Paper Boys: Recent Episodes
Paper Boys
Each week, two PhD students read the research papers behind headline science news and give you the details you can't get in the stories.
What happens when you give a scientist, obsessed with biblical death, near unlimited control over a utopian city of mice? Well...a lot of death, it turns out. In the 1960's and 70's, Dr. John Calhoun created what should have been a perfect mouse city - unlimited food, shelter, and water with no predators or inclement weather. Then he let nature run its course. Within a few years, the city was in ruins. Listen in as we dive into the research paper detailing exactly what happened to the mice in Universe 25, from meteoric rise to tragic demise.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
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As urban environments grow and natural vegetation gets replaced with concrete and asphalt, “Urban Heat Islands” develop, where urbanized areas retain much more heat than surrounding rural areas. The increased heat in densely populated areas can pose significant problems to both comfort and, more importantly, people’s health. The City of Los Angeles is investigating new measures to reduce the heat island effect by making their asphalt more reflective--but how effective is this measure in reducing air temps? Join us this week as we dive into new research evaluating the success of this bright new technology.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Returning rock samples from planets and asteroids can provide new insights into how the solar system, the universe, and life formed. But how much can we learn from meteorite samples that fell to the ground here on Earth? It turns out, quite a bit! Join us this week as we explore a new paper about a 4 billion-year-old rock from Mars that landed in Antarctica.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
This week is a bit different - instead of a fresh episode, we are sharing one of our bonus episodes covering the Stanford Prison Experiment. Tune in to hear how this seemingly innocent psychology experiment from the early 1970s went terribly wrong. If you like this episode you can find more like it at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod.
Oumuamua is an interstellar object that passed through our solar system in late 2017. It originally made the news thanks to several scientists suggesting its odd shape might be explained if it were a spaceship. New research on Oumuamua presents a much more tractable--and still extremely fascinating--explanation though. Join us this week as we dive into this new paper the search for Oumuamua’s origin.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Any kid can intuitively understand how much you need to fill a water balloon to effectively drench someone. But it turns out that predicting this quantitatively with physics is much more challenging! Join us James and Charlie this week for a look into an experimental physics paper that analyzed precisely when a water balloon (or any liquid-filled) balloon might pop.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
The coronavirus, COVID-19, has been spreading around the world since it was first detected in December 2019. Since then, drastic measures have been taken in communities around the world to limit its spread. Recent research from Imperial College London looked at how different suppression techniques such as social distancing and isolation could affect the spread, and, critically, the number available of hospital beds. Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into the different epidemiological models and their predictions.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Gray whales have some of the longest migrations on the planet--between 10,000-12,000 miles long each year! Sadly, they often get stranded on beaches. As weird as it may sound, scientists have found that the whales are more likely to get stranded during solar storms. What is the connection between whales becoming stranded and storms on our sun 92 million miles away? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into new research that seeks to understand how these whales lose their way.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Over a year ago we covered the challenges that NASA’s InSight lander overcame to land on Mars and begin performing the first detailed seismographic measurements of Mars. The InSight science team has just published the initial findings from InSight’s measurements, detailing unexpected results about Mars’ seismic activity, magnetism, and more. Join us this week as Charlie and James explore InSight’s exciting new findings.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Consciousness is challenging to study. We interact with consciousness everyday, and yet there are still so many questions. Learning about how consciousness arises and where it occurs in the brain could have a significant impact on medicine and fundamental neuroscience. It also begs the question, can consciousness be controlled? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into new research about stimulating consciousness in the brain.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
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Fast radio bursts are millisecond-long signals we detect coming from distant galaxies. They were only recently discovered in 2007 and we still have no clue what’s causing them. These radio bursts appear in short durations on earth at very low powers. At their origin, we have calculated their energies to be enormous--more than our entire sun gives off in 80 years! Join us this week as we dive into new discoveries about these mysterious astronomical phenomena.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
It’s clear that birds can communicate. All you have to do is listen to their songs. But when they communicate, do their songs conform to the same linguistic laws as human speech? Join James and Charlie this week as they dive into a paper that analyzes the songs of African "jackass" penguins in search of deeper linguistic structures.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
In the year 79 A.D., the infamous Mt. Vesuvius transformed the towns of Pompeii and Herculaneum--as well as its residents. For a long time, archaeologists thought that all the victims died quickly, vaporizing from the hot ash and leaving their remains in the dust that cooled and hardened. However, new research analyzing their bodies suggests a grimmer story. Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into fascinating new research that seeks to retell the last moments of Mt. Vesuvius’ victims.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
It is estimated that sleep apnea affects nearly 1 billion worldwide. However, many of the mechanisms behind sleep apnea are still a mystery. New research has pointed to high levels of tongue fat as a primary factor controlling the severity of sleep apnea. Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into the “thick” of it and learn about this new discovery.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
OSIRIS-REx is an exciting mission from NASA that seeks to return samples from asteroid Bennu back to Earth, providing insight into the original building blocks of our solar system. Touchdown on the asteroid is expected in August 2020, but the spacecraft has already learned a ton about its target. Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into a paper about new findings from OSIRIS-REx.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod
Join us this new year as we discuss the best science of 2019 that we never got to present on Paper Boys!
