Curiosity Killed the Rat

Did you know that - botanically speaking - Halloween Jack O'Lantern Pumpkins are more closely related to zucchini than they are to Kent / Jap pumpkins, butternut pumpkins, or giant pumpkins? This episode, Kade and Matt chat about some awesome PUMPKIN science! Like, speaking of giant pumpkins… how and why do they get so giant?!  What does it take, according to science, to grow amazing pumpkins? We chat about everything from companion planting, to the birds and the bees (that is, quite literally, pollination methods) of male and female flowers. We touch on history and culture, agricultural, and botanical science.  And then, sticking with the plant theme, we answer a listener question about the magic of plants and how they defy gravity to pump water from the ground up without a pumping heart!  As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: Cursed Turnip Jack O'Lantern: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/history/article/the-twisted-transatlantic-tale-of-american-jack-o-lanterns   Great video on Taxonomy and name daddy Carl Linnaeus:  https://youtu.be/F38BmgPcZ_I?si=2nS6wI4zDOZzpB-H   Male and Female Flowers: https://www.missouribotanicalgarden.org/gardens-gardening/your-garden/help-for-the-home-gardener/advice-tips-resources/visual-guides/pollination-of-squash-and-pumpkins   Other Refs: https://academic.oup.com/botlinnean/article-abstract/81/3/233/2725697 https://www.researchgate.net/publication/362020286_Recent_advances_in_genetics_and_breeding_of_pumpkin_Cucurbita_moschata_Duch https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39117354/ https://www.researchgate.net/publication/200033556_The_Initial_Domestication_of_Cucurbita_pepo_in_the_Americas_10000_Years_Ago https://www.researchgate.net/publication/335470455_Functional_and_nutraceutical_properties_of_pumpkin_-_a_review https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/pce.12502 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jf063413d https://brill.com/view/journals/ijps/65/3-4/article-p202_202.xml?language=en

Epilepsy: you've heard of it, you likely know people who have it, but do you know the science behind it? This month, Kade and Matt are joined by Dr Lauren Bleakley to find out just that. Stick around to the end of the episode for our listener question looking at the surprising benefits of chocolate milk! As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://florey.edu.au/researcher/lauren-bleakley/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/epi.17447 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/33822003/ https://florey.edu.au/news/2024/05/ferns-story-proves-florey-research-is-life-changing/ https://florey.edu.au/news/2021/09/meet-the-florey-researchers-working-to-give-4-year-old-ebony-and-other-children-with-rare-genetic-epilepsies-a-better-life-through-world-first-research/ Listener Question: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16676705/ https://theconversation.com/is-chocolate-milk-a-good-recovery-drink-after-a-workout-a-dietitian-reviews-the-evidence-236685

This month, Kade and Matt are joined once again by Bodhi for a very special episode: The Philosophy of Science. This will be part 1 of 3 in a special series where we delve into some of the more abstract ideas about science itself. What is science? How effective is peer review? What is burden of proof? And much, much, much more. Make sure to check out the reference list below for further resources on anything we discuss during the episode.  As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: Podcasts as a medium for public discourse between rabbit-hole theorists and academics Rogan, J. [PowerfulJRE]. (2024, July 2). Joe Rogan Experience #2171 – Eric Weinstein & Terrence Howard [video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/nrOaFxNex7U?si=QvqPI3c7IaDH5f_1&t=12724 Dissipation Driven Adaptation Green, H. [SciShow]. (2020, June 16). How Cells Hack Entropy to Live [Video]. YouTube. How Cells Hack Entropy to Live (youtube.com). England, J. L. (2013). Statistical physics of self-replication. The Journal of Chemical Physics, 139(12), 121923 1 – 121923 7. https://doi.org/10.1063/1.4818538. England, J. L. (2020). Every Life is on Fire: How Thermodynamics Explains the Origins of Living Things. Basic Books. Every Life Is on Fire: How Thermodynamics Explains the Origins of Living Things - Jeremy England - Google Books Cushman, A. S. (2023). Entropy, Ecology and Evolution: Toward a Unified Philosophy of Biology. Entropy (Basel, Switzerland), 25(3), 405. https://doi.org/10.3390/e25030405. King, E., Holzer, J., North, J. A., Cannon, W. R. (2023). An approach to learn regulation to maximize growth and entropy production rates in metabolism. Frontiers in Systems Biology, 3, 1-14. httpds://doi.org/10.3389/fsysb.2023.981866. Entropy = messy? Martin, J. S., Smith, N. A., Francis, C. D. (2013). Removing the entropy from the definition of entropy: clarifying the relationship between evolution, entropy, and the second law of thermodynamics. Evolution: Education and Outreach, 6(1), 1-9. http://dx.doi.org/10.1186/1936-6434-6-30. Leaves superconduct photons during photosynthesis Engel, G. S., Calhoun, T. R., Read, E. L., Ahn, T., Mančal, T., Cheng, Y., Blankenship, R. E., Fleming, G. R. (2007). Evidence for wavelike energy transfer through quantum coherence in photosynthetic systems. Nature 446, 782-786. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature05678 Microtubules display superradiance PBS Space Time [PBS Space Time]. (2024, July 26). Was Penrose Right? NEW EVIDENCE For Quantum Effects In The Brain [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/xa2Kpkksf3k?si=xAhLJSieFgoR-5lJ&t=740 Hossenfelder, S. [Sabine Hossenfelder]. (2024, May 12). Brain Really Uses Quantum Effects, New Study Finds [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/R6G1D2UQ3gg?si=al7buCxmLEXnp43I&t=200 Babcock, N. S., Montes-Cabrera, G., Oberhofer, K. E., Chergui, M., Celardo, G. L., Kurian, P. (2024). Ultraviolet Superradiance from Mega-Networks of Tryptophan in Biological Architectures. The Journal of Physical Chemistry B, 128(17), 4035-4046. https://doi.org/10.1021/acs.jpcb.3c07936. Microtubules form an integrated electromagnetic quantum information network Kuhn, R. L., and Bandyopadhyay, A. [Closer to Truth]. (2023, November 24). Anirban Bandyopadhyay – Quantum Physics of Consciousness [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/HbX7wlMspJM?si=QLVU6eFesAsrjf-b&t=303 Ghosh, S., Singh, P., Manna, J., Saxena, K., Sahoo, P., Krishnanda, S. D., Ray, K., Hill, J. P., and Bandyopadhyay, A. (2022). The century-old picture of a nerve spike is wrong: filaments fire, before membrane. Communicative & Integrative Biology, 15(1), 115–120. https://doi.org/10.1080/19420889.2022.2071101 Exercise and Caloric Consumption: Negative Health Effects of Excess Energy Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshet [Kurzgesagt – In a Nutshel]. (2024, July 16). We Need to Rethink Exercise – The Workout Paradox [YouTube]. We Need to Rethink Exercise - The Workout Paradox (YouTube.com) Pontzer, H., Durazo-Arvizu, R., Dugas, L. R., Plange-Rhule, J., Bovet, P., Forrester, T. E., Lambert, E. V., Cooper, R. S., Schoeller, D., A., Luke, A. (2016). Constrained Total Energy Expenditure and Metabolic Adaptation to Physical Activity in Adult Humans. Current Biology, 26(3), 410-417. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2015.12.046 Pontzer, H., Wood, B. M., Raichlen, D. A. (2018). Hunter-gatherers as models in public health. Obesity Reviews, 19(S1), 24-35. https://doi.org/10.1111/obr.12785 Pontzer, H. (2018). Energy Constraint as a Novel Mechanism Linking Exercise and Health. Physiology, 33(6). https://doi.org/10.1152/physiol.00027.2018

This month Kade & Matt take a break from recording to give listeners a blast from the past with their episode all about crying. Why do our eyes leak when we feel emotions, chop onions, or get poked in the eye? Do these scenarios lead to the creation of different types of tears? How are tears created? WHY? This episode, Kate and Matt delve into all these questions and so many more, as we chat all about crying. We also tackle a listener question about sweating – why do our palms sweat when we get nervous? References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4035568/ https://athenaeum.libs.uga.edu/handle/10724/36619 https://psych-neuro.com/2014/03/14/the-biochemecial-purpose-of-crying/ https://scienceblogs.com/observations/2011/01/08/why-do-women-cry-obviously-its https://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/crying.htm https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01240/full https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29888936/ https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-87337-001 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dev.22058 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.1623 https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/145/6/e20192719 https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-66680-001 https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/29/4/579.short https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02134/full https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4062644/ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1069397111404519 https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01240/full

Acetylcholine: the greatest neurotransmitter you've never heard of. This month, Kade and Matt deep dive into what makes this chemical fascinating enough to make Kade spend the last 5 years of their life researching it. What does it do? How was it discovered? What makes it special? Listen to the end of the episode to hear Matt take on the role of asking the listener question, further picking Kade's brain about the many quirks of this neurotransmitter. As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1002/prp2.907 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0006322320301311?casa_token=XEtugnkWjPoAAAAA:PEamLvvU-dxk9LrKn1uPs_LCj4T1gHdQpFd0CNZ_LXsaadFRiB1f6s0UBtLoBLKjS2GuRfAdp5ei https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bph.15513 https://bpspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/bph.16081

