. Many people worry about finding the “perfect” gift, giving it at the right time, or making sure it feels meaningful enough.

Dr. Haltman explains what research reveals about the psychology of gift-giving, why people often worry about the wrong things, and what actually matters most to the person receiving the gift.

Dr. Pooja Budhiraja, Transplant Nephrologist and Living Donor Medical Director at Mayo Clinic in Arizona, focuses on protecting the health and well-being of living organ donors while expanding access to transplantation.

Every day, thousands of people are waiting for a life-saving transplant, and for many, that wait can last years. While the demand for organs continues to grow, one of the most powerful solutions comes from living donors, individuals who choose to donate a kidney or part of their liver to someone in need.

Dr. Chen Wang, Associate Professor of Computer Science at Southern Methodist University, studies privacy and security in modern communication technologies.

Video calls have become part of everyday life, and most of us assume we’re safe when the camera is turned off. But Dr. Wang’s research shows that even small sounds during a call can reveal surprising details about a person’s surroundings.

Dr. Wang explains how audio signals from platforms like Zoom and Teams can expose information about where someone is located, and why stronger privacy protections may be needed as virtual communication becomes more common.

Dr. Tiana Woolridge, Primary Care Sports Medicine Physician at the Hospital for Special Surgery, studies how factors like sleep, stress, and mindset influence injury risk and recovery in young athletes.

When it comes to sports injuries, recovery isn’t just physical. Mental health, rest, and emotional resilience also play a critical role in how athletes heal and return to play.

Dr. Woolridge discusses how the connection between physical health and mental well-being can shape recovery, and why helping athletes build resilience both on and off the field can lead to stronger, healthier outcomes.

Jennifer Nardine, Teaching and Learning Liaison Librarian at Virginia Tech, helps students and researchers explore the origins of ideas, cultures, and traditions.

In this special Halloween episode, we take a closer look at the history behind one of the most beloved holidays of the year. When early American settlers from Celtic regions of Europe brought their pagan traditions to the New World, those customs blended with seasonal harvest festivals and religious observances, eventually shaping the Halloween we celebrate today.

Jennifer guides us through the origins and evolution of Halloween, exploring how folklore, history, and cultural traditions combined to create a holiday where costumes, storytelling, and imagination allow us to express a different side of ourselves.

Professor Junling Guo of Sichuan University is developing innovative ways to reduce fat absorption in the body using edible plant-based compounds.

Imagine being able to reduce your body’s absorption of fat simply by ingesting tiny microbeads made from natural plant polyphenols. Professor Guo’s lab recently created edible microbeads designed to trap dietary fats in the gut, allowing them to pass through the body instead of being absorbed.

We explore how this new approach could help with weight management. In animal studies, rats fed high-fat diets and given the microbeads lost about 17% of their body weight compared to controls, while also showing reduced fat tissue and lower stress on the liver. Researchers hope this method may offer a safer alternative to traditional fat-blocking drugs.

Dr. Alan Levinovitz, Professor of Philosophy and Religion at James Madison University, explores the surprising relationship between language, belief, science, and medicine.

Does naming a disease help the patient heal? When dealing with a mysterious illness or a difficult diagnosis, research suggests that the sense of relief that comes with finally identifying the condition can actually help people feel better, even when there is no clear treatment or cure.

Together with psychiatrist Dr. Awais Aftab, Dr. Levinovitz coined the term “The Rumpelstiltskin Effect.” Their study, published in the British Journal of Psychiatry Bulletin, found that patients often feel seen, understood, and more connected to a community when they hear an official name for what they are experiencing.

Dr. Julie Kolesar, Research Engineer at Stanford University’s Human Performance Lab, studies how small changes in human movement can improve joint health and reduce pain.

Would you ever imagine that simply changing the way you walk could reduce knee problems? New research suggests that subtle adjustments in how we move, even something as simple as changing the angle of your foot, may help reduce pain and slow the progression of knee osteoarthritis.