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(WARNING: Do not listen with young children!!) For Christmas Eve, the Paper Boys tackle the everlasting mythos of Santa Claus. Why do parents encourage kids to believe? What reactions do kids have when they learn the truth? How far do some parents go to keep the dream alive? Do parents know how upset kids really are to learn the truth? Join us as we dive into a doctoral dissertation (with references all the way back to 1896!) exploring all these questions and more.
P.S. we made this episode to come out on December 26th originally, but we’re releasing on Christmas Eve as an early present - so forgive our endless Boxing Day references!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
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Jupiter’s moon Europa garners a lot of attention for its potential to house life, particularly thanks to what are predicted to be vast oceans beneath the planet’s icy crust. From past observations made by the Galileo spacecraft and the Hubble Space Telescope, we’ve witnessed large plumes erupting from the surface. But what are these plumes made of? Are they made of liquid water or other materials? Join James and Charlie this week as they dive into ground breaking new research that confirms that composition of these plumes.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
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Saturn’s tiny moon Enceladus is of great interest to scientists for its unique features and potential for life. Despite its far distance from the sun, a vast ocean exists under its surface, and geyser-like jets regularly shoot water vapor into its atmosphere and space. For many years, planetary scientists have wondered how four deep, nearly parallel trenches formed near the planet’s south pole. Join us this week and Charlie and James nerd out on an excellent paper that digs into this mystery of Enceladus’ “tiger stripe” trenches.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Food has a big impact on the world. What we eat can drastically affect our health. It can also have major consequences for the environment. But is there any link between the health and environmental impacts of food? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into research that seeks to determine whether eating healthy is also better for the planet.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
With winter setting in, it’s easy to wonder why we humans can’t simply hibernate. How is it that animals like bears can simply bypass eating and drinking for such a long time? Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into new research investigating the genetic mechanisms of hibernation in bears!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Certain languages have reputations for speaking faster. But, over the same amount of time do these languages actually convey more information than other slower languages? Would a slower, more complex language convey more information still? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into new research that seeks to compare the amount of information transmitted by 17 different languages.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
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With their habitats heavily dependent on sea ice, Emperor penguins are extremely impacted by climate change in Antarctica. The 2015 Paris Climate agreement sought the commitment of nations to keep the global temperature rise below 2 degrees centigrade, but how would this level of warming impact emperor penguin populations? Join us this week as Charlie and James explore a new paper that sees if the goals of the Paris Climate Agreement are enough to save the penguins.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Cell phones, tablets, home assistants, and even cars are leveraging voice control technology to add convenience to our lives. But are our voice controlled devices at risk for being hacked...by lasers? In an interesting new study, researchers figured out how voice controlled devices could be hacked inconspicuously using laser pointers. Join James and Charlie this week as they dive into the science and implications of the strange weakness in voice controlled systems.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
In a new paper in Nature, Google recently claimed that they achieved "quantum supremacy," or using a quantum computer to achieve a task that a classical computer could not. However, not everyone agrees with Google's results. IBM released a paper at nearly the same time that scrutinizes Google's calculations. Listen as Charlie and James dive into this week's paper and unpack this interesting debate on quantum computing research!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Touch screens are ubiquitous in technology today. We’ve grown very accustomed to using our fingers to tap and swipe our way through most tasks. But what if we could do more…like caress, or even tickle, our devices? New research looks at how “skin” interfaces might open up the ways we interact with our technology. Join us this week as James and Charlie unpack the research and discuss this cool (and very strange) new interface.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Endurance athletes are used to pushing themselves; most people would give up if they attempted similar feats. Does this constant push towards finishing difficult physical goals carry a mental burden as well though? Join us this week as Charlie and James take on a new paper about the mental tax of training on athletes’ brains.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
