Back Pain in Space, Cats’ Mental Maps, Diamond Davemaoite

Learn about back pain from space; how cats track their owners; and what davemaoite tells us about Earth’s lower mantle.

February 16, 2022

Space travel causes back pain, and doctors need to find a fix by Cameron Duke

Cats track their owners with mental maps by Cameron Duke

Scientists found a once-theoretical mineral inside a diamond that tells us more about the Earth’s lower mantle by Grant Currin

Learn more about host Cody Gough on Giveo and at https://academicpodcasts.com. 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

Puppy Anxiety Fixes and Avoiding “Back Burner” Relationships

Dr. Courtney Campbell explains how to treat your puppy’s anxiety. Plus: why “back burner” relationships are unhealthy.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Bacterial Electric Grid, Females Fight Back, Why Tea Leaves Sink

Learn about a bacterial electric grid; traits females have evolved to avoid harassment; and why tea leaves sink.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Cutting Back on Plastic in Your Home (w/ Will McCallum) and How Shapes Can Be Angry

Learn tips for using less plastic to help keep our planet clean, from Greenpeace UK’s Head of Oceans, Will McCallum. Then, you’ll learn about whether shapes can be angry, with some help from the spectral centroid.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Normalcy Bounces Back Quickly in Times of Stress and the Female Astronauts of the Mercury 13

Learn about how people under stress can find a “new normal” surprisingly quickly, and why the Mercury 13 should have been the first women in space.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: A Science-Backed Workout in 10 Minutes, How Collective Narcissism Makes Groups Toxic, and How Dolphins Make Friends

Learn about how you can slash your exercise time with high-intensity interval training (HIIT) — and the science that backs it up; how “collective narcissism” can make groups toxic; and how dolphins make friends strategically.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Looking Into Space Is Looking Back in Time

Learn why soccer players miss penalty kicks; how we estimate population sizes; and how space helps us look back in time.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Stealing Money with Salami Slicing Attacks (w/ Matt Parker), You Don’t Know the Back of Your Hand, and Tylenol Eases Social Exclusion

Stand-up mathematician Matt Parker explains real-life “salami slicing” attacks like the one in the movie Office Space. You’ll also learn about how Tylenol can help ease the pain of social rejection; and why you probably don’t know the back of your hand very well at all.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Control Butterflies in Your Stomach, Numbers in Other Languages, and the Titanic’s Savior

Learn about the RMS Carpathia, the ship that came to the Titanic’s rescue the night it sank; how to control that feeling when you get butterflies in your stomach; and how numbers are written in different languages.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: Mystery Code of The 4,000-Year-Old Phaistos Disk, The Necrobiome, and 7 Beliefs of Emotionally Healthy People

Learn about the mysterious 4,000-year-old Phaistos disk; how the necrobiome is helping forensic scientists; and the 7 beliefs of emotionally healthy people.

Curiosity Daily Podcast: EPR Paradox and Quantum Strangeness (w/ George Greenstein) and Temperatures for Sleep

Learn about why room temperature is so important for getting a good night’s sleep. Plus, learn about the EPR paradox and a famous debate from the world of quantum physics with a special guest, astrophysicist George Greenstein.