She explains how these small biomechanical changes could offer a drug-free, non-surgical way to help the more than 20% of adults over 40 who suffer from knee osteoarthritis live more comfortably.

Dr. Claire Raphael, Interventional Cardiologist at Mayo Clinic, studies the hidden causes of heart attacks that often go undetected, particularly in younger adults and women.

Heart attacks are the leading cause of death worldwide, but many people don’t realize that younger adults, especially women, are also at risk. Too often their symptoms are dismissed, or the real cause is missed entirely.

In a 15-year study, Dr. Raphael uncovered several hidden causes of heart attacks, including artery tears, coronary spasms, and other conditions that standard tests don’t always detect. These findings help explain why many young women are misdiagnosed and why some cases are missed until it’s too late.

Dr. Gregory Tarlé, Professor Emeritus of Physics at the University of Michigan, and Dr. Kevin Croker, Assistant Research Scientist at Arizona State University and Affiliate Faculty at the University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa, are exploring a bold new theory about black holes that could reshape our understanding of the universe.

Their research examines the extreme physics that occurs when massive stars collapse and form black holes, regions of space where gravity is so powerful that not even light can escape. By studying the interactions between gravity and matter on these enormous cosmic scales, they are asking new questions about the origins and evolution of the universe.

In this episode, we discuss their revolutionary ideas about black holes, what scientists can learn from the collisions of these mysterious objects, and how new observations may help explain one of the biggest puzzles in cosmology: why the universe appears to be expanding faster and faster over time.

Dr. Sahen Gupta, Senior Lecturer in Applied Sport Psychology at the University of Portsmouth and a PhD in Sport and Performance Psychology from Glasgow Caledonian University, studies how people perform and recover under pressure.

Sports psychologists often examine the intense demands placed on professional athletes because sports provide a natural setting to study how humans respond to failure, pressure, and constant evaluation. In these environments, mistakes happen frequently and resilience often determines who thrives and who burns out.

Dr. Gupta discusses how resilience develops in high-pressure environments, not only in sports but also among musicians, pilots, and other high performers. His research explores how emotional control, mindset, and recovery from setbacks can help individuals perform better and build resilience that extends far beyond the game.

Dr. Christopher Roos, Professor of Anthropology at Southern Methodist University, studies the long history connecting people, fire, and landscapes.

Wildfires are often seen only as destructive, but history tells a more complex story. For centuries, Indigenous communities used fire intentionally to shape ecosystems and manage the land.

Using tree-ring science and archaeology, Dr. Roos examines how the Western Apache used controlled burning to help landscapes adapt to drought and climate extremes. In this episode, we explore how this deep history of Indigenous fire management offers important lessons for today, as communities search for better ways to live with fire rather than simply fight it.

Dr. Phoebe Hughes, Lecturer in Musicology at Binghamton University, studies popular music and how it reflects cultural and musical change.

Taylor Swift is one of the most influential musicians of our time, but what exactly explains her impact? Dr. Hughes is the author of Cranking Up Taylor Swift: Her Musical Journey in 11 Songs, a book that explores Swift’s work not just to celebrate her success, but to understand why it resonates so strongly with audiences.

We look at how Swift’s music reflects broader cultural shifts and what her career reveals about the evolving sound of country and pop music in the 21st century.

Professor Bruce Weinberg, Professor of Economics and Public Affairs at The Ohio State University, studies how scientific breakthroughs happen and the environments that help innovation thrive.

“There are no new ideas, but there are novel ways of combining old ideas to create something new.” This concept lies at the heart of Professor Weinberg’s research. By analyzing the career paths of Nobel Prize winners, he and his colleagues discovered that where researchers work and the people they interact with can have a powerful influence on groundbreaking discoveries.

Professor Weinberg explains how spending time in different research environments and collaborating with new communities can accelerate innovation and play a key role in the development of Nobel Prize–winning ideas.