The 2019 Nobel Prize for Physics was awarded to three researchers whose work significantly advanced our understanding of the universe. Two of the researchers worked together to identify the first exoplanet in the universe that orbits a star similar to our Sun. Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into their research in astronomy and physics that won them a Nobel Prize!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Astronomers have noticed a strange clustering of objects orbiting our solar system very far from the sun. Their grouping suggests that there might be a planet (dubbed “Planet 9”) responsible for this strange behavior. However, new research has proposed the idea that instead of being a planet, “Planet 9” could instead be a primordial black hole! Join us this week as Charlie dives into the paper behind this exciting proposition - and stay tuned to the end when Charlie blows James' mind with the size of the black hole.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
The material Vantablack made headlines a few years ago as being the “blackest black” color ever known. People were shocked by how this color would transform shapes, and the material even sparked deep running feud in the art community. Well now it turns out there’s a newer black that is 10X darker than Vantablack! Join us this week as James dives into a new paper about a process for growing carbon nanotubes that results in the darkest black we’ve ever seen.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Health studies continuously debate the pros and cons of different diets, particularly vegetarian diets vs. carnivorous diets. Will one type of diet lower your risk for certain disease? Could the same diet increase your risk for other diseases? Join us this week as Charlie breaks down a new study making waves in popular science news about the risks and benefits of vegetarianism and carnivorism.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Talk of intermittent fasting has grown in the news. Some feel intermittent fasting is a new dieting fad, others claim that it’s an amazing technique to improve health and lose weight. But what does the research actually have to say on the subject? Join us this week as James looks at a study on the effects of intermittent fasting.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Our planet is bombarded with tons of extraterrestrial dust every year. While much of the dust comes from asteroids, some of these particles may have come from supernovas - ancient stars that exploded nearly 20 million years ago! But finding this dust on Earth is tricky, and determining that the dust came from an exploding star is even tougher. This week Charlie takes on a new study from some “stellar” researchers who were up to the challenge. Thanks to Ben from Australia for the paper recommendation this week!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Tracking the productivity and impact of research has always been problematic. Especially in the highly competitive environment of today where hiring and promotions can be tied to a single performance metric such as “total number of citations” or “h-index.” The problem is that these metrics don’t tell the full story of productivity. Different disciplines in science publish papers at different rates. And many times, your new papers are required to cite your old papers to avoid self-plagiarism. So what are we to do to understand scientific impact? Join us this week as James and Charlie dive into a new investigation on a more nuanced way of looking at citations.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
For the average person, the words used to describe whiskey can seem strange, if not completely arbitrary. Dignified vs. subtle, austere vs. rich, mouth-coatingly winey...the entire process of tasting feels extremely subjective. However, new research from the University of Glasgow is seeking to change that with their creation of an artificial tongue that can differentiate the subtleties between very closely related whiskeys. Join us this week as Charlie dives into exciting new research that may leave your taste buds looking for a new career.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Nearly everyone has heard the advice “walk 10,000 steps per day to be healthy!” As fitness trackers like FitBit have grown in popularity, many people use the 10,000-step benchmark as their goal for daily fitness. But where did this goal come from? And are there actually measurable health benefits if you walk 10,000 steps per day or more? Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that seeks to quantify the benefits of your daily step tally.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
News channels have been buzzing with the new press releases from Elon Musk’s brain-computer interface company, Neuralink. The company hopes to develop new devices that could change the way humans interact with technology by interfacing directly to the brain. Join us this week as James dives into a publicly-available paper published by Neuralink to learn more about the technology that has lit up popular science news.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Stonehenge has puzzled people for centuries. What was the purpose of such a massive rock formation? And how were people able to move such large boulders from quarries 50-150 km away? As scientists and archaeologists have learned more though, a new mystery has appeared: why is there such a high concentration of pig fat on pottery found in the area? Join us this week as Charlie explores a new paper looking at how pig fat may have facilitated the construction of this famous, mysterious site.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like the show? Want more every month? Fan of universal constants? Check out www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Recent research has sparked popular news headlines about the brain “seeing what’s around the corner.” Can your brain actually look around corners? Well, not quite...however, fascinating research from the University of Glasgow has shown that the parts of your brain responsible for vision actually try to predict what you’ll see next--even faster than the time it takes to move your eyes side to side! Join us this week as James breaks down this fascinating neuroscience paper. (Big shout out to Dennis Bontempi for the paper recommendation!)
