Brain Junk

Amy protecting all those precious brain wrinkles (special appearance by her husband, Chris). Turns out more isn't always better-- for optimal brain function, at least for people, we need just the right amount of brain folds. Kind of like Goldilocks. To avoid things like epilepsy we need not too many, and not too little, just right.image of brain coral just for comparison to the human brain (credit samkerridge on pixabay268Show Notes:PNAS: TMEM161B modulates radial glial scaffolding in neocortical developmentUC San Diego Today article: Study Identifies Cause for Excessive Folding of Gyri in Human Cerebral CortexAlzheimer's and Nun study from WikipediaPhoto of the Difference in brain folds rats vs humans This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Amy asked for zombies. Next to Cordyceps (and the Last of Us), Toxoplasma gondii comes pretty close to taking over mammal brains. A 2022 study in Yellowstone showed wolves are affected by toxoplasmosis in unexpected ways.Show Notes:Communication Biology: Parasitic infection increases risk-taking in a social, intermediate host carnivoreScientific American: Are Cats responsible for "Cat Ladies"? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

While there are lots of other animals that feel wetness; buckle up, friends, humans can't. When you spill a glass of water on yourself, you are feeling something, but it's not the water. We don't like it either, but it seems to be true.Show Notes:257: Pruney Fingers2014 NIH reprint of Journal of Neurophysiology Why wet feels wet? A neurophysiological model of human cutaneous wetness sensitivityIFL Science versionScience Daily: Understanding the Illusion of WetnessYouTube of The rubber fake hand experiment!Scientists having to pay to publishWant to get really mad? Try A Little Wordy This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Some Anoles have the most awesome "in case of emergency" trick! Anoles living near bodies of water can jump in, sink to the bottom, and rebreathe their breath long enough to stay under for over 10 minutes. The science is remarkable (and we learn some cool vocab words).Show Notes:What is an Anole? BritannicaHarvard University Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Blog Aug 19, 202: Air bubbles allow some lizards to breathe underwaterCurrent Biology vol. 31 issue 13, Repeated evolution of underwater rebreathing in diving Anolis lizardsNeed your Tuesday to feel more like freshman English? Here's those vocab words that will NOT be on the quiz:Hydrophobic: tending to repel or not mix with waterRugose: wrinkled, corrugatedPlastron: large pad worn by fencersAnd in case you were curious, Chitty Chitty Bang Bang from 1968 with Dick Van DykeSnake robot legs video! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

We LOVE the delightful and sometimes confounding process of scientific discovery. What makes science even better is when kids get to ask big questions and have access to ways to find answers.Show Notes:We mention The Muppet Show: if you don't know, here's a clip of Statler & WaldorfKids discover how EpiPens work in space from The SmithsonianCubes in Space: The Only Global STEM Program for Students 11-18 years of AgeProviding Two Suborbital Flight Opportunities on NASA Missions.Hopkins students invent a battle ready wound bandageJoseph-Armand Bombardier teenage inventor of the snowmobile!The Baby Hot Seat This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Who knew that attempts to discover ways for humans to regrow organs or limbs might send a group of scientists in the direction of trying to grow sitka deer antlers on naked mice? Not us that's for sure. Buckle up, today science gets weird.image: Jackalopes at Wall Drug Show Notes:Trace on InstagramAmy on InstagramBrain Junk InstagramNature March 2023 Mice grow ‘mini-antlers’ thanks to deers’ speedy stem cells2020 antler cells study with mice: WARNING the pictures are a bit much Also the actual 2020 Maples Scientific Publishers paperMice regrow TOES? Science 1982 This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Turns out the old school calculation for dogs aging seven years to every one of our human years isn't quite accurate. There are better ways to calculate aging with epigenetics (FYI epigenetics is the study of how your behaviors and environment can cause changes that affect the way your genes work). image of young puppy and adult dog from PixabayShow Notes:Correction Corner! We got things wrong listing Trey Idecker as the main author of the Cell Systems paper. While Idecker was the Senior author, it was Tina Wang who was First Author.UC San Diego article about Tina Wang and Trey Idecker with a charming age graph comparison of Tom Hanks to a Golden Lab.Aug 2020 Cell Systems article: Quantitative Translation of Dog-to-Human Aging by Conserved Remodeling of the DNA Methylome by Tina Wang et al.We mention a Jan 2023 study in Science talking about age reversal in mice! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.

