Tool Use and Language in the Brain, Why Black Holes Get Bigger
Learn how tool use and language work in the brain; and why black holes get bigger due to the expansion of the universe.
February 17, 2022
Tool use and language ability go hand in hand by Grant Currin
- Using mechanical tools improves our language skills. (2021, November 11). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934004
- Thibault, S., Py, R., Gervasi, A. M., Salemme, R., Koun, E., Lövden, M., Boulenger, V., Roy, A. C., & Brozzoli, C. (2021). Tool use and language share syntactic processes and neural patterns in the basal ganglia. Science, 374(6569). https://doi.org/10.1126/science.abe0874
- Know Your Brain: Basal Ganglia. (2014). Neuroscientifically Challenged. https://neuroscientificallychallenged.com/posts/what-are-basal-ganglia
Black holes get bigger from the expansion of the universe itself by Briana Brownell
- New study proposes expansion of the universe directly impacts black hole growth. (2021, November 3). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/933693
- Croker, K. S., Zevin, M., Farrah, D., Nishimura, K. A., & Tarlé, G. (2021). Cosmologically Coupled Compact Objects: A Single-parameter Model for LIGO–Virgo Mass and Redshift Distributions. The Astrophysical Journal Letters, 921(2), L22. https://doi.org/10.3847/2041-8213/ac2fad
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers.
See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.
Next Up
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Neural Networks, Why You Get Brain Freeze, and A Science-Based Trick for Learning a New Language
Learn about why you get brain freeze, just how advanced neural networks are these days, and a science-backed trick for learning a new language.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: 5 Coronavirus Myths Debunked, Why You Shouldn’t Get Your News on Social Media, and the Discovery of a Black Hole Missing Link
Learn about why people are less likely to verify their sources on social media; and why it’s a huge deal that researchers found an intermediate-mass black hole. We’ll also debunk five myths about the coronavirus.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Stay Happy and Healthy by Maintaining Your Routines, How Dolphins Learn to Use Tools, and Can Adults Grow New Brain Cells?
Learn about whether adult neurogenesis can help humans grow new brain cells; the super cool way dolphins learn how to use tools; and how keeping good “zeitgeber hygiene” by sticking to a regular routine can keep you happy and healthy.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Zoos Have Their Own Dating Apps, Why Grease Is Hard to Clean Off Plastic, and You Don’t Have to Be Married to Be Happy
Learn about why it’s harder to clean grease off of plastic than glass; how zoos use their own version of dating apps for breeding programs; and why science says you don’t have to be married to be happy.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Overcoming the Incredible Power of Exclusion (w/ Vivian Zayas) and a One-Way Sound Device
Learn about how to feel less excluded and why it’s so important, with special guest Vivian Zayas, Director of the Personality, Attachment, and Control Laboratory at Cornell University. Plus, learn about a new device that makes sound go one-way.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Right Way to Set Goals
Learn about how the coronavirus pandemic may have changed Americans’ attitudes about the poor; how you can relieve stress by learning something new; and a trick for setting goals to help you achieve what you want.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Where Our Emotions Come From and How to Hack Them (w/ Lisa Feldman Barrett) and Tarantula Venom Could Be an Opioid Alternative
Learn about where your emotions come from and how you can hack them, with help from psychology researcher and neuroscientist Lisa Feldman Barrett. Plus: learn why tarantula venom could be an alternative to opioids.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Future GMO Foods, The Thought Gap, How Your Brain Knows You’re Uncomfortable
Learn about why researchers are developing new GMO foods like golden rice; why you underestimate how often others are thinking about you; and how your brain knows when you’re uncomfortable and you need to change your position.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Writer’s Block Solutions, Life on Europa (w/ SNaQ’s Ralph Crewe), and Why We Wear Pants
Learn about how to overcome 4 types of writer’s block; why we wear pants; and the probability of finding extraterrestrial life on Jupiter’s moon Europa, with some help from a special guest from Science News and Qs (also known as SNaQ), a Carnegie Science Center podcast.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Rainy Days Make You Sleepy, A Fix for AI’s Energy Appetite, and Solving Geology’s Mystery of the “Great Unconformity”
Learn about why rainy days make you sleepy; why the “Great Unconformity” is one of the biggest mysteries in geology; and the problematic amount of energy it takes to power AI — along with a potential solution. Plus: how do you pronounce "Colorado," anyway?