Find the paper, news, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Bonus episodes and eternal love from James and Charlie at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod.
In the early 20th century, Einstein, Hubble, and other scientists confirmed the universe was expanding. With the exception of a few nearby galaxies, nearly all galaxies are moving away from us. Scientists have long been tempted by the challenging problem that arises from trying to measure how fast these galaxies are moving away, resulting in some fascinating findings. It turns out that by measuring the gravitational waves from colliding neutron stars, we might just find a better answer! Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that improves humanity’s (and the Paper Boys’) understanding of our ever-expanding universe.
Check out the CRAZY paper, old journal papers, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Like this episode? Want more? Go to www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
Most people don’t need an excuse to drink caffeine in the morning. Pick your poison: whether it’s coffee, tea, or an extra large Red Bull, caffeine’s psychoactive effects are evident. But could that same drug be kickstarting your body to burn more calories than you would be otherwise? Join us this week as James looks at new research studying the effects of caffeine on “brown fat,” the fat we have that helps regulate our body temps and keep us healthy (as opposed to “white fat” that stores energy).
Researchers have long been puzzled about how human language evolved. Humans’ ability to create complex, flexible, spoken language stands out in the animal kingdom, but little is known about how language developed, and particularly, how animals evolved to repeatedly create novel recognizable sounds (“formant modification” as it’s called in the study). Could any other animals learn to manipulate sounds in a similar matter and associate these sounds with meaning? Join us this week as Charlie brings in a fascinating paper (and several adorable videos) about new research seeking to understand if seals could learn to create human-like sounds.
Watch the seal singing videos, read the paper, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Check out our bonus episodes at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod!
In the 1980s, neuroscientists put forth the Critical Brain Hypothesis, which suggests our brain operates on a teetering edge between different "phases" of operation. These phase changes characterize the way we think and the way our brain functions. However, our brains have to sit right near the critical point that lies between these phases - just like the thin line between water and ice, for example. Obviously, this hypothesis has been incredibly difficult to prove true - but a new experiment takes us the furthest we've ever been in understanding this dynamic. James dives into the paper to find out what your brain may have in common with avalanches.
Check out the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com. Support the show at www.patreon.com/paperboyspod.
Humans love to test their limits. Some people run marathons, race triathlons, or climb the world’s highest peaks. All of these endeavors are challenging, but can we quantitatively compare how each undertaking pushes the human body? Join us this week as Charlie dives into new research that seeks to determine a ‘hard limit’ on human energy expenditure, both in relatively short duration tasks like running a marathon as well as long duration tasks like running 6 marathons a week for 20 weeks or even being pregnant!
Check out the awesome plot showing the human endurance limit, the paper, news articles, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Recent science news has been covering a paper drawing a connection between supernovae and the advent of human ancestors walking upright. The new headlines went viral, but their short titles made it hard to understand the actual findings of the research. Was this due to radiation causing genetic mutations? Did the supernovae impart some magical powers on our ancient ancestors? Or was it more circuitous than that? This week, James dives into the real research behind the headlines to uncover what findings were actually published in the paper.
Nuclear weapons have obviously had a big impact on the world since their development more than 70 years ago. But new research on the diets of small crustaceans in the Mariana Trench--the deepest known point in the world at more than 36,000 feet below sea level--indicates that elevated levels of the radioactive isotope Carbon-14 created by nuclear weapons testing can still be found in these remote, isolated creatures. This week Charlie dives into this interesting research that reveals new insights about the carbon cycles of our oceans as well as the measurable impact of human activities on the environment.
Check out the paper, news articles, and disgusting picture of a Hadal amphipod at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
A huge breakthrough of the last few decades is our ability to sequence genomes - pulling out the order of bases in our DNA to understand exactly what makes organisms tick. However, a new field takes it a step further by creating synthetic genomes that are built from scratch to produce custom DNA. Scientists even hope to re-code pieces of DNA that are redundant to perform more tasks. This technique promises to revolutionize many industries, with the most imminent advancements in the production of super bacteria that can resist viruses and save billions of dollars. James dives into a paper about synthetic DNA that sounds more like sci-fi than anything.