From the 1960s to the early 2000s, if you needed to make sensitive equipment like a Geiger counter or even sensing equipment for hospital tests, you needed low-background steel. BUT WHAT IS IT? Listen and find out!Show Notes:Need some low background lead? Let us know if they tell you a price.The Wiki for more...as if you'd need more after our episode (wink).We talked about the RAADS-R test for autism. If you're curious you can take it HERE. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Maybe you know Monty Python from their 1975 movie Holy Grail. They didn't just make movies! From 1969 to 1974 they also did a comedy tv show. A classic sketch was Ministry of Silly Walks. Turns out, it might've been good for more than just a few laughs. Try that Silly Walk workout.Show Notes:British Medical Journal article You must check out diagrams in the paper!!!!Ars Technica link to video of people being studied while they try the Silly Walking!!!Quantifying the benefits of inefficient walking: Monty Python inspired laboratory based experimental studyThe classic, the OG, John Cleese as Mr. Teabag, and Monty Python complete with canned laughter This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Creepy trigger warning! We talk a bit about spiders. I don't like them either (TK) but it's worth it. We swear! If you google cranberry harvesting you'll quickly run into posts about spiders in the bogs. Turns out, they aren't as much of a creepy problem as Tumblr would have you believe! image: b. minnick from pixabayShow Notes:DownieLive visit to a cranberry bog. Let us know if YOU see any spiders!Amy's Instagram for the biscuits Spider research from the University of Massachusetts: Predation behavior of spiders (Arachnida: Araneae) in Massachusetts cranberry bog ecosystems. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Aber-clam Lincoln is a 214 year old quahog clam (look, we don't make the dad jokes, we just share them). Did you know you can count shell ridges like tree rings to determine age? Clams pictured are not quahogs, but you get the idea of how the ridges look.Show Notes:Aber-clam Lincoln articleMing the Clam--the oldest we've found so far.Dr. Bruce Liberman commenting on survival of the sluggishJust incase you are also somewhere on the timeline for a colonoscopy... you have our sympathies. Check this out: What is a colonoscopy? This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Are you Team Amy, who adores getting wrinkled fingers or are you on Team Trace, who can't STAND having pruney fingers because they're gross (there's no right answer here, except Trace is right).We were surprised to learn the science of wrinkled-in-water fingers. It's not from absorbing water like we were told as kids. Show Notes:A blast from the past Episode 194: Iris SphinctersThe TikTok that got me interested in all things wrinkled fingers Dex (@dexter.mp4)Nature: Science gets a grip on wrinkly fingers by Becky SummersPLOS ONE: Water-immersion finger-wrinkling improves grip efficiency in handling wet objectsNewcastle University: Dr. Tom Smulders paper in wet grip vs dry grip in Biology LettersLearn more with the BBCJapanese Snow MonkeysDoes cake have anything to do with pruney fingers? Absolutely not. But this is a fun watch. Tomato soup cake with B. Dylan Hollis This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substac

A fear of clowns is called coulrophobia. If you're like us, maybe you don't find clowns bone-chillingly scary but they still give you a case of the ick. This week we're looking into clowns and fears. Stick around to the end, Amy takes a left turn with weird body horror involving an octopus. Show Notes:Amy references this study HARD Fear of clowns: An investigation into the prevalence of coulrophobia in an international sampleTop ten fears in America 2022: Chapman University This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Art isn't just in museums! Sometimes it's hidden behind walls, inside a piece of furniture, or sadly, in a dumpster. Today we explore the remarkable circumstances that come together to find lost or forgotten art.Show Notes:Francis Mattson Hines and his art in the dumpster and the wrapped Washington Square ArchRecycled art in an airportArt in a couchArt hidden from an ex-wifeStewart Little surprise painting on the set! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

