Pre-Performance Routines, Panda Camouflage, Baby Sign Language
Learn about pre-performance routines; how panda fur works as camouflage; and how babies are enriched from sign language.
January 19, 2022
A pre-performance routine makes athletes like Michael Jordan and Rafael Nadal perform better, regardless of what it is by Steffie Drucker
- Athletes with a pre-performance routine perform better. (2021, November 11). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/934597
- The effectiveness of pre-performance routines in sports: a meta-analysis. (2021). International Review of Sport and Exercise Psychology. https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/1750984X.2021.1944271
- Grace Lisa Scott. (2017, July 10). Rafael Nadal’s Rituals Have a Psychological Benefit. Inverse; Inverse. https://www.inverse.com/article/33718-rafael-nadal-and-the-psychology-of-sports-rituals
- Khanna, V. (2020, March). Rafael Nadal’s Rituals: The Mechanism Behind the Rhythm. EssentiallySports. https://www.essentiallysports.com/rafael-nadals-rituals-the-mechanism-behind-the-rhythm-atp-tennis-news/
- Sommer, S. (2013, December 30). 10 Athletes’ Odd Pregame Rituals. Business Insider; Insider. https://www.businessinsider.com/athletes-odd-pregame-rituals-2013-12
Believe it or not, a panda’s distinctive markings work as camouflage by Cameron Duke
- Giant pandas’ distinctive black and white markings provide effective camouflage, study finds. (2021, October 28). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932725
- Nokelainen, O., Scott-Samuel, N. E., Nie, Y., Wei, F., & Caro, T. (2021). The giant panda is cryptic. Scientific Reports, 11(1). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-021-00742-4
For babies, sign language is just as cognitively enriching as spoken language by Steffie Drucker
- To baby brains, language is language, whether signed or spoken. (2021, October 26). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/932704
- Goodwin, C., Carrigan, E., Walker, K., & Coppola, M. (2021). Language not auditory experience is related to parent‐reported executive functioning in preschool‐aged deaf and hard‐of‐hearing children. Child Development. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13677
- American Sign Language. (2021, October 29). NIDCD. https://www.nidcd.nih.gov/health/american-sign-language#1
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
Shark Week: The Podcast - Why is Tagging Baby Great White Sharks So Important?
Luke Tipple speaks with Dr. Riley Elliott, a marine biologist from New Zealand who recently tagged baby great white sharks, which are rarely seen in the wild. They talk about how climate change is affecting shark pupping grounds, why fishers are wrong to think there are “too many sharks,” and about Dr. Elliott’s Great White App, which allows users to track great white sharks in the ocean.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: This Language Shift Could Signal an Impending Breakup
Learn about a change in language use that could mean a breakup is on the way; why ogre-faced spiders are basically ninja assassins, with help from Cornell University professor Ron Hoy; and how it’s possible to exercise too much.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: This Trait Could Be Key to Lasting Romance
Learn about whether reading computer code is the same to your brain as reading another language; and a personality trait that could be key to lasting romance. Then, play along at home as we test your podcast knowledge in this month’s edition of Curiosity Challenge trivia.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: The Safest Way to Ride in a Car During the Pandemic
Learn about the safest way to ride in a car with someone during a pandemic; the science of the "home team advantage" and the surprising impact time zones can have on sports performance; and the failed COVID-19 vaccines you may not have heard about.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: How Copper Changed Our Language (w/ Materials Scientist Ainissa Ramirez)
Award-winning scientist and science communicator Ainissa Ramirez explains how copper changed our language. Then, learn about the surprising health benefits of brown fat.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: ‘Wanting’ and ‘Liking’ Are Different to Your Brain
Learn about why just because you want something doesn’t mean you like it; why Esperanto is the world’s most successful universal language; and a gene therapy injection in one eye that improved vision in both.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: This Artificial Sun Is Hotter Than The Real Sun
Learn about an artificial sun that’s hotter than our actual sun; whether math really is a universal language; and what words like “fresh” really tell you about how fancy your food is.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: How Space Changed NASA Astronaut Nicole Stott’s Perspective; Plus, Whistled Languages
Learn what NASA astronaut Nicole Stott learned from her time in outer space. Plus: whistled languages around the world.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Speech-to-Song Illusion and a High-Tech Use for Tree Rings
Learn about the links between language and music via the speech-to-song illusion and what we can learn from tree rings.
Curiosity Daily Podcast: Stress During Pregnancy Might Affect the Baby’s Sex
Learn about how stress during pregnancy can affect a newborn’s sex; skipping stone physics in space; and overspending.