Read the paper, check out our merch, and watch a compilation of Jeff Goldblum quotes at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
When people think of the moon, they often envision it as a cold, static body. However, when the Apollo moon missions landed on the moon’s surface, they were actually able to record seismic activity dubbed “moonquakes.” These findings suggested our cold, dusty neighbor was more geologically active than expected, but it was only recently that scientists were able to link these past seismic recordings to actual fault lines observed by the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter since its launch in 2009. This week, Charlie dives into new research about the moon to discuss the interesting science as well as the recent media reports about Jeff Bezos, NASA, and SpaceIL’s intents to return us to the lunar surface.
Read the paper, news articles, and support the show at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
The so-called Replication Crisis has plagued all areas of academia, and especially psychology, in the last few decades. The astonishing number of studies published in peer-reviewed journals that are later found not to be repeatable is a violation of one of the core tenets of the scientific method. Joining us on this episode is Ood Gallifrey of the Occultae Veritatis podcast to discuss: exactly how bad is this crisis? What started it? What can be done to fix it? (And of course many side tangents where we geek out about space and Richard Feynman.)
Read more about the replication crisis at our website, www.paperboyspodcast.com, and check out the Occultae Veritatis podcast at www.ovpod.ca.
Daylight Savings Time gets a bad rap every year when it's time to turn the clocks forward - it's bad for your health, it's bad for the economy...but DST has a friend no one warned you about: sunset time. Later sunsets mean later bedtimes, which leads to "social jetlag" - a desynchronization between your biological clock and your social obligations. Social jetlag could have a huge effect on your well-being and your wallet, so researchers decided to look at the perfect laboratory for comparing its effects. Right along time zone boundaries, neighboring counties experience sunset at completely different times. This week, Charlie brings in a paper where chronobiologists compare health and incomes on both sides of the time zone border, with some very alarming results.
Read the paper, see the cool county map, check out our merch and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com!
Once an animal dies, there isn't much hope of bringing it back to life - especially when that animal is a slaughtered pig. There has been past research into brain activity after death, but the brain has to be essentially destroyed first. Now, scientists have developed a technique for continuing the pig's brain function for many hours after death using a very complicated pump and well-engineered brain fluid. The best part? The brain is fully intact! On this week's episode, James dives into a paper talking about this technique and the crazy implications it could have for future humans.
This paper, news articles, merchandise, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on the planet (which we all know from Episode 10 of Paper Boys, of course!) so scientists are always looking for ways to stop their spread of diseases. Over the past several decades, these bugs are becoming resistant to insecticides, meaning we need to start getting creative. Enter Skrillex, the dubstep artist...find out why researchers are tying down hamsters and blasting EDM into a cage of mosquitoes when Charlie dives into this week's bizarre paper!
Find the paper, news articles, merch, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
This week, the Event Horizon Telescope unveiled something truly groundbreaking - the first ever direct image of a black hole. The telescope consisted of a dozen antennas located all around the globe (well, one side of it at least). They had to synchronize their data to an error equivalent to one second over 100 million years. The hard drives storing this data filled an entire plane and it took them two years to process it. So how exactly did they construct the image then? With so much care put in and pressure to release this historic image, the science has to be very tight. James brings in a paper from a Dutch astronomer detailing the past, present, and future of black hole imaging.
Check out this paper, a great video from Veritasium, the secret song video, and more at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
It's one of the most controversial topics in all of diet science: are eggs good or bad for you? It seems there are contradicting studies all the time - one day eggs are a superfood, the next day eggs will give you a heart attack. Egg whites are fine...or was it the yolks? All this competing information can be hard to keep track of, and recently a study was released attempting to answer the question once and for all. The study, published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, looked at nearly 30,000 people over several decades to determine if there is a link between egg consumption and cardiovascular disease or death. Charlie cracks this one open and James reconsiders his eating habits on this week's episode. You can read the paper, check out the headlines, and send us your paper recommendations at www.paperboyspodcast.com.