This episode on curiosity killed the rat, join Kade, Matt and Riley for a deep dive into the science of Narrative. How are human brains wired to understand the world via narrative, and how is this used both for and against us? We break down the concept of “narrative” into the components of setting, characters, and plot, and chat about some of the research being done in all of these areas. We also have a look at some real-life examples of the ways narrative is being harnessed to influence our beliefs and behaviour, from marketing to propaganda. Kade then answers a listener question about the metal in our blood: can it rust? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: Book I read: The Science of Storytelling by Will Storr YouTube video I mention revealing this research is funded by the department of defence: https://youtu.be/zGrf0LGn6Y4?si=baBvBsstRUV2z30L Video trying to spin narrative to blame Palestinian for Holocaust: https://youtu.be/f9HmkRYlVZw?si=qpUScFJhhXFI8lP1 The effect of perceived cost on taste (of wine) studies: https://oeno-one.eu/article/view/1017 https://www.pnas.org/doi/abs/10.1073/pnas.0706929105 Social Influence Research (hotel towel example): https://www.psychologicalscience.org/observer/dont-throw-in-the-towel-use-social-influence-research Social influence neuro: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/222561008_Neural_mechanisms_of_social_influence Anthropomorphism and Dehumanization: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4020342/ Dehumanisation neuroimaging: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6696401_Dehumanizing_the_Lowest_of_the_Low_Neuroimaging_Responses_to_Extreme_Out-Groups Self-perception and behaviour: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/6453731_The_spyglass_self_A_model_of_vicarious_self-perception Narrative transportation: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/287364520_Effects_of_narrative_transportation_on_persuasion_A_meta-analysis Framing and support for addiction policies: https://www.frameworksinstitute.org/publication/can-redirecting-values-increase-support-for-addiction-policies-and-related-issues/ “War of the ghosts” story: https://online-learning-college.com/knowledge-hub/gcses/gcse-psychology-help/bartletts-war-of-the-ghosts/ Paper on neuromarketing / consumer neuroscience: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1471-2377-13-13 Emotion and decision making: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24905597/ Coke and pepsi study: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15473974/ Relating to Media Bias: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amc.2023.128219 https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/17506352231178148 https://www.jstor.org/stable/41858380 https://fair.org/home/the-illusion-of-balance/?fbclid=IwAR02QPzY5_l3cg7NwKcZTKyr4ISHxt1PrWJiiWoumHT1nqlb1nAFlcU88rc Propaganda rebranded as “Public Relations”: https://theconversation.com/the-manipulation-of-the-american-mind-edward-bernays-and-the-birth-of-public-relations-44393

Welcome to season 5 of Curiosity Killed the Rat! To kick off the year, Kade and Matt welcome special guest Dr Jarrod McKenna onto the show once again to talk about his recent amazing experience visiting Antartica: a place so cool it deserved another whole episode. What's it like to visit one of the most isolated places in the world as a tourist? How is climate change affecting this beautiful continent? What can we do as regular people to help? Stick around to the end of the episode to hear all this, and the listener question: alcohol and the menstrual cycle. How does one affect the other? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Jarrod's website: https://drjarrodmckenna.com/ Citizen science links: https://citizenscience.org.au/ https://seadragonsearch.org/ https://happywhale.com/home https://happywhale.com/whaleid

In one final episode for 2023 / season 4 of Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kade and Matt bring you an extended special reflecting on one of the biggest Australian milestones of 2023: the re-classification and approval of MDMA and Psilocybin to assist therapy. Kade leads us through the science accompanying the historical journey of these drugs; from their discovery and synthesis, through their recreational use (both legal and illegal), to their status today as promising therapeutic compounds. Stick around for a listener question of great seriousness and importance: If a tree in the forest falls and no one is there to hear it, does it make a sound? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on X, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: Kade's Article The Therapeutic Odyssey of Psilocybin and MDMA: A Return to Roots https://rsv.org.au/psilocybin-and-mdma/ Seeking the magic mushroom — Originally published in 1957 Life Magazine https://www.trippingly.net/lsd/2018/5/14/seeking-the-magic-mushroom Hofmann, A. (1959). Psychotomimetic drugs. Acta physiologica et pharmacologica Neerlandica, 8, 240-258. Shulgin, A. T. (1964). 3-Methoxy-4 5-methylenedioxy Amphetamine, a New Psychotomimetic Agent. Nature, 201(4924), 1120-1121. Stolaroff, M. J. (1997). The secret chief revealed: Conversations with a pioneer of the underground psychedelic therapy movement. Multidisciplinary Association for Psychedelic Studies (MAPS). Sessa, B., Higbed, L., & Nutt, D. (2019). A review of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA)-assisted psychotherapy. Frontiers in psychiatry, 10, 138. Nutt, D. J., King, L. A., & Nichols, D. E. (2013). Effects of Schedule I drug laws on neuroscience research and treatment innovation. Nature Reviews Neuroscience, 14(8), 577-585. Grob, C. S., Danforth, A. L., Chopra, G. S., Hagerty, M., McKay, C. R., Halberstadt, A. L., & Greer, G. R. (2011). Pilot study of psilocybin treatment for anxiety in patients with advanced-stage cancer. Archives of general psychiatry, 68(1), 71-78. Mithoefer, M. C., Wagner, M. T., Mithoefer, A. T., Jerome, L., & Doblin, R. (2011). The safety and efficacy of±3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in subjects with chronic, treatment-resistant posttraumatic stress disorder: the first randomized controlled pilot study. Journal of psychopharmacology, 25(4), 439-452. Li, N. X., Hu, Y. R., Chen, W. N., & Zhang, B. (2022). Dose effect of psilocybin on primary and secondary depression: a preliminary systematic review and meta-analysis. Journal of Affective Disorders, 296, 26-34. Carhart-Harris, R., Giribaldi, B., Watts, R., Baker-Jones, M., Murphy-Beiner, A., Murphy, R., ... & Nutt, D. J. (2021). Trial of psilocybin versus escitalopram for depression. New England Journal of Medicine, 384(15), 1402-1411. Bogenschutz, M. P., Ross, S., Bhatt, S., Baron, T., Forcehimes, A. A., Laska, E., ... & Worth, L. (2022). Percentage of heavy drinking days following psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy vs placebo in the treatment of adult patients with alcohol use disorder: a randomized clinical trial. JAMA psychiatry, 79(10), 953-962. Johnson, M. W., Garcia-Romeu, A., & Griffiths, R. R. (2017). Long-term follow-up of psilocybin-facilitated smoking cessation. The American journal of drug and alcohol abuse, 43(1), 55-60. Peck, S. K., Shao, S., Gruen, T., Yang, K., Babakanian, A., Trim, J., ... & Kaye, W. H. (2023). Psilocybin therapy for females with anorexia nervosa: a phase 1, open-label feasibility study. Nature Medicine, 29(8), 1947-1953. Danforth, A. L., Grob, C. S., Struble, C., Feduccia, A. A., Walker, N., Jerome, L., ... & Emerson, A. (2018). Reduction in social anxiety after MDMA-assisted psychotherapy with autistic adults: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled pilot study. Psychopharmacology, 235(11), 3137-3148. Wolfson, P. E., Andries, J., Feduccia, A. A., Jerome, L., Wang, J. B., Williams, E., ... & Doblin, R. (2020). MDMA-assisted psychotherapy for treatment of anxiety and other psychological distress related to life-threatening illnesses: a randomized pilot study. Scientific reports, 10(1), 20442. Mitchell, J. M., Bogenschutz, M., Lilienstein, A., Harrison, C., Kleiman, S., Parker-Guilbert, K., ... & Doblin, R. (2023). MDMA-assisted therapy for severe PTSD: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase 3 study. Focus, 21(3), 315-328. Nicholas, C. R., Wang, J. B., Coker, A., Mitchell, J. M., Klaire, S. S., Yazar-Klosinski, B., ... & Doblin, R. (2022). The effects of MDMA-assisted therapy on alcohol and substance use in a phase 3 trial for treatment of severe PTSD. Drug and alcohol dependence, 233, 109356. Sessa, B., Higbed, L., O'Brien, S., Durant, C., Sakal, C., Titheradge, D., ... & Nutt, D. J. (2021). First study of safety and tolerability of 3, 4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine-assisted psychotherapy in patients with alcohol use disorder. Journal of Psychopharmacology, 35(4), 375-383. Hoshi, R., Bisla, J., & Curran, H. V. (2004). The acute and sub-acute effects of ‘ecstasy'(MDMA) on processing of facial expressions: preliminary findings. Drug and Alcohol Dependence, 76(3), 297-304. Rootman, J. M., Kiraga, M., Kryskow, P., Harvey, K., Stamets, P., Santos-Brault, E., ... & Walsh, Z. (2022). Psilocybin microdosers demonstrate greater observed improvements in mood and mental health at one month relative to non-microdosing controls. Scientific Reports, 12(1), 11091. Cavanna, F., Muller, S., de la Fuente, L. A., Zamberlan, F., Palmucci, M., Janeckova, L., ... & Tagliazucchi, E. (2022). Microdosing with psilocybin mushrooms: a double-blind placebo-controlled study. Translational Psychiatry, 12(1), 307. Passie, Torsten, and Andrew Dennis, 'The Early History of MDMA', The History of MDMA MAPS FDA MDMA application: https://mapsbcorp.com/news/mdma-for-ptsd-fda-submission/ MDMA neurotoxicity: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.301.5639.1479b https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1074501 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.301.5639.1454b https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC194116/ Woke pharmaceuticals: https://wokeph.com/ Tik Tok Video: https://vt.tiktok.com/ZSNCVW7gn/

This episode, join Kade and Matt as they spin their way into the world of spider webs – just in time for Halloween! Learn about the absolute wonder that is spider silk: its incredible properties, how it is made, why humans can't yet mass-produce it, and some of the interesting efforts scientists are trying to change that! Stick around for a listener question all about glow sticks. As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://australian.museum/learn/animals/spiders/silk-the-spiders-success-story/ https://www.nhm.ac.uk/discover/what-are-spider-webs-made-of.html https://www.nationalgeographic.com/animals/article/spiderwebs-explained https://youtu.be/dMN_wQ6Zyy0?si=n7u43x7NBXnOTL5P https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5000687/ https://www.proquest.com/openview/2606e70bffecfe3e2df4260c10508f78/1?pq-origsite=gscholar&cbl=18750 https://ami-journals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/1751-7915.12081 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00018-006-6090-y https://www.cell.com/trends/biotechnology/fulltext/S0167-7799(08)00079-6?large_figure=true&code=cell-site https://youtu.be/xossR6eHv3I?si=4tm4f_wpvw3mBrvw https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/marc.201800516 https://edu.rsc.org/exhibition-chemistry/the-glow-stick-reaction/3010386.article

