Curiosity Daily Podcast: No One Born Blind Has Had Schizophrenia, Bacteria Engineered to Protect Honeybees, and The Surprising Way WWI Helmets Beat Modern Ones
Learn about a medical mystery involving blindness and schizophrenia; a new bacteria scientists developed to help protect honeybees; and the surprising strength of helmets used in World War I.
March 24, 2020
Episode Show Notes:
No person who was born blind has ever been diagnosed with schizophrenia by Andrea Michelson
- Love, S. (2020, February 11). People Born Blind Are Mysteriously Protected From Schizophrenia. Vice; vice. https://www.vice.com/en_uk/article/939qbz/people-born-blind-are-mysteriously-protected-from-schizophrenia
- Morgan, V. A., Clark, M., Crewe, J., Valuri, G., Mackey, D. A., Badcock, J. C., & Jablensky, A. (2018). Congenital blindness is protective for schizophrenia and other psychotic illness. A whole-population study. Schizophrenia Research, 202, 414–416. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.schres.2018.06.061
- Silverstein, S. M., Wang, Y., & Keane, B. P. (2013). Cognitive and Neuroplasticity Mechanisms by Which Congenital or Early Blindness May Confer a Protective Effect Against Schizophrenia. Frontiers in Psychology, 3. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2012.00624
- Steve Silverstein’s chart tracking skills associated with blindness and schizophrenia: https://www.frontiersin.org/files/Articles/40106/fpsyg-03-00624-r2/image_m/fpsyg-03-00624-t001.jpg
- Prediction of adult-onset schizophrenia from childhood home movies of the patients | American Journal of Psychiatry. (2020). American Journal of Psychiatry. https://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/doi/abs/10.1176/ajp.147.8.1052?journalCode=ajp&
- Pollak, T. A., & Corlett, P. R. (2019). Blindness, Psychosis, and the Visual Construction of the World. Schizophrenia Bulletin. https://doi.org/10.1093/schbul/sbz098
Scientists have engineered bacteria to protect honeybees from colony collapse by Grant Currin
- Bacteria Engineered to Protect Bees from Pests and Pathogens - UT News. (2020, January 30). UT News. https://news.utexas.edu/2020/01/30/bacteria-engineered-to-protect-bees-from-pests-and-pathogens/
- Leonard, S. P., Powell, J. E., Perutka, J., Geng, P., Heckmann, L. C., Horak, R. D., Davies, B. W., Ellington, A. D., Barrick, J. E., & Moran, N. A. (2020). Engineered symbionts activate honey bee immunity and limit pathogens. Science, 367(6477), 573–576. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.aax9039
- Ramsey, S. D., Ochoa, R., Bauchan, G., Gulbronson, C., Mowery, J. D., Cohen, A., Lim, D., Joklik, J., Cicero, J. M., Ellis, J. D., Hawthorne, D., & vanEngelsdorp, D. (2019). Varroa destructor feeds primarily on honey bee fat body tissue and not hemolymph. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 116(5), 1792–1801. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1818371116
- US EPA,OCSPP. (2013, August 29). Colony Collapse Disorder | US EPA. US EPA. https://www.epa.gov/pollinator-protection/colony-collapse-disorder
WWI helmets protected against shock waves as well as modern ones by Steffie Drucker
- WWI helmets protect against shock waves just as well as modern designs. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-02/du-whp021420.php
- Op ‘t Eynde, J., Yu, A. W., Eckersley, C. P., & Bass, C. R. (2020). Primary blast wave protection in combat helmet design: A historical comparison between present day and World War I. PLOS ONE, 15(2), e0228802. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0228802
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: Introducing If/Then
What gets you curious? Virtual experiences, celestial bodies, water worlds or maybe just the tiniest mysteries inside your brain? The endlessly curious and curiously funny, Gillian Jacobs (Community, Netflix's LOVE) and Diona Reasonover (NCIS), step off set to go on tangents with real-life astronauts, astrophysicists, science artists, mathematician-types and other really smart people that investigate what seems impossible.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Curiosity Podcast Wraps Up with Yoga, Volcanoes, and Meditation
Learn from some of our favorite expert guests about yoga, volcanoes, meditation, and more on this special episode of the Curiosity Podcast. You'll hear from accomplished authors and academics from past episodes, in addition to a special guest you've never heard before on the show. Plus, hear about the past, present, and future of the Curiosity Podcast.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Does ESP Exist?
Learn about ESP; why people panicked about electricity in the 1800s; and how embryos use sound to prepare for the world.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Do Opposites Really Attract?
Learn about why opposites don’t really attract; the “propinquity effect” and how physical distance affects the way we feel about other people; and the history of when and why we started using last names.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Are Facial Expressions Universal?
Learn about common ancestors shared by every human; evolution’s multiple directions; and universal facial expressions.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: How to Talk to Strangers, Red Dead Redemption 2 Naturalists, July Curiosity Challenge
Learn how to get better at talking to strangers; and how Red Dead Redemption 2 turns gamers into naturalists. Trivia too!
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Insecure People Use More Jargon
Learn about how naked mole-rats invade neighboring colonies and steal babies, the average person is hiding 13 secrets, and people use more jargon when they're insecure about their status.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Explorers Club - Sian Proctor
Today, we are lucky enough to hear from a highly accomplished explorer who has some incredible experiences to share with us. Dr. Sian Proctor was the mission pilot for the Inspiration4, which is the all-civilian orbital mission to space and she’s the first African American woman to pilot a spacecraft. She also lived in a Mars analog environment to simulate what it might be like to live on the red planet.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Why Toilet Paper Is White
Learn about Starlink’s unintended consequences for astronomy from astrophysicist Vivienne Baldassare, NASA Einstein Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale University. Then, learn why toilet paper is white.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Vampire Bats Adopt Babies Too
Learn about why engineers tested a temporary “smart tattoo” that emits light via OLEDs; a female vampire bat that adopted her best friend’s baby after the friend’s death; and how you can sharpen your mind with device-free quiet time.