It's long been known that going to space can have negative effects on the health of astronauts. Space is a harsh environment with too much radiation and too little gravity. There are cardiovascular implications, vision problems abound, and future reproductive issues are a particular concern. A major area of research for space agencies is meticulously checking up on the health of people who have left the Earth, especially since it's such a small group of people. Due to historical barriers, it's even smaller when considering only female astronauts - though that number is growing. So what differences have been observed between the male and female astronauts studied? Do they suffer from the same complications, or are the effects particular to sex? On this episode, James dives into a collection of studies highlighting the ways men's and women's physiologies react to the final frontier.
Find out more, including the papers and articles, on our website, www.paperboyspodcast.com.
You may not realize it, but having an overbite makes it a lot easier to say words with "f" and "v" in them. Go ahead, bring your lower teeth forward and try saying an F-word (no, not that one) - it's noticeably harder. A linguist named Charles Hockett once theorized that this means humans may not have always had these sounds in their languages, but his ideas were quickly tossed. However, a team of researchers from the University of Zurich have found new evidence that strongly suggests Hockett may have been right - and the change that brought about this ability to say F-words was a shift in diet thousands of years ago. You can find their paper, a fantastic article from National Geographic, and a video of the Greenlandic language at our website, www.paperboyspodcast.com.
When you touch a hot stove, you reflexively pull your hand away in an instant. If you get burned (and you're like us), you'll grunt and whine about the pain for hours. Both of these are "painful," but why do they feel so different? It turns out there there are entirely different neurons dedicated to each feeling, and that means it might be possible to turn off certain pains. James brings in a paper that does testing on mutant rats to get to the bottom of the question: why is pain, well, painful? Find the paper, articles, merch, and more at our website, www.paperboyspodcast.com.
Titan is the only moon in the solar system that has an atmosphere, and its origin is still a hotly studied mystery. However, ESA's Rosetta mission that landed on Comet 67P made some startling discoveries that made scientists rethink how Titan could be generating its nitrogen-rich atmosphere. In this episode of Paper Boys, Charlie dives into the journal paper behind these new revelations and goes off on science headlines that conjour up the imagery of "cooked organics." Read the paper and news articles at www.paperboyspodcast.com/Titan/.
It seems every few months, a news article pops up talking about the indestructible Tardigrade - otherwise known as the "water bear" or "moss piglet." These resilient little animals can survive radiation in space, freezing for 30 years, and completely drying out their bodies. So how exactly are they able to do this? James brings in a recent paper diving into the details of Tardigrades' little survival hacks. Read the paper and news articles here.
Some clues have indicated that female brains may stave off aging better than male brains, such as better cognitive ability later in life and longer life expectancies. However, the reason behind these observations remains a mystery. Scientists at the Washington University in St. Louis have applied machine learning to uncover yet another clue in the slowly developing picture of sex difference in the brain - that male brains appear older than their female counterparts of the same physical age. Charlie brings in the paper that has scientists scratching their heads and news outlets spinning. Read the paper and news articles here.
Brain-computer interfaces promise to change everything about our lives in the future, but are still in their early infancy technology-wise. However, you may be closer than you think to being able to talk without moving your mouth at all...James brings in a paper on converting brain waves to speech, and tests Charlie on his robot-listening comprehension while he's at it. Read the paper, listen to the music, and test yourself here.
The Curiosity rover on Mars has some pretty amazing experiments aboard, but curiously enough never had a gravimeter, a device used for measuring the gravitational pull of buried rocks. So how then did scientists manage to weigh a mountain on Mars using years-old data taken by Curiosity? Charlie brings in a paper that reads like a data analysis version of a MacGyver episode. Read the paper and news stories here.
Even though it's our best way of fighting cancer today, chemotherapy can be extremely damaging to the human body. The drugs spread through your entire bloodstream just to target one small tumor. Scientists may have cracked this problem though by inventing a tiny filter injected into your veins. James brings in a paper detailing this amazing breakthrough. Read the paper and news articles here.
There's a giant ice disk hanging out in the Presumpscot River in Westbrook, Maine that's garnered international attention, and rightfully so - it's an extremely rare phenomenon and this is one of the biggest ever recorded. Crazily, the ice disk is spinning completely on its own. Charlie brings in a paper that discovered just how ice disks like this can spontaneously rotate - and let's just say it's cooler than being cool. Read the paper and see the drone video here.