Link for Kade's video: https://youtu.be/rdOc2HB5sx0?si=-4B_koSDMxPxyNMi This month on Curiosity Killed the Rat, we are taking a break from our usual content to present the audio from the YouTube video made by host Kade Huckstep this month in response to Channel 7's blatant spread of disinformation and misrepresentation of science. It breaks down the “documentary” aired about detransitioning, and goes through the scientific evidence that does actually exist. As a show, we value the spread of correct information, and so this is our part in the fight against mis/disinformation. As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: (if people want access to any actual papers stuck behind paywalls please do hit us up) Abreu, Roberto L., et al. "Supporting transgender students: School counselors' preparedness, training efforts, and necessary support." Journal of LGBT Youth 17.1 (2020): 107-122. Bailey, Louis, Sonja J. Ellis, and Jay McNeil. "Suicide risk in the UK trans population and the role of gender transition in decreasing suicidal ideation and suicide attempt." Mental Health Review Journal 19.4 (2014): 209-220. Borges, Maria de Fátima, et al. "Evaluation of central precocious puberty treatment with GnRH analogue at the Triangulo Mineiro Federal University (UFTM)." Archives of Endocrinology and Metabolism 59 (2015): 515-522. Bruce, Lauren, et al. "Long-term regret and satisfaction with decision following gender-affirming mastectomy." JAMA surgery (2023). Butler, Gary, et al. "Discharge outcome analysis of 1089 transgender young people referred to paediatric endocrine clinics in England 2008–2021." Archives of Disease in Childhood 107.11 (2022): 1018-1022. Choi, Seungtaek, and Andrew K. Lee. "Efficacy and safety of gonadotropin-releasing hormone agonists used in the treatment of prostate cancer." Drug, Healthcare and Patient Safety (2011): 107-119. Cheung, Ada S., et al. "Sociodemographic and clinical characteristics of transgender adults in Australia." Transgender health 3.1 (2018): 229-238. Giacomelli, Giulia, and Maria Cristina Meriggiola. "Bone health in transgender people: a narrative review." Therapeutic Advances in Endocrinology and Metabolism 13 (2022): 20420188221099346. Golan, A. "GnRH analogues in the treatment of uterine fibroids." Human reproduction 11.suppl_3 (1996): 33-41. Hannema, Sabine Elisabeth, et al. "Continuation of gender-affirming hormones in transgender people starting puberty suppression in adolescence: a cohort study in the Netherlands." The Lancet Child & Adolescent Health 6.12 (2022): 869-875. Jedrzejewski, Breanna Y., et al. "Regret after gender-affirming surgery: a multidisciplinary approach to a Multifaceted patient experience." Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery 152.1 (2023): 206-214. Jeffery, Eiddwen. “Anti-Trans Group Raises False Alarm on Victorian Policy for Gender Diverse Students.” RMIT University, 4 Nov. 2022, www.rmit.edu.au/news/factlab-meta/anti-trans-group-raises-false-alarm-on-victorian-policy-for-gend. Jones, Hannah Elizabeth, et al. "Decision Regret in Plastic Surgery: A Summary." Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery Global Open 11.6 (2023). Katz-Wise, Sabra L. “Gender Fluidity: What It Means and Why Support Matters.” Harvard Health, 3 Dec. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/gender-fluidity-what-it-means-and-why-support-matters-2020120321544. Levine, Laurence A., and Stephen P. Guss. "Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues in the treatment of sickle cell anemia-associated priapism." The Journal of urology 150.2 (1993): 475-477. Mahdi, Aamir, et al. "Patients' experiences of discontentment one year after total knee arthroplasty-a qualitative study." BMC musculoskeletal disorders 21.1 (2020): 1-11. Mangin, Melinda. "Supporting transgender and gender-expansive children in school." Phi Delta Kappan 100.2 (2018): 16-21. Martín-Castillo, David, et al. "School victimization in transgender people: A systematic review." Children and Youth Services Review 119 (2020): 105480. Martino, Wayne, Jenny Kassen, and Kenan Omercajic. "Supporting transgender students in schools: Beyond an individualist approach to trans inclusion in the education system." Educational Review 74.4 (2022): 753-772. Nolan, Brendan J., et al. "Early Access to Testosterone Therapy in Transgender and Gender-Diverse Adults Seeking Masculinization: A Randomized Clinical Trial." JAMA Network Open 6.9 (2023): e2331919-e2331919. Olson, Kristina R., et al. "Mental health of transgender children who are supported in their identities." Pediatrics 137.3 (2016). Ramos, G. G. F., et al. "Systematic Review: Puberty suppression with GnRH analogues in adolescents with gender incongruity." Journal of Endocrinological Investigation 44 (2021): 1151-1158. Russell, Stephen T., et al. "Chosen name use is linked to reduced depressive symptoms, suicidal ideation, and suicidal behavior among transgender youth." Journal of adolescent Health 63.4 (2018): 503-505. Sares-Jäske, Laura, et al. "Gendered differences in experiences of bullying and mental health among transgender and cisgender youth." Journal of youth and adolescence 52.8 (2023): 1531-1548. Schmauss, Daniel, Hans-Günther Machens, and Yves Harder. "Breast reconstruction after mastectomy." Frontiers in surgery 2 (2016): 71. Tankersley, Amelia P., et al. "Risk and resilience factors for mental health among transgender and gender nonconforming (TGNC) youth: A systematic review." Clinical Child and Family Psychology Review 24 (2021): 183-206. Telfer, Michelle M., et al. "Australian standards of care and treatment guidelines for transgender and gender diverse children and adolescents." Medical Journal of Australia 209.3 (2018): 132-136. Tordoff, Diana M., et al. "Mental health outcomes in transgender and nonbinary youths receiving gender-affirming care." JAMA Network Open 5.2 (2022): e220978-e220978. Turban, Jack L., et al. "Pubertal suppression for transgender youth and risk of suicidal ideation." Pediatrics 145.2 (2020). Valsamakis, Georgios, et al. "GnRH analogues as a co-treatment to therapy in women of reproductive age with cancer and fertility preservation." International journal of molecular sciences 23.4 (2022): 2287. Victorian Department of Education. “LGBTIQ Student Support: Policy.” Education.Vic.Gov.Au, 5 Dec. 2022, www2.education.vic.gov.au/pal/lgbtiq-student-support/policy. Waller, Kathleen G., and Robert W. Shaw. "Gonadotropin-releasing hormone analogues for the treatment of endometriosis: long-term follow-up." Fertility and sterility 59.3 (1993): 511-515. Witcomb, Gemma L., et al. "Experiences and psychological wellbeing outcomes associated with bullying in treatment-seeking transgender and gender-diverse youth." LGBT health 6.5 (2019): 216-226.

This month on Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kade and Matt tackle a more serious issue: the science of antidepressants. What is depression? How is it caused? How do antidepressants work, and are they actually effective? Stick around to the end of the episode to hear sound guy Matt answer a listener question about the science of noise cancelling headphones! As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41380-022-01661-0 https://www.kcl.ac.uk/news/a-response-to-the-serotonin-theory-of-depression-a-systematic-umbrella-review-of-the-evidence https://www.sciencemediacentre.org/expert-reaction-to-a-review-paper-on-the-serotonin-theory-of-depression/ https://www.psychiatry.org/patients-families/depression/what-is-depression science.org/content/blog-post/understanding-antidepressants---or-not https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK361016/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4309382/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2739676/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2896866/ https://www.nature.com/articles/mp201080 https://helda.helsinki.fi/items/5f15e844-28d8-41b9-a61c-38b2b3351a95 Listener Question References: https://www.nytimes.com/wirecutter/blog/what-noise-cancelling-headphones-do/ https://www.scienceabc.com/innovation/why-are-noise-canceling-headphones-less-effective-at-blocking-high-pitched-sounds.html https://www.soundguys.com/noise-canceling-anc-explained-28344/ https://hearingclinic.co.za/why-can-you-hear-when-your-ears-are-blocked/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK531483/  

Join Kade and Matt on a wondrous wintery episode where we talk all about snowflakes! How are they formed? What makes them so unique and special? Is everything we think we know about them true? Stick around to end to hear Matt tell some fun facts about native Australian trees! As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://www.caltech.edu/about/news/snowflake-science-2023 https://scied.ucar.edu/learning-zone/storms/snowflakes https://link.springer.com/referenceworkentry/10.1007/0-387-30720-6_130 https://www.its.caltech.edu/~atomic/snowcrystals/faceting/faceting.htm https://chemstuff.co.uk/2012/12/09/snow-chemistry/2j46o7t/ https://www.everydaychemistries.com/blog/snowflakes https://www.britannica.com/video/187062/snowflakes https://oxsci.org/the-science-of-snowflakes/ https://www.buffalo.edu/news/tipsheets/2018/001.html https://sustainable-nano.com/2016/03/04/science-of-snow/ https://youtu.be/FwGH4gulLX4 https://publicdomainreview.org/essay/the-snowflake-man-of-vermont/ http://www.snowcrystals.com/science/science.html https://www.science.org/content/article/scienceshot-true-shape-snowflakes  https://youtu.be/ao2Jfm35XeE

This month on Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kade and Matt are joined by Oliver Anagnostou and Benji Metha to talk about rockets! What is a rocket? How does a rocket actually work? Listen to find out how rocket science really is out of this world! Stick around to the end of the episode for a listener question that answers: what is it that gives us butterflies in our belly? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Find more of Oliver on Instagram: @oliver.anagnostou Listener Question Sources: https://www.discovermagazine.com/planet-earth/butterflies-have-an-extra-stomach-attached-to-their-vaginas https://theconversation.com/explainer-why-do-we-get-butterflies-in-our-stomachs-72232 https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-4939-0897-4_3 https://journals-biologists-com.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/jeb/article/218/10/1548/760/Dynamic-digestive-physiology-of-a-female https://www.cambridgebutterfly.com/all-about-butterflies/ https://www.discovery.com/science/Butterflies-in-Your-Stomach No Combustion?: https://imgflip.com/i/7r2vu5 Eminem/Hamilton Mashup: https://soundcloud.com/user-865675098/lose-your-shot?in=user-865675098/sets/mashups&utm_source=clipboard&utm_medium=text&utm_campaign=social_sharing

This episode on Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kade and Matt talk about bones! Bones may in fact be one of the most under-appreciated parts of the body. Not a bunch of dry pieces of scaffolding holding our bodies together, bones do all sorts of weird and wacky things you may not expect! As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show  Sources: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2016.1736 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21566758/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41586-018-0213-0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4006341/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2387081/ https://www.nature.com/articles/s41413-018-0019-6.pdf https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S155041311400268X?via=ihub https://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/how-bones-communicate-with-the-rest-of-the-body-180979643/