We've talked wombats and binturongs before but we've learned MORE and had to share! Past episodes: 244: Stinky Critters for binturong and 34: Wombat PoopWombat mama and baby! image by budgme on pixabayBinturongs hanging out in the sun. image by Kevinsphotos on pixabayShow Notes:Australian Geographic Nov. 2020 interview with Alyce Swinbourne about Wombat Bums⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇Content warning below: wombat butt and the head of a dead fox⬇⬇⬇⬇⬇Smithsonian National Zoo article Binturong females delaying pregnancy (Fun fact, Trace did an internship at the Smithsonian National Zoo Waaaaaaaaaaay back in the day with Golden Lion Tamarin monkeys)The mutual reltaionship between strangler figs and binturong: NCMNS Education Blog This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

We're both married to redheads and have kids with that redhead gene! From ginger beards to coppery locks, is there any truth to the belief that redheads handle pain meds and anesthesia differently? Show Notes:NIH report on Redheads and pain thresholds 2004 Study by Daniel Sessler and (Edwin B Liem 1, Chun-Ming Lin, Mohammad-Irfan Suleman, Anthony G Doufas, Ronald G Gregg, Jacqueline M Veauthier, Gary Loyd, ) on Anesthetic requirement in redheadsRedheads might need less analgesicsWant to learn more about skin and melanin? Listen to the Ologies episode on Melaninology! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Uguisubari aka nightingale floors were a Japanese innovation. This super squeaky floor was an early version of an alarm. The specially constructed floors were in only a select number of castles, but they would alert guards and residents to a shinobi attempting to be sneaky. Show Notes:Check out this Wiki entry on nightingale floors Trace talked about. This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

When your city is used to having smoke and coal dust and fog all mix together into a "pea soup" yellow fog that chokes the city for days each year, life goes on through the murk. But the Great Smog from Dec 5 - 9th, 1952 was so bad, an estimated 12,000 people died. It was the kind of weather and pollution combination that spurred people to change air quality regulations. (Amy mentions 4,000 people dying in the years after the fog from long lasting effects. We completely forgot to share the huge number of people who died during the actual days of the event.)Show Notes:Getty images of the Great Smog Want to learn more? Check out this article from The VergeMemories from people who lived through the great smog: The Guardian This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

It's our TWO-HUNDRED and FIFTIETH episode!!!!! AND we've made it this far because of your love and support for the show. Thank you so so much! To celebrate we've got a long Valentine deep dive into the history and weird facts around the holiday.SHOW NOTES:Amy mentions the Valentines Day Massacre but we didn't want to bring down the mood. Read up here if you want to knowGalentine's Day is Feb 13th! a day for celebrating female friendships! Originating from the TV show ‘Parks and Recreation, the holiday is all about declaring love and affection to the girls who make up our support systemVinegar Valentines!LovebugsSpanish Fly & toxicityhttps://www.kqed.org/pop/20463/the-dark-and-twisted-history-of-valentines-dayhttps://time.com/4662675/valentines-day-heart-shape-origins/ This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com

Found for the first time in Upper Michigan by rock hound, Erik Rintamaki in 2017, this accidental finding is SO COOL. Under UV light they look like fiery dragon eggs.We mentioned the yooperlite store in our episode too.There aren't any free Google pictures (sad face) So here's a LINK to pictures of the glowing rocks!!!Also we talked about strange waves called seiches. Check them out HEREEpisode 238: Uranium Glass if you need more glowing stuff! This is a public episode. If you would like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit brainjunkpodcast.substack.com