Dr. Kathleen Casey, Professor of History and Director of the Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies Program at Furman University, a small liberal arts college in South Carolina, studies how everyday objects can reveal deeper stories about culture, identity, and history.

A purse isn’t just an accessory. It can be a story, a statement, and sometimes even a lifeline. In her book The Things She’s Carried: A Cultural History of the Purse in America, Dr. Casey explores how this seemingly ordinary object reflects powerful connections to gender, identity, privacy, and survival.

In this episode, we discuss how purses have intersected with major moments in American history, from the civil rights movement to workplace struggles and personal memory, revealing how a simple item people carry every day can hold a rich tapestry of cultural meaning.

Dr. Steven Lee-Kong, Professor of Surgery and Colorectal Surgeon at Hackensack University Medical Center, studies colorectal diseases and emerging trends in colon cancer.

Colon cancer has long been considered a disease that primarily affects older adults. But in recent years, doctors have noticed a troubling rise in cases among younger patients. While genetics play a role, researchers are increasingly exploring other possible contributors, including changes in diet, lifestyle, and the gut microbiome.

One area receiving growing attention is the widespread use of protein supplements, particularly among teens and young adults. With protein shakes, bars, and high-protein diets often promoted as part of a healthy lifestyle, researchers are asking an important question: could there be hidden risks to long-term colon health?

Dr. Jacqueline Bober, Pediatric Emergency Medicine Physician at Stony Brook University Hospital and the Stony Brook Children’s Hospital on Long Island, New York, works on the front lines treating childhood emergencies and preventing accidental injuries.

Every summer, headlines warn about rising temperatures, air quality, and the need for sunscreen. But there is another silent danger that increases this time of year: drowning. It can happen quickly and is tragically common among young children. While many people think drownings only occur in oceans or rough waters, most actually happen in backyard pools, vacation rentals, or even bathtubs.

In this episode, Dr. Bober shares what she has seen as a pediatric emergency physician and explains why she has made it her mission to prevent these tragedies before they happen. Through public awareness campaigns, community partnerships, and practical safety steps, she offers guidance every parent should know.

Dr. Dustin Scheinost, Associate Professor in the Departments of Radiology and Biomedical Imaging at Yale School of Medicine, studies how brain imaging and artificial intelligence can help scientists better understand psychiatric disorders.

What if brain scans could help explain the symptoms of a psychotic episode as they happen? And what if artificial intelligence could identify patterns in brain activity to help predict them?

In this episode, Dr. Scheinost discusses a new frontier in mental health research that combines functional MRI and machine learning to study psychosis. By examining the brain not just through behavior but through networks, circuits, and connectivity, researchers hope to better understand how psychiatric illness unfolds and how future tools might help clinicians detect and treat these conditions earlier.

Professor Angus Fletcher of The Ohio State University’s Project Narrative, a Professor of Story Science, studies how storytelling, creativity, and imagination affect the brain and emotional well-being.

Parents of children with anxiety are often willing to try anything that might help their kids feel better. Many traditional approaches focus on calming an overactive mind to reduce intense emotions. But Professor Fletcher’s research suggests a different path.

Instead of quieting the brain, his work explores how activating the brain through creativity and imagination-based play may help unlock the brain’s natural ability to regulate itself. In this episode, we discuss how storytelling and creative thinking might be powerful tools for helping children and adults manage anxiety and build resilience.

Dr. Bradley Cannon, Assistant Professor of Finance at Binghamton University, studies how social networks and personal relationships influence financial behavior.

Many people feel uncomfortable talking about money with friends. For some, financial topics are almost taboo in everyday conversation. But Dr. Cannon’s research suggests that these conversations may actually play an important role in shaping financial outcomes.

By studying the social networks of high-income individuals, he found that friendships can influence financial knowledge and opportunities. In particular, being connected to wealthier individuals, and openly discussing financial decisions, may help people learn strategies that improve their own financial well-being.