Welcome back to season 4 of Curiosity Killed the Rat! This episode, Kade and Matt are chatting all about Testosterone: a hormone that makes you sweaty and hungry and hairy and horny. We often learn about testosterone and its effects on the body in the context of a cisgender male puberty. But testosterone can be important for other individuals, too! This episode, our resident scientist Kade – who has been on testosterone as part of a gender-affirming hormone replacement therapy for several months – will discuss the biology behind testosterone and its effects on the body, specifically through a trans-masculine lens. Kade dives into the different changes that testosterone can cause in the body, like hair growth (and loss!), voice deepening, and muscle changes. Why are some of these changes reversible, while others are permanent? We also tackle a listener question about barking dogs – why don't males sound deeper? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Episode references: https://www.transhub.org.au/hormones-masculinising https://www.mayoclinic.org/tests-procedures/masculinizing-hormone-therapy/about/pac-20385099 https://transcare.ucsf.edu/article/information-testosterone-hormone-therapy https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/andr.12278 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S000334720400123X https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2013.0926 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7432488/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/8770664/#:~:text=Based%20on%20presented%20data%20we,synthase%20within%20the%20corpora%20cavernosa

During the holiday season in Australia, it's hot and summery, and we're all told to slip slop slap. But what is sunscreen, and how does it actually work? What does SPF mean? Does sunscreen cause cancer? Kade and Matt are joined once again by friend of the show, Dr Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, to talk all things sunscreen. If you loved what Cat had to say and want to find more from her, you can follow her on twitter @CatrionaNR, Instagram @nyuroscientist, and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NtXSj9jH06SHNmsKhyfuQ). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. How your skin looks to UV light: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=o9BqrSAHbTc Is Benzene in Sunscreen Giving You Cancer? Lab Muffin Beauty Science: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ykdJ7yj6snA    

Just in time for halloween, Kade and Matt are joined by Arin Oliver to talk about weird, gross, and curious aspects of working in a pathology laboratory. From dismembered toes, to human soup, and a deep dive into working in science & sci-com in between, tune in for a spooktacular conversation. Stick around till the end of the episode to find out some of the scientific explanations for why vampires were once thought to be real! If you want to hear more of Arin, check out their sound cloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-880237105 As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Images and Websites referenced in the show: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/born-to-the-purple-the-st/ https://www.livescience.com/24374-vampires-real-history.html https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1296679/pdf/jrsocmed00034-0052.pdf https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/primate-diaries/a-natural-history-of-vampires/ https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/porphyria/symptoms-causes/syc-20356066 http://www.chm.bris.ac.uk/motm/hemoglobin/hemoglobv.htm https://www.jstor.org/stable/3814375?saml_data=eyJzYW1sVG9rZW4iOiJjNDRlNzZjZi1lYjZkLTRjYmEtOWQzNS04MmE0ZTAyNmRiYjkiLCJpbnN0aXR1dGlvbklkcyI6WyIxMTQyMzMzMy00NmI0LTQ4MWItYTIyNy0yYzA4OGVhZmUxMTkiXX0#metadata_info_tab_contents https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/the-great-new-england-vampire-panic-36482878/

This episode, Kate and Matt discuss stomach ulcers, gastritis, the bacteria h. pylori, and one man's decision to use HIMSELF as a lab rat. That's right, we tell the tale of Barry J Marshall, winner of the 2005 Nobel Prize for Physiology and Medicine for his work uncovering the cause of stomach ulcers… and, more importantly, the absolutely insane way he went about proving his hypothesis. We also tackle a listener question about snails… what happens, exactly, when they're given amphetamines? If you love the logo that inspired this episode, you can find the artist Steff on Instagram @steff_tattoo_artist. You can find Kate on twitter @huckstepkate or on Insta @katehuckstep. And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. References: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/professor-barry-marshall-helicobacter-pylori-bacterium/id1212751478?i=1000389540444 https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/professor-barry-marshall-his-professional-history-h/id1212751478?i=1000388990736 https://medlineplus.gov/pepticulcer.html https://www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/causes-prevention/risk/infectious-agents/h-pylori-fact-sheet#q4 https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/press-release/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK2432/ https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2005/summary/ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2012/10/22/germs-are-us https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1283743/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(84)91816-6/fulltext https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1539101/ Listener Question References: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/culture/article/100603-crystal-meth-snails-brains-addiction-science https://www.apa.org/monitor/2010/09/snails#:~:text=New%20research%20has%20found%20that,213%2C%20No

In light of science's latest and greatest big project on everybody's lips right now – the James Webb Space Telescope – Kate and Matt are joined by astronomer Stephanie Bernard (and our regular space consultant Benji Metha) to talk about some of the OTHER telescopes out there! What is the Hubble Space Telescope and why was it made? What advantages do space telescopes have over the ones here on earth? Where does astronomy even come from? Stick around ‘til the end to hear Kate answer this month's listener question all about mozzies! If you loved what Stephi had to say, you can find more of her on her podcast: Spaghettification, at https://www.spaghettification.com.au/, @spagpod on Twitter, and @spaghettificationpodcast on Instagram. You can find Stephi personally on Twitter under @astro_stephi or on Insta under @stephoebe. As usual, you can find more from Benji on Instagram under @benjaminmetha, and find more of Kate @katehuckstep on Instagram or @huckstepkate on Twitter. You can find more of Matt on Soundcloud at https://soundcloud.com/user-865675098, or on https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCJv0HlknPTGfvHpFfv4wL6Qat And as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, Instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have some coin to chuck our way, it really helps with all the time and effort that does into making the show! Listener Question References: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12083361/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127358/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0022191016303158?via%3Dihub https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6315685/#:~:text=Bananas%20and%20beer%20%5B20%2C21,likelihood%20of%20contact%20and%20biting. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41597-022-01541-w https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-022-28195-x https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0122716 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ps.6635 https://youtu.be/38gVZgE39K8

This time on Curiosity Killed the Rat, Kate and Matt discuss all things muscle. How do we grow bigger muscles? How to our muscles actually make us move? How do steroids effect our bodies? Stick around to the end for a listener question on how much of our brain do we really need. As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show Sources: https://youtu.be/Ktv-CaOt6UQ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29282553/ https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190125084106.htm https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fphys.2018.01887/full https://medlineplus.gov/ency/article/003188.htm https://cob.silverchair-cdn.com/cob/content_public/journal/jeb/219/2/10.1242_jeb.124495/5/jeb124495.pdf?Expires=1662262469&Signature=GOSSKmvlLzQ5OmbhJexKPEShy~sLFrkAXdDps2EhHcj0VNHPYWJFmIYnhAZAz-Cwa7C9c1-kCNVbCUAIvo8q5QU6qcposdUvKgf2z7uC3ynKJOEgr3ajWHvHpsacKUj4fLPqs07zNb17Jlp85ou71lF8um23gpiHhnDTy3u8epxt6rpZwoacQVEWglTdTZWsMzglYVwdJIrhJnZLJv7o0J49g6kWwah5VFgngf8Ace7ilJcCFcKYhdap53VmO3dq8bPl8mysgabtU9YKjU4XwHtbLpUIUZIwiTka4JqcYbEnbDNjWylGQB93i6Av86t4pB~qWTmYYEun3t4ybkNzeQ__&Key-Pair-Id=APKAIE5G5CRDK6RD3PGA https://www.unm.edu/~lkravitz/Article%20folder/musclesgrowLK.html https://medicalxpress.com/news/2010-11-source-long-term-motor-memory.html https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/0047637482901051?via=ihub Listener Question Sources: https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/strange-but-true-when-half-brain-better-than-whole/ https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn12301-man-with-tiny-brain-shocks-doctors/#.VBcSYy5dVoc https://www.medicaldaily.com/boy-born-without-brain-trevor-judge-waltrip-dies-after-living-12-years-hydranencephaly-300736

Way back in 2020 we did an episode all about the James Webb Space Telescope. Since then, this Bad Boi has been launched, is in space, unfolded, and ready to deliver it's first data to the world! Given this, we thought it was time for an update, getting the low-down from high-up about the current status of the James Webb Space Telescope! With Kate out this episode due to an unfortunately timed cased of COVID, friend-of-the-show Benji steps up alongside Matt to chat to fellow astronomer Maddie Marshall. If you loved the insight Maddie had to give, you can find more of her on twitter with the handle @AstroMad. As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Images and Websites referenced in the show: https://webb.nasa.gov/content/webbLaunch/whereIsWebb.html?fbclid=IwAR0D7H6gOcUf7dvrYIppFN8i9WlveSqFTIrvd8lwbA8-rBYhS9kw47ocCMA https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/05/09/miris-sharper-view-hints-at-new-possibilities-for-science/?fbclid=IwAR0euAWqWWJQcisv2kLscr_LOQkPmdz1ctE-c5cmXGP4qq-ymE79m7E7Sv0 https://blogs.nasa.gov/webb/2022/04/28/nasas-webb-in-full-focus-ready-for-instrument-commissioning/?fbclid=IwAR1crPVdoLNi8BL5CxXy7qN9yFe4YAcY1jFn6ECDLGnyWZHxX_quQFHhYn0 https://www.nasa.gov/press-release/nasa-s-webb-reaches-alignment-milestone-optics-working-successfully

The refrigeration cycle is so fundamental to human society, but it can be very easy to take for granted. This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by Mark Kelly, who teaches us all about the science and history of refrigeration. We dive into thermodynamics and heat transfer, as Mark explains just why he thinks refrigeration is amazing and how it relies on what feels like a bug in the physics engine of our world. We also tackle a listener question about dust… what is it, exactly? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Referenced in this episode: https://youtu.be/AeJ9q45PfD0 https://youtu.be/4fuHzC9aTik Listener Question References: https://www.cabdirect.org/cabdirect/abstract/19820596810 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/es104056m https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/es9003735 https://youtu.be/P21a5Uty-uc https://youtu.be/jn5M48MVWyg  

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by Ulysse Thivisol to chat about the brain and some of the cool research he is doing to learn about it! We talk about everything from brain development and substance use to schizophrenia, and how those things overlap. We also tackle a listener question about the mysterious “alcohol jacket”… does drinking actually warm you up? If you enjoyed what Ulysse had to say and want to find more of him, you can follow him on twitter @Uthivisol. And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener Q References: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/6974036/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(09)60746-7/fulltext https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2775500/ https://www.nature.com/articles/nn852 https://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/01/health/01real.html?_r=0 https://jpet-aspetjournals-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/content/309/3/1167.full https://rupress-org.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/jgp/article/125/6/531/44091/The-Salty-and-Burning-Taste-of-Capsaicin

