Curiosity Daily Podcast: Katherine Johnson’s Legacy, The World’s First Living Robots, and Zinc Doesn’t Cure Colds
Learn about the legacy of the trailblazing NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson; how scientists recently built xenobots, the world’s first living robots; and why zinc probably isn’t as good for colds as you think.
February 25, 2020
Episode Show Notes:
Katherine Johnson Is the Human 'Computer' Who Helped Us Go to Space by Ashley Hamer
- Hamer, A. Katherine Johnson Is the Human “Computer” Who Helped Us Go to Space. (2016, December 13). Curiosity.com. https://curiosity.com/topics/katherine-johnson-is-the-human-computer-who-helped-us-go-to-space-curiosity/
Xenobots: the World’s First Assembled Organisms by Cameron Duke
- Team Builds the First Living Robots. (2020, January 13). Uvm.edu. https://www.uvm.edu/uvmnews/news/team-builds-first-living-robots
- Simon, M. (2020, January 13). Meet Xenobot, an Eerie New Kind of Programmable Organism. Wired; WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/xenobot/
- Kriegman, S., Blackiston, D., Levin, M., & Bongard, J. (2020, January 28). A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(4), 1853–1859. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910837117
Zinc Probably Isn't as Good for Colds as You Think by Grant Currin
- Can zinc zap a cold? (2017). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/zinc-for-colds/faq-20057769
- Zinc lozenges did not shorten the duration of colds. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uoh-zld012820.php
- Hemilä, H., Haukka, J., Alho, M., Vahtera, J., & Kivimäki, M. (2020). Zinc acetate lozenges for the treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 10(1), e031662. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031662
- Stark, L. (2009, June 16). Zicam Zinc Nasal Sprays May Damage Sense of Smell, FDA Says. ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=7853178&page=1
Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing
Next Up
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Hacking Device, Designer Seaweed, Accent Exposure
We discuss the latest in phone hacking technology, how aquaculture may be able to help the global food crisis, and how engaging with people who speak in a foreign accent may help us retain language.
Curiosity Daily Podcast:The Myth of Man Flu, Arctic Lakes, Buzzing Bats
Let’s talk about whether “man flu” is fact or fiction, how the Arctic lakes just threw a curveball at our climate change projections, and the genius new way bats are tricking their predators.
NFL SUPER STADIUMS Follows the Epic Journey of Building SoFi Stadium
In partnership with the NFL, Discovery and Science Channel go behind the scenes and follow the remarkable journey of constructing SoFi Stadium in an all-new, two-hour special, NFL SUPER STADIUMS premiering Wednesday, September 9 at 8P on Science Channel and Saturday, September 12 at 11A on Discovery.
A Guide to Defending the Earth
Let’s say one day astronomers announce that our worst nightmare has come true: a large object is headed towards the Earth with a significant chance of impact. What do we do?
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Bugs Are Basically Robots (w/ Alie Ward)
Learn about how AI could help predict which drugs won’t agree with women, and why Point Nemo is considered planet Earth’s spacecraft graveyard. But first, Ologies podcast host Alie Ward is back to tell us about her favorite ologie.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: A New Robot Can Imagine Itself, Williams Syndrome, and The Great Compression
Learn about why engineers designed a robot that can imagine itself; why the Great Compression was the best time to be alive, financially speaking; and the ups and downs of a rare genetic condition that makes you incredibly loving.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: A Robot That Talks to Itself Might Be Easier to Interact With
Learn about interacting with robots that talk to themselves; “mad honey,” a rare, dangerous hallucinogen; and “alief.”
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Communicating with Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University) and Uncanny Valley Science
Learn from Cornell University physicists Paul McEuen and Itai Cohen how cell-sized robots actually communicate with each other and move around. You’ll also learn about the “uncanny valley” and how scientists figured out what part of your brain gets creeped out by human-like robots.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Future of Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University) and Transferring Data Through Music
Learn about how scientists found a way to transfer data through music. Then, learn about the world of possibilities for cell-sized robots, in the final edition of our Microscale Mondays mini-series with Cornell physicists Itai Cohen and Paul McEuen.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Cell-Sized Robots (w/ Cornell University), Learning Styles Don’t Exist, and Why Pulsars Matter
Learn about the woman who discovered pulsars and why they matter; and, why learning styles don’t exist. You’ll also learn about cell-sized robots, in the the first edition of our Microscale Mondays mini-series with Cornell physicists Itai Cohen and Paul McEuen.