Optogenetics is a breakthrough technology that you may not have heard of. So what exactly is it and how might it change our future? James brings in a paper about rat incontinence that could spell great advances for future humans. Read the paper and news articles here.
When you look at Da Vinci's art, it's not hard to see why he's hailed as a genius. But he may have had a little trick up his sleeve that helped him see the world a little differently than most people, in the form of an eye disorder shared by Picasso, Rembrandt, and even Ryan Gosling. Charlie brings in a paper that tries to determine if Da Vinci had a condition known as strabismus. Read the paper and news articles here.
It's long been known that many modern humans have around 2% Neanderthal in their DNA. However, scientists don't have an exact answer for how it got there. James brings in a paper that gets closer to an answer by suggesting our ancestors got it on with Neanderthals more often than we thought. Read the paper and news articles here.
Cosmologists claim that all the matter we can see in the universe really only accounts for 5% of everything that's out there - the other 95% is so-called "dark matter" and "dark energy." Figuring out exactly what these are has puzzled scientists for decades, and troubling results have popped up time after time. Now, an Oxford physicist claims one theory could end up resolving all the missing pieces in cosmology. Charlie brings in a paper that could change physics just by changing the sign. Read the paper and news articles here.
Airplanes are responsible for 10% of the carbon footprint of the US. Recently the news reported on a new "ion plane" that could revolutionize the industry...but can it actually? James brings in a paper from MIT researchers detailing their new propulsion system and we get to the bottom of the real science. Read the paper here.
The worst mass extinction in known history happened 250 million years ago, wiping out an astonishing 96% of all marine life. Scientists have offered many theories on how this could have happened, from meteors to volcanoes--but a research team may have finally cracked the code, and it doesn't bode well for our own future. Charlie brings in a paper that takes a grim dive into the world's most lethal time period. Read the paper and news articles here.
Hypothetical scenario: you and a robot are before a judge who cannot see you. You each must pick one word from the english dictionary to give to the judge. Based on these two words, the judge will decide who is human, and who is the robot. The catch--the one deemed a robot is executed. What one word do you choose?
James brings in a fascinating paper on the Turing Test (a famous computer science thought experiment) and a completely new paradigm for thinking of artificial intelligence. Read the paper here... and tune in to find out the disgusting word Charlie picked!
It seems everyone and their mother watched the InSight lander touching down on Mars this past monday, and it was impossible to turn on the TV without hearing that the landing phase is a big challenge. But while the news did a good job telling us that it's a daunting problem, they didn't impress just how hard it was to actually solve. Charlie brings in a conference paper by the NASA engineers who made the Mars magic happen. Read the paper, check the news, and play the videogame here.
Most paralysis patients are told that if they can't regain the ability to walk in 6 months they will never walk again. Then how did three research teams get paralyzed patients walking after several years in the wheelchair? James brings in a paper on spinal stimulation that makes you feel like we are living in the future.
Last year, astronomers discovered a bizarre rock from outside our solar system zipping past Earth. This year, two researchers have made the extroardinary claim that this rock could actually be alien technology...but is the evidence extroardinary enough to support it? Charlie brings in their paper and gets to the bottom of a story that has been covered in controversy, misinformation, and extraterrestrial inspiration. Read the paper here.
What does a phytoplankton virus have to do with the annual snowfall at a ski resort? It turns out they're more related than you think! James brings in two papers on cloud seeding that explore the ways scientists have been changing the weather since the 1940s. Read the paper here.
How many different people could you recognize if you passed them on the street? As it turns out, this is a question science had never answered until now. Charlie brings in a paper with ingenious methods that open up a whole new world of questioning in facial recognition science. Read the paper here.
Did you know mosquitoes are the deadliest animal on Earth? (Neither did we!) With gene editing, it may be possible to eradicate these bugs that transmit diseases to humans...but is it a good idea to kill an entire species? In this episode, James dives into the science of how researchers aim to do this (and whether they should). Read the paper and news articles here.
From Carl Sagan to Elon Musk, people have discussed making Mars more like Earth through terraforming. But are we sure that Mars even has the ingredients we need to transform it? Charlie brings in a paper that may answer the most important questions for Mars colonists. Check out the paper and other useful links here.
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When you wish upon a star, you'd be freaked out if you heard it falling. Witnesses reporting to hear the sound of meteors have been called crazy for centuries, but James brings in new research that may prove the crazies right after all. Read the papers here.
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