This episode, join Kate and Matt as they take a deep dive into the world of Stingrays! The many species of stingray range so greatly in size and habitat, but they share some common incredibly cool features. Just how exactly do they hunt for their prey? How do they sense it? Of course, we also discuss the tragedy of Steve Irwin's death. But just how dangerous are stingrays? What usually happens if you get stung by one, and what should you do? We also tackle a listener question about breathing and just how/why we breathe in oxygen and breathe out carbon dioxide. How long does that whole process take? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Main Segment References: http://bioweb.uwlax.edu/bio203/s2009/long_nico/Adaptation.htm https://www.nature.com/articles/187957a0.pdf https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/joa.12342 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0944200613000871?via%3Dihub https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0944200611000973?via%3Dihub https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6651/7/6/2272 https://www.seaparadise.com/manta-ray-vs-stingray-9-key-differences-explained/#:~:text=Aside%20from%20their%20size%2C%20one,the%20base%20of%20their%20tail. https://www.seeker.com/stingrays-chew-their-food-like-mammals-2004274358.html https://theculturetrip.com/pacific/australia/articles/the-prehistoric-super-fish-7-facts-about-stingrays/ https://australian.museum/learn/animals/fishes/smooth-stingray-dasyatis-brevicaudata-hutton-1875/ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rspb.2013.0528 https://saveourseas.com/project/do-stingrays-have-superpowers/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-sharks-electric-sense/ https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2013Sci...340...66C/abstract https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.1230883 https://youtu.be/SSSpjXP6KNg https://www.smh.com.au/environment/conservation/stingrays-born-in-female-only-tank-20110810-1imik.html Listener Q References: https://ed.ted.com/lessons/oxygen-s-surprisingly-complex-journey-through-your-body-enda-butler https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF02111656 https://youtu.be/mZvzl8KH6iI https://www.almanac.com/fact/how-long-does-it-take-blood-to

Kate and Matt bring in a brand new season of Curiosity Killed the Rat with the help of this week's guest, Brandon Richards, to talk about all things fear. What's the difference between fear and anxiety? Why do adrenaline junkies love fear so much? What actually occurs in the brain when we're scared, and how could we use this knowledge? Stay tuned till the end of the episode for our Listener Question, where Kate reveals the truth about what is actually inside those DO NOT EAT packets that seem to show up in all sorts of products.  As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com. We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. You can find more of Brandon on Twitter: @BrandonKRneuro Chubby Emu Video on Silica Gel: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ChgIkbg0x80 Listener Question References: https://pubs.acs.org/doi/pdf/10.1021/j100854a041 https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/je0255067 http://resources.culturalheritage.org/wp-content/uploads/sites/8/2015/02/osg009-12.pdf http://thescienceexplorer.com/technology/don-t-throw-away-your-desiccant-packets https://www.scienceworld.ca/stories/ever-wonder-about-silica-gel/ https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/19775/what-would-happen-if-you-ate-one-those-silica-gel-packets  

For the final episode of the season, we take a deep dive into the science of Botox! Or, more accurately, botulinum toxin: one of the most dangerous biological substances known to humankind. We mostly associate Botox with its cosmetic use, but there is so much more to it! This toxin was first discovered thanks to the illness it causes when accidentally eaten. From there, its powers were harnessed by the medical and cosmetic industries… but HOW does it work!? This episode, Kate goes into the history, the neuroscience, and the medical uses of botulinum toxin – resulting in a fun ride of science, story time, and self-reflection. We also tackle a listener question about “the sultana curse” – why do our fingers and toes go wrinkly after a bath? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Botox References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1392572/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/20418969/ https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdfdirect/10.1111/jnc.15181 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27363760/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16901418/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1312202/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17458494/ https://headacheaustralia.org.au/botox-for-migraine/ https://accesspediatrics.mhmedical.com/content.aspx?bookid=2216§ionid=170340147 https://www.accessdata.fda.gov/drugsatfda_docs/label/2017/125274s109lbl.pdf https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/inside-aesthetics/id1450935718?i=1000520515573 Listener Q References: https://www.nature.com/articles/nature.2013.12175 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15095056/ https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/10.1098/rsbl.2012.0999 https://www.karger.com/Article/FullText/328223

This is a super special BONUS EPISODE all about vaccine science communication! Do you have loved ones or people in your life expressing some hesitancy around the COVID vaccine? Is hitting them with facts just not doing the job? This episode, Kate, Matt, and Cat have a chat about vaccine hesitancy and how to best have those conversations. We discuss WHY some people might be feeling hesitant, and how best to approach a conversation with them. We talk about where some of the mis/disinformation is coming from, and we help give you some tools to bust a couple of the myths. Cat gives us some nifty tips when checking scientific papers for legitimacy, as we talk about the “research” that is out in support of ivermectin as a COVID treatment. And we talk about some of the successful ways that minds have been changed already, and hopefully leave you with a sense of hope because every conversation counts. We hope this bonus booster ep helps you feel more empowered and comfortable engaging in these important conversations around vaccines and their safety/efficacy! If you loved what Cat had to say and want to find more from her, you can follow her on twitter @CatrionaNR, Instagram @nyuroscientist, and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NtXSj9jH06SHNmsKhyfuQ). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show.

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined once again by our resident immunologist Catriona Nguyen-Robertson! We hit you up with your second dose of vaccine science, expanding on our previous vaccine episode. We start with a quick recap of the past ep's key points: what are vaccines, how do they work, and what is new and cool about the COVID ones? Then we talk about second doses! Why do we need a second dose of the COVID vaccine, but not for some other vaccines? We also chat about booster shots… will we need them in the future? Why/why not? And is it possible to build tolerance to repeated vaccine doses? We also touch on why some COVID vaccines recommended for some age groups and not others, and how is that risk calculated. Kate then tackles a listener question about babies – why do they put everything in their mouths?! If you enjoyed Catriona's contribution to the episode and want to find more of her, you can follow her on twitter @CatrionaNR, Instagram @nyuroscientist, and YouTube (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC_NtXSj9jH06SHNmsKhyfuQ). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener Question References: https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2364215 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/ss.37119780403 https://library.wur.nl/WebQuery/wurpubs/fulltext/384470 https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/actearly/pdf/parents_pdfs/milestonemomentseng508.pdf https://www.chop.edu/conditions-diseases/newborn-senses https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/03004430.2020.1756792 https://www.healthline.com/health/baby/baby-mouthing https://news.llu.edu/patient-care/common-household-items-that-could-be-life-threatening-your-child

This episode, Kate informs Matt about the fantastically hilarious “Ig Nobel Prizes”. The Ig Nobels are a parody of the better-known Nobel Prize, and they reward science that makes you laugh, and then makes you think. We take a dive into some of the most entertaining award winners from this year, last year, and across history. From levitating frogs and giving helium to alligators… to knives made from faeces and unboiled eggs. This is a wild ride of hilarious, but also super interesting science!  We also tackle a listener question about wind… how, and why, does it happen? As always, if you like our work you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Referenced Ig Nobel Prize winners– taken from the Annals of Improbable Research Website: 2010 PHYSICS Prize: Andre Geim of the University of Nijmegen (the Netherlands) and Sir Michael Berry of Bristol University (UK), for using magnets to levitate a frog. [REFERENCE: “Of Flying Frogs and Levitrons” by M.V. Berry and A.K. Geim, European Journal of Physics, v. 18, 1997, p. 307-13.]   2021 TRANSPORTATION PRIZE [NAMIBIA, SOUTH AFRICA, TANZANIA, ZIMBABWE, BRAZIL, UK, USA]: Robin Radcliffe, Mark Jago, Peter Morkel, Estelle Morkel, Pierre du Preez, Piet Beytell, Birgit Kotting, Bakker Manuel, Jan Hendrik du Preez, Michele Miller, Julia Felippe, Stephen Parry, and Robin Gleed, for determining by experiment whether it is safer to transport an airborne rhinoceros upside-down. REFERENCE: “The Pulmonary and Metabolic Effects of Suspension by the Feet Compared with Lateral Recumbency in Immobilized Black Rhinoceroses (Diceros bicornis) Captured by Aerial Darting,” Robin W. Radcliffe, Mark Jago, Peter vdB Morkel, Estelle Morkel, Pierre du Preez, Piet Beytell, Birgit Kotting, Bakker Manuel, Jan Hendrik du Preez, Michele A. Miller, Julia Felippe, Stephen A Parry; R.D. Gleed, Journal of Wildlife Diseases, vol. 57, no. 2, 2021, 357–367. 2021 MEDICINE PRIZE [GERMANY, TURKEY, UK]: Olcay Cem Bulut, Dare Oladokun, Burkard Lippert, and Ralph Hohenberger, for demonstrating that sexual orgasms can be as effective as decongestant medicines at improving nasal breathing. REFERENCE: “Can Sex Improve Nasal Function? — An Exploration of the Link Between Sex and Nasal Function,” Olcay Cem Bulut, Dare Oladokun, Burkard M. Lippert, and Ralph Hohenberger, Ear, Nose & Throat Journal, 2021, no. 0145561320981441. 2021 PEACE PRIZE [USA]: Ethan Beseris, Steven Naleway, and David Carrier, for testing the hypothesis that humans evolved beards to protect themselves from punches to the face. REFERENCE: “Impact Protection Potential of Mammalian Hair: Testing the Pugilism Hypothesis for the Evolution of Human Facial Hair,” Ethan A. Beseris, Steven E. Naleway, David R. Carrier, Integrative Organismal Biology, vol. 2, no. 1, 2020, obaa005. 2020 ACOUSTICS PRIZE [AUSTRIA, SWEDEN, JAPAN, USA, SWITZERLAND] Stephan Reber, Takeshi Nishimura, Judith Janisch, Mark Robertson, and Tecumseh Fitch, for inducing a female Chinese alligator to bellow in an airtight chamber filled with helium-enriched air. REFERENCE: “A Chinese Alligator in Heliox: Formant Frequencies in a Crocodilian,” Stephan A. Reber, Takeshi Nishimura, Judith Janisch, Mark Robertson, and W. Tecumseh Fitch, Journal of Experimental Biology, vol. 218, 2015, pp. 2442-2447. 2020 PHYSICS PRIZE [AUSTRALIA, UKRAINE, FRANCE, ITALY, GERMANY, UK, SOUTH AFRICA] Ivan Maksymov and Andrey Pototsky, for determining, experimentally, what happens to the shape of a living earthworm when one vibrates the earthworm at high frequency. REFERENCE: “Excitation of Faraday-like body waves in vibrated living earthworms,” Ivan S. Maksymov and Andrey Pototsky, bioRxiv 10.1101/868521, December 8, 2019. 2020 MATERIALS SCIENCE PRIZE [USA, UK] Metin Eren, Michelle Bebber, James Norris, Alyssa Perrone, Ashley Rutkoski, Michael Wilson, and Mary Ann Raghanti, for showing that knives manufactured from frozen human feces do not work well. REFERENCE: “Experimental Replication Shows Knives Manufactured from Frozen Human Feces Do Not Work,” Metin I. Eren, Michelle R. Bebber, James D. Norris, Alyssa Perrone, Ashley Rutkoski, Michael Wilson, and Mary Ann Raghanti, Journal of Archaeological Science: Reports, vol. 27, no. 102002, October 2019. 2012 MEDICINE PRIZE: Emmanuel Ben-Soussan and Michel Antonietti [FRANCE] for advising doctors who perform colonoscopies how to minimize the chance that their patients will explode. REFERENCE: “Colonic Gas Explosion During Therapeutic Colonoscopy with Electrocautery,” Spiros D Ladas, George Karamanolis, Emmanuel Ben-Soussan, World Journal of Gastroenterology, vol. 13, no. 40, October 2007, pp. 5295–8. REFERENCE: “Argon Plasma Coagulation in the Treatment of Hemorrhagic Radiation Proctitis is Efficient But Requires a Perfect Colonic Cleansing to Be Safe,” E. Ben-Soussan, M. Antonietti, G. Savoye, S. Herve, P. Ducrotté, and E. Lerebours, European Journal of Gastroenterology and Hepatology, vol. 16, no. 12, December 2004, pp 1315-8.   2017 CHEMISTRY PRIZE — Callum Ormonde and Colin Raston [AUSTRALIA], and Tom Yuan, Stephan Kudlacek, Sameeran Kunche, Joshua N. Smith, William A. Brown, Kaitlin Pugliese, Tivoli Olsen, Mariam Iftikhar, Gregory Weiss [USA], for inventing a chemical recipe to partially un-boil an egg. REFERENCE: “Shear-Stress-Mediated Refolding of Proteins from Aggregates and Inclusion Bodies,” Tom Z. Yuan, Callum F. G. Ormonde, Stephan T. Kudlacek, Sameeran Kunche, Joshua N. Smith, William A. Brown, Kaitlin M. Pugliese, Tivoli J. Olsen, Mariam Iftikhar, Colin L. Raston, Gregory A. Weiss, ChemBioChem, vol. 16, no. 3, February 9, 2015, pp. 393–396.   Additional References: https://www.improbable.com/2021-ceremony/winners/ https://youtu.be/jiQW-nqoQYg https://youtu.be/KD6HhZiDFec https://youtu.be/auoRlBtbxvY   Listener Q References: https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/wind/ https://www.universetoday.com/82329/what-causes-wind/ https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/where-does-wind-come-from/

