Newz For Nerdz

In Australia a woman gave birth to an incredibly rare set of semi-identical twins. Her egg did something a woman's egg is never supposed to do. Also, have we finally figured out why zebras have stripes? Would you believe it's to mess with bugs? And it's possible that a giant, mysterious planet, ten times the size of Earth, is lurking far outside the orbit of Pluto. But we may not see it for thousands of years. Check out all the delicious show notes for this episode at DomTesta.com and scroll down to Newz for Nerdz. Thanks to The Guardian, CNN.com, ScienceMag.org, and MSN for their stories this week. Cheers to Charlie Keaton for the NFN love theme.

This week we explore the idea of turning your thoughts into words, we explain why your kid is always sick, and we discover the origin of the 10,000 steps rule. To find out more about turning thoughts into words, check out this article from US News and World Report. To understand why strep throat has taken up permanent residence in your home, read the piece from ScienceNews.org. And to see where the 10,000 steps rule really came from, have fun with ScienceAlert.com.   Thanks to Charlie Keaton for the NFN Love Theme (at least that's what we call it). Subscribe on your favorite podcast platform to get your nerd on each week. And sign up to receive a heads-up when each new episode rolls your way by going to NewzForNerdz.com.

We like to think our phones are trusty companions, but instead they're sucking away our brain power and creativity - even when they're shut off. And maybe a tetanus shot doesn't hurt at all; we just talked ourselves into it. Pain can be raised or lowered just by how we think about it. Plus, all I can say is they better not kill off Tyrion Lannister on Game of Thrones. A new formula could predict it.   Thanks to Harvard Business Review for the evil smartphone story. Science News for Students supplied information on our tolerance of pain. HuffPost had the fun story on surviving Game of Thrones. Thanks to Charlie Keaton for the NFN theme. Subscribe to Newz For Nerdz so you never miss an episode!

A giant cosmic collision, billions of years ago, formed our moon. But now some believe that same collision is responsible for us. Also, if rocking a baby puts them to sleep, why aren't we doing that as adults? You should. And let's find out what year in history was the suckiest year ever. (Spoiler: It's Iceland's fault.) Those stories on this week's Newz for Nerdz, with Dom Testa. Discover more about the lucky collision here. Learn about the benefits of rockin' and rollin' here. And the crappiest year ever is hiding in here. Subscribe to receive NFN notifications by visiting NewzForNerdz.com. All the cool kids are doing it.

You think you remember stuff from years ago, you'd even swear to it. But your memory is f-ing with you. Also, when your kid scores a 100% on a test, is that always a good thing? Maybe not. And for some reason our planet is more at risk today of getting creamed by a space rock. Thanks to the Independent and Guiliana Mazzoni for the memory piece. Cheers to Cody Kommers and Scientific American for the story on grades. And thanks to Seth Borenstein and US News and World Report for the scary bit about killer rocks from space. Please subscribe to Newz for Nerdz on your favorite podcast provider, and remember how 5-star reviews make someone's day. Sign up to receive notification of new episodes at NewzForNerdz.com.

Artificial intelligence can determine whether or not your relationship is gonna last. http://www.bbc.com/future/story/20190111-artificial-intelligence-can-predict-a-relationships-future   How fasting might improve your health. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2019/01/190115111928.htm   The lonely frog finds love. https://www.upi.com/Romeo-worlds-loneliest-frog-finally-scores-a-date/9051547573008/   NewzForNerdz.com  

Check out the official Newz for Nerdz page for this episode here. Sign up to get early notifications of the latest Newz for Nerdz podcast right here. Thanks to Charlie Keaton for the official NFN opening/closing music.

A rock-n-roll tribute to space exploration, how cat poop could make you a successful entrepreneur, and the science of falling to your death. All sorts of links for the New Horizons story, including the official page of the spacecraft: http://pluto.jhuapl.edu/ Here's the story about Brian May's visit, and the video of his song, New Horizons: https://www.space.com/42875-brian-may-new-horizons-song-ultima-thule-flyby.html In case you thought I was kidding about the cat poop stuff, nope. Here's the, um, poop on the whole thing: https://www.popsci.com/toxoplasma-gondii-parasite-risk-taking Hank Green says, "Not so fast with that cat poop stuff." You can see his video right here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FNm_MjrIUAI Thanks as always to Charlie Keaton for the Newz For Nerdz theme.