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by Elysa for a super serious scientific conversation about… butts. Specifically, we talk about the role butts play in a very important part of life: waste removal. Interestingly, not all creatures have butts that develop and function the same, nor do they deal with waste removal in the same ways. So, this episode, we go on a tour of anuses across the animal kingdom. We talk about humans, and how our anus develops and works. But(t) we also talk about animals with mouth-butts, creatures that can create jet-pack-style transportation with their butts, animals that breathe through their butts, and animals that weaponize their behinds. We talk about transient anuses, animals with disposable butts, and creatures that just don't have butts at all! We also discuss the very important question… what kind of waste-disposal system would cat-dog have? We also tackle a listener question about itching… why do we scratch when we feel an itch? If you enjoyed Elysa's contribution to the episode and want to find more of them, you can follow them on twitter @asciencequeer. And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Main References: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/ivb.12236 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24694282/ https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2021/05/evolution-butts/618915/ https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-3190/aac25a https://www.researchgate.net/publication/330795949_Prey_capturing_and_feeding_apparatus_of_dragonfly_nymph https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371%2Fjournal.pone.0116639 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-the-scorpion-lost-its-tail-and-its-anus https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00227-004-1467-7 https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/how-this-fish-survives-in-a-sea-cucumbers-bum https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/fish/pearlfish-sea-cucumber https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18392795/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00114-012-0975-4 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/jez.1055 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S004452311500011X https://www.newscientist.com/article/2195656-animal-with-an-anus-that-comes-and-goes-could-reveal-how-ours-evolved/ https://animaldiversity.org/accounts/Porifera/ https://ocean.si.edu/ocean-life/invertebrates/jellyfish-and-comb-jellies https://www.science.org/news/2016/03/why-watching-comb-jellies-poop-has-stunned-evolutionary-biologists Listener Q References: https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/what-makes-us-scratch-itch-scientists-finally-have-answer https://www.science.org/lookup/doi/10.1126/science.aac8653 https://www.sciencealert.com/some-disorders-make-you-itch-uncontrollably-so-much-so-that-one-woman-scratched-through-to-her-brain https://www.webmd.com/skin-problems-and-treatments/guide/scratching-feels-good https://www.ox.ac.uk/research/what-makes-us-scratch-itch-scientists-finally-have-answer

Space debris: What is it? Is it dangerous? How can we get rid of it? This week, we are joined by friend of the show Benji Metha to talk about space junk! Stay tuned to the end of the episode where we also tackle a listener question about eel junk. If you liked what Benji had to say and want to find more of him, you can find him on Instagram (@benjaminmetha). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Space Debris References: https://youtu.be/PIfRPTIgXuw?t=40 https://youtu.be/dtJ6KWPnPxo http://stephenwilkins.co.uk/WebbPiracy/ https://twitter.com/astro_timpeake/status/730746160944717825?s=20 Listener Q References: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2923712/ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2020/05/25/where-do-eels-come-from https://www.newscientist.com/article/2081008-how-are-baby-eels-made-we-still-dont-know/ https://nautil.us/issue/88/love--sex/eels-dont-have-sex-until-the-last-year-of-their-life https://www.jstor.org/stable/1447763 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1095-8649.1984.tb04792.x https://brill.com/view/journals/ab/55/3/article-p203_1.xml https://www.science.org/doi/abs/10.1126/science.1178120 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/brv.12609 https://www-publish-csiro-au.eu1.proxy.openathens.net/mf/pdf/MF17137

This episode, Kate and Matt chat about a wonderfully majestic and strange-looking creature: the flamingo! A large brightly coloured bird, the flamingo begs many interesting questions. Why are they bright pink? How do they eat and why do their tongues look like something out of a horror film? What do their social structures look like? And of course… why do they stand on one leg? This episode tackles a listener question about problematic substance use… what exactly is the difference between “addiction”, “dependence”, and “abuse”? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Sources: https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rsbl.2016.0948 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/zoo.20266 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1965.tb04067.x https://theconversation.com/how-planet-earths-ice-skating-flamingos-collectively-get-in-the-mood-for-sex-68784 https://theconversation.com/scientists-balanced-a-dead-flamingo-on-one-leg-to-unlock-the-birds-standing-secret-78231 https://youtu.be/asOctYi8a-k https://journals.physiology.org/doi/abs/10.1152/ajplegacy.1964.207.2.457

In a slightly different style of episode to usual, we're joined by Janine Jaramillo for a chat full of reflections about science. We chat about our experiences studying and researching science, why science is so important and relevant to EVERYONE (whether you want to be a scientist or not), and some science-related life hacks to do with stress, drinking, and social media that we wish we'd known in high school! We also tackle a fun listener question about the brain – does it using it burn calories!? As always, you can find and follow us on social media! We are @curiosityrat on twitter and instagram, we have a facebook page, and you can send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener question references: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18725427/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11495663/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15041139/

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by the amazing Meg Pusey to talk all about video games. Meg introduces us to a wildly cool concept: using video games to do SCIENCE! We learn about a whole category of video games out there being used to do either data collection or data analysis for real scientific research. We talk about some super cool examples you can go play yourself, such as Fold it (https://fold.it/) or Eye Wire (https://eyewire.org/explore), and about science mini-games embedded into big, popular, commercial games. We also chat about educational games: do they work? Why aren't they more of a thing? As always, we also answer a listener question! This episode we talk about sensing magnetic fields. Can animals do this? Can HUMANS? If you liked what Meg had to say and want to find more of her, you can find her on Twitter @scienceninjagal (https://twitter.com/scienceninjagal). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener Question References: https://www.biorxiv.org/content/biorxiv/early/2018/10/20/448449.full.pdf https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/can-humans-sense-the-magnetic-field--65611 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007%2Fs00359-005-0627-7 https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn1745 https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/1742-9994-10-80 https://peerj.com/articles/6117/?fbclid=IwAR0GzUtEXZBhCAnxYzY3-l5sscwOt_HrgV1TY5PGHkLuEpQv7ooUeFuy3mo https://youtu.be/tdXb_4EkYtU

This episode we take a deep dive into the science of colour! From the physics to the biology to the psychology, Kate and Matt chat all about what exactly “colour” is, and how we're able to perceive it. What are the physical properties of colour? How do fluorescent colours work? Why are the primary colours of paint and light different, and why do they mix differently? How are our eyes, and our brains, able to discriminate between different colours? We cover all this and so much more. We also tackle a listener question about forensics… how exactly do scientists figure out time of death? As always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. This Is Not Yellow vSauce: https://youtu.be/R3unPcJDbCc Episode References: http://people.atmos.ucla.edu/fovell/AS3/theory_of_color.html http://psychexamreview.com/color-vision-trichromatic-and-opponent-process-theories/ https://www.nature.com/articles/nrn2094 https://youtu.be/af78RPi6ayE https://youtu.be/TWhGmwUojBE Sensation and Perception by Steven Yantis and Richard A. Abrams (2016, psychology textbook) Listener Q: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/PL00007713 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21644987/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/medicine-and-dentistry/livor-mortis

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by the lovely Jasmine Schipp. Jasmine is a PhD candidate researching the experiences of people with type 1 diabetes who are using open-source technology to manage their condition. We chat briefly about what diabetes is, the different types of diabetes, the role of the pancreas… and how people are taking matters into their own hands to create artificial pancreases! We then take a deep dive into how this amazing technology, and the current trials and tribulations associated with it, are impacting the people behind the diagnoses. We also tackle a listener question about phantom limbs… what are they, and can they be “cured”? If you liked what Jasmine had to say and want to find more of her, you can find her on Twitter @JasmineSchipp (https://twitter.com/JasmineSchipp). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Jasmine's paper: https://www.liebertpub.com/doi/abs/10.1089/dia.2020.0652 Language Statement: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/wp-content/uploads/Language-position-statement-2016.pdf Additional Diabetes Resources: https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/what-is-diabetes/ https://www.diabetesaustralia.com.au/about-diabetes/myths-facts/ Listener Q References: https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1002/pmrj.12556 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1053811920304298 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1474442202000741 https://www.hindawi.com/journals/prt/2011/864605/ https://content.iospress.com/articles/neurorehabilitation/nre1447 Books: The Brain that Changes Itself by Norman Doidge Hallucinations by Oliver Sacks Limbless Association Podcast referenced in Listener Q: https://podcasts.apple.com/au/podcast/phantom-limb-pain/id1552006252?i=1000517118053&fbclid=IwAR3BcybpBzrvsHxBUGvl6C3LsJGFCSiuzld-7mv2PrZGoIyq-B47vFZPTLs

This episode, Kate is joined by reproductive biologist and science communicator Jarrod McKenna about some of the cool research going on in the world of assisted reproduction. How does a cute little animal like the Egyptian Spiny Mouse help us study reproduction? What are some of the cool techniques that exist to assist with reproduction? We also tackle a listener question about yawning. Why do we do it? And why does looking at other people yawning make us yawn? If you liked what Jarrod had to say and want to find more of him, you can find him on Twitter @jarrod_mckenna (https://twitter.com/jarrod_mckenna). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener Q References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0149763417303500 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938419302665 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0301008217300035 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3678674/ https://www.albany.edu/news/pdf_files/Yawning_Report_Gallup_May_2007.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3534187/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23982621/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2780782/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10071-020-01462-4 https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938419302665

We’re once again teaming up with the wonderful crew from Pint of Science to bring you a super interesting episode featuring UWA physics PhD Candidate Chayan Chatterjee. Chayan teaches Kate and Matt all about gravitational waves: what they are, what we can learn from them, and how we go about using cool tech like AI to detect them! We’re also back with a listener question this week: why is milk the go-to solution for reducing spice, and are there better alternatives? If you liked what our guest had to say today and want to find more of him, you can follow Chayan on facebook via https://www.facebook.com/Chayan15 If you want to find more Pint of Science content you can check out #PintAU21 and @pintofscienceAU And as always, you can follow us on twitter, instagram and facebook @CuriosityRat, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com ! And you can now become a Curiosity Killed the Rat patron! If you love what we do and want to help support us and the content we make, find us at www.patreon.com/CuriosityRat Listener Question References: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0031938419301453 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2975745/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4898060/

Kate and Matt are once again partnered up with Pint of science to bring you a very special episode with not 1, not 2, but 3 guests! In this episode we delve into three uniquely different topics: music psychology, the Fat Tailed Dunnart (an adorable tiny carnivorous marsupial!), and the use of Sugar Polymers in bioengineering!   If you liked what our guests had to say today and want to find more of them, you can check them out on twitter @StudyListening @SciclunaEmily @brookefarrugia If you want to find more Pint of Science content you can check out #PintAU21 and @pintofscienceAU And as always, you can follow us on twitter, insta and facebook @CuriosityRat And you can now become a Curiosity Killed the Rat patron! If you love what we do and want to help support us and the content we make, find us at www.patreon.com/CuriosityRat

This episode, Kate and Matt are once again joined by the Chemical Cowboy Declan Burke. This time he is here to chat all about graphite. Which, believe it or not, is more exciting than just pencils! We learn all about some of graphite’s incredible physical properties, the difference between natural and synthetic graphite, and some of the wildly cool uses for this amazing material! All this, and so much more. We also have a listener question about that dangly thing at the back of our throats… what is it for? The Slow Mo Guys video referenced in the episode: https://youtu.be/HWgfFYCAsX8 If you liked Declan had to say and want to find more of him, you can find him on Instagram (@mf_goon_). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.com We also now have a Patreon! If you love our content and want to support us you can jump on to https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat and become a patron. There is absolutely ZERO pressure but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show you appreciate all the time and effort that goes into making this show. Listener Q References: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1408233/ https://www.scienceabc.com/humans/what-is-the-uvula-and-what-does-it-do.html https://www.etymonline.com/word/uvula https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1365-2273.2004.00886.x https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/00016489950180685 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2782743/

In this episode about the science of siblings, we take a close look at the popular idea that your birth order can affect your personality or who you grow up to be. Are first born children more likely to be natural leaders? Are they more neurotic, having experienced the luxury of undivided parental attention only to be “dethroned” by the birth of younger siblings? Are younger siblings more free-spirited and less conscientious? Is there any actual scientific substance to birth-order theory at all?? In our listener question we talk about cannabinoid receptors – do we still have them even if we never partake in cannabis use? We now have patreon! If you love what we do and appreciate what we make, there is now a way you can show us your appreciation financially! There is absolutely ZERO pressure, but if you have as little as $1/month you can chuck it our way to help us out and show us you appreciate all the time and effort that goes in to making this show. Find us https://www.patreon.com/curiosityrat And as always, you can follow us on Instagram or twitter @curiosityrat, or find Curiosity Killed the Rat on facebook and give us a like! Episode Sources: https://www.psychologicalscience.org/publications/observer/obsonline/birth-order-has-little-effect-on-narrow-personality-traits.html https://www.reuters.com/article/us-intelligence-families-idUSN2138647820070622 https://www.newscientist.com/article/2156010-we-may-know-why-younger-brothers-are-more-likely-to-be-gay/ https://www.pnas.org/content/115/2/234 https://www.pnas.org/content/115/2/302?site=n_detail_link https://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2005/11/10/2819545.htm https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/does-birth-order-affect-personality/# https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1968-08718-001?doi=1 https://www.pnas.org/content/112/46/14224 https://www.pnas.org/content/pnas/112/46/14224.full.pdf https://www.washingtonpost.com/science/2019/03/14/birth-order-doesnt-shape-personality-after-all/ https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0092656615000525 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26483461/ https://youtu.be/1YfVTCh9sXQ https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0956797617723726 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4789136/#:~:text=Endogenous%20cannabinoids%20are%20endogenous%20lipids,9%2Dtetrahydrocannabinol%3B%20THC). https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s00204-019-02389-7

Have you ever wondered why your room always gets messy, no matter how much you clean it? Why you can't un-break that priceless plate you accidentally dropped? Or if there is anything we can do as individuals to prevent the inevitable heat death of the universe? In this extra long episode, Kate and Matt are joined by Bodhi to talk about entropy, life, and ethics, and how they are all more closely related than you may think. Stick around to the end for our listener question, where we find out why some people cannot stand the taste of certain foods.Sources:A review of the entropy concept:https://www.researchgate.net/publication/322836733_Research_in_entropy_wonterland_A_review_of_the_entropy_concept The Emperor's New Mind by Roger Penrosehttps://www.audible.com.au/pd/The-Emperors-New-Mind-Audiobook/1515943836 How to build a Dyson swarmhttps://youtu.be/pP44EPBMb8A How life hacks entropyhttps://youtu.be/a_BKQ_ZPImw Natural loopholes in entropyhttps://youtu.be/CfHysNgRy7c Life and Energyhttps://youtu.be/QImCld9YubEThe Great filters of advanced civilisations (the prerequisites)https://youtu.be/UjtOGPJ0URMIf you want to hear more from Bodhi, check out his online course, now live at:https://virtual.theangelsschool.com/courses/diversity-and-similarities/You can also find us on social media, with the handle @curiosityrat on Instagram and twitter, or our Facebook page Curiosity Killed the Rat.Listener Q Sources:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK279408/https://www.nature.com/news/soapy-taste-of-coriander-linked-to-genetic-variants-1.11398https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3009759/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0002929707618904

This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by legendary science communicator Dr Jen Martin to chat all about her experiences when she visited the coldest, driest, most remote continent on earth: Antarctica. Jen went to Antarctica as a staff member for Homeward Bound (a global leadership program for women in STEMM) and consequently was involved in the (so far) largest women-only expedition to Antarctica. But what kind of temperatures are we talking about? Is climate-change-in-action super clear from Antarctica? What is it like to actually BE there?! Jen, being an ecologist in training, also chats to us about some of the amazing wildlife: penguins, seals, and orcas, oh my!If you loved when Jen had to say you can read her piece called Listening to Antarctica here:https://www.rrr.org.au/explore/news-articles/listening-to-antarctica-a-guided-tour-with-dr-jen You can also find more of her on Twitter or Instagram @scidocjenYou can also find us on social media, with the handle @curiosityrat on Instagram and twitter, or our Facebook page Curiosity Killed the Rat.Listener Q Sources:https://www.oed.com/viewdictionaryentry/Entry/146669https://www.chemicalsafetyfacts.org/dose-makes-poison-gallery/#:~:text=Nearly%20500%20years%20ago%2C%20Swiss,that%20contains%20toxic%20properties%20canhttps://www.york.ac.uk/chemistry/schools/chemrev/projects/peroxide/https://pmj.bmj.com/content/79/933/391https://www.researchgate.net/post/What-happens-to-poison-when-it-has-reached-its-expiry-date-more-poisonous-or-less-poisonous

Joined by our resident immunologist Catriona Nguyen-Robertson, Kate and Matt chat all about Vaccines! How and why do vaccines work to protect us against disease? What happens in the body in response to receiving a vaccine, and how does this help? What are some of the different types of vaccines? And what about the COVID-19 vaccines? Are they safe? Why were they ready so quickly? And why are they an example of some very clever science in action!? This episode’s listener question is about cheese – why does it taste better melted!?If you enjoyed what Cat had to say today and want to find more of her you can find her on Twitter (@CatrionaNR), Instagram (@nyuroscientist), and YouTube (Nyuroscientist). And, as always, you can find us @curiosityrat on twitter, instagram, and facebook, and send your listener questions in to curiosityrat@gmail.comReferences:https://www.health.gov.au/node/18777/australias-vaccine-agreements#covax-facilityhttps://youtu.be/9pS1CzzExJ8https://youtu.be/4SKmAlQtAj8https://youtu.be/KMc3vL_MIeohttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2019.00594/full#h5https://www.nature.com/articles/s41541-020-0159-8https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3597572/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6631684/https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fimmu.2018.01012/fullhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22549871/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1074761305002116https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5987916/https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.09.08.280818v1.abstracthttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5439223/https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7554980/https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-understand-color-office.pdfhttps://www.health.gov.au/initiatives-and-programs/covid-19-vaccines/learn-about-covid-19-vaccines/about-the-oxfordastrazeneca-covid-19-vaccine

Why do our eyes leak when we feel emotions, chop onions, or get poked in the eye? Do these scenarios lead to the creation of different types of tears? How are tears created? WHY? This episode, Kate and Matt delve into all these questions and so many more, as we chat all about crying. We also tackle a listener question about sweating – why do our palms sweat when we get nervous?References:https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4035568/https://athenaeum.libs.uga.edu/handle/10724/36619https://psych-neuro.com/2014/03/14/the-biochemecial-purpose-of-crying/https://scienceblogs.com/observations/2011/01/08/why-do-women-cry-obviously-itshttps://science.howstuffworks.com/life/inside-the-mind/emotions/crying.htmhttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01240/fullhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29888936/https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-87337-001https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/dev.22058https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ejp.1623https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/145/6/e20192719https://psycnet.apa.org/record/2020-66680-001https://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/29/4/579.shorthttps://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.02134/fullhttps://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/4062644/https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/1069397111404519https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01240/full

With Valentine’s Day fast approaching, Kate and Matt spend this episode talking about the science of love. What is love? Can science explain all those feelings you get when you fall in love with somebody? Breaking love down into the three phases of Lust / Attraction / Attachment, we delve into some of the neuroscience and biochemistry responsible for love. We also answer a listener question about plants and grow lights… how do they work? Episode sources:http://www2.webmatic.it/workO/s/113/pr-457-file_it-Journal%20of%20Molecular%20Evolution%2057.pdfhttps://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01614576.2000.11074334http://helenfisher.com/downloads/articles/10lustattraction.pdfhttps://www.nature.com/articles/457148ahttps://cpb-us-w2.wpmucdn.com/hawksites.newpaltz.edu/dist/e/1777/files/2017/01/Intro-to-WGSS_SP19_2.1_Bauer-1fe4t5h.pdfhttps://www.thenakedscientists.com/articles/science-features/science-love-cupids-chemistryhttps://www.ckn.org.au/content/cupid%E2%80%99s-chemical-addiction-%E2%80%93-science-lovehttp://sitn.hms.harvard.edu/flash/2017/love-actually-science-behind-lust-attraction-companionship/https://igworks.com/blogs/the-igworks-indoor-gardening-blog/the-science-of-plant-lighting-and-led-grow-lightshttps://www.karger.com/Article/Abstract/489030https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mwwLSgK-924&t=33s&ab_channel=MIGRO

Welcome back, folks, to another season of Curiosity Killed the Rat! This episode, Kate and Matt chat about the idea of perpetual motion, and the amazing machines designed to harness this motion to keep moving… forever! From overbalanced wheels to self-refilling flasks, we take a dive into some of the coolest perpetual motion machines that have been theorised throughout history (…or claimed to be real on YouTube…) and why, realistically, they couldn’t possibly work. This episode’s listener question is about sunsets; why are more spectacular than others?Referenced CollegeHumor sketch:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WFtrn4vvTkk&ab_channel=CollegeHumorFake Perpetual Motion Machines:https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=znk-_uskTvk&ab_channel=Sm00thand3rhttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50Aag0J0Qe4&ab_channel=warmcoffeehttps://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jsxroTt9IhY&t=36s&ab_channel=veproject1https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ANq1DEmoYbI&ab_channel=TechnicalNinjahttps://youtu.be/sScrtGdKmhoOther References:https://www.britannica.com/science/perpetual-motionhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/perpetual-motion-machines/https://lockhaven.edu/~dsimanek/museum/overbal.htmhttps://www.livescience.com/55944-perpetual-motion-machines.htmlhttps://www.khanacademy.org/science/ap-biology/cellular-energetics/cellular-energy/a/the-laws-of-thermodynamicshttps://www.khanacademy.org/science/biology/water-acids-and-bases/cohesion-and-adhesion/a/cohesion-and-adhesion-in-waterhttps://youtu.be/A-QgGXbDyR0https://youtu.be/rckrnYw5sOAhttps://youtu.be/UFFzcYalTXIhttps://youtu.be/VpiLucwH-AQwww.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/11/071108135522.htmhttps://www.vox.com/science-and-health/2019/11/22/20970563/sunset-science-explained-rayleigh-scatteringhttp://hyperphysics.phy-astr.gsu.edu/hbase/atmos/blusky.html

In a truly spooktacular Halloween special to round out season 1, Kate and Matt are joined by Rosie Arnold to chat about ghosts! Have you ever wondered about the explanations scientists have for ghostly encounters? As Rosie breaks down some theories of human perception, we chat about how humans experience the world and why some humans might feel/ hear/ or even see ghosts. Our listener question keeps us in the spirit… spirit, as we try answer the question: Do EMF meters measure ghost energy?If you loved what Rosie had to say you can find more of her on twitter (https://twitter.com/nutrineurosie; https://twitter.com/UniMelbscicomm) ! As always, you can follow Curiosity Killed the Rat on twitter (https://twitter.com/CuriosityRat), Insta (https://www.instagram.com/curiosityrat/), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/curiosityrat/), and email in your listener questions to curiosityrat@gmail.comCatch you in the new year!References:https://neuro.psychiatryonline.org/doi/full/10.1176/jnp.13.4.515?fbclid=IwAR3uoq9k586BynO8b9HkuY8S88xBSQQABx0cwhHYK3B2PhqmXa8ighwVdkc&http://www.skepdic.com/infrasound.htmlhttps://www.strangerdimensions.com/2013/06/21/infrasound-the-fear-frequency/https://web.archive.org/web/20110929142806/http://www.psy.herts.ac.uk/ghost/Something-in-the-Cellar.pdfhttps://www.who.int/peh-emf/about/WhatisEMF/en/http://www.assap.ac.uk/newsite/htmlfiles/MADS%20haunted%20bed.htmlhttps://www.niehs.nih.gov/health/topics/agents/emf/index.cfmhttps://www.scientificamerican.com/article/could-certain-frequencies/https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0891061815000599https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.2466/pms.2001.92.1.35https://www.livescience.com/4261-shady-science-ghost-hunting.htmlhttps://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2016/11/the-broken-technology-of-ghost-hunting/506627/

We have an exciting episode this week feature not one, not two, but THREE awesome guests from the Science Communication program at Unimelb, ready to chat all about some awesome science! Steph teaches us about aquatic apes and tiny bones in our ears. Cat leads us through the solving of the mystery in the link between vultures, rabies, and Voltaren. Wayne chats about how different animals can camouflage... by changing their smell!Kate then tackle’s this week’s listener question all about IV vitamin treatments… is there science behind the hype?If you loved what our guests had to say you can find Steph (https://twitter.com/ohstephbrown), Cat (https://twitter.com/cat_thomson_), and Wayne (https://twitter.com/WayneDu8) on twitter! As always, you can follow Curiosity Killed the Rat on twitter (https://twitter.com/CuriosityRat), Insta (https://www.instagram.com/curiosityrat/), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/curiosityrat/), and email in your listener questions to curiosityrat@gmail.comReferences:https://www.the-scientist.com/reading-frames/did-human-evolution-include-a-semi-aquatic-phase--67306https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CyQFDp1KbbY&ab_channel=PeterRhys-Evanshttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5696936/https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07v0hhmhttps://theconversation.com/sorry-david-attenborough-we-didnt-evolve-from-aquatic-apes-heres-why-65570https://assets.peregrinefund.org/docs/pdf/research-library/2011/2011-Ogada-vultures.pdfhttps://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S092180090800178Xhttps://www.smithsonianmag.com/science-nature/the-vanishing-145631290/https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/full/10.1098/rspb.2014.1887https://royalsocietypublishing.org/doi/abs/10.1098/rspb.2007.1421https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0003347207004277http://www.altmedrev.com/archive/publications/7/5/389.pdfhttps://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2894814/https://www.sciencealert.com/no-vitamin-drips-like-many-other-miracle-cures-do-not-work

In this episode, Kate and Matt are joined by physicist Kaih Mitchell to discuss all things Lasers. What is a Laser beam? How are different colour lasers made? How powerful and deadly can they be? This week's listener question takes a look at how habits are formed and what a person can do to overcome them.Find more of Kaih Mitchell on Radio SciLense every Saturday at 4pm AEST at Radio Fodder: http://radiofodder.com/Twitter: https://twitter.com/RadioSciLens?s=20Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/radioscilens

Have you ever wondered what Aboriginal Australian culture looked like thousands of years ago? Thanks to the end of the last ice age and rising sea levels, so much of what was once dry land is now underwater. But that doesn’t stop archaeologists from discovering and learning from artefacts found under the sea! This episode, Kate and Matt are joined by archaeologist Patrick Morrison to chat about an ancient aboriginal archaeological site discovered at Murujuga, Western Australia, as part of the ARC Deep History of Sea Country project. Patrick tells us all about how researchers go about finding these underwater archaeological sites, and the amazing stories they can tell us about the past. We also tackle a listener question about bruises: why do they change colour?If you loved what Patrick had to say you can find him on twitter (https://twitter.com/padmorrison) and Instagram (https://www.instagram.com/iampatricksego/). As always, you can follow Curiosity Killed the Rat on twitter (https://twitter.com/CuriosityRat), Insta (https://www.instagram.com/curiosityrat/), and Facebook (https://www.facebook.com/curiosityrat/), and email in your listener questions to curiosityrat@gmail.comReferences:https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0233912https://theconversation.com/in-a-first-discovery-of-its-kind-researchers-have-uncovered-an-ancient-aboriginal-archaeological-site-preserved-on-the-seabed-138108https://www.abc.net.au/news/2020-07-02/aboriginal-underwater-site-discovered-off-burrup-peninsula/12391858https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1939-3938.2009.01028.xhttps://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/5312/1/Optical-classification-of-bruises/10.1117/12.538045.shorthttps://www.spiedigitallibrary.org/conference-proceedings-of-spie/6078/1/Hyperspectral-imaging-of-bruised-skin/10.1117/12.646557.short?SSO=1https://medlineplus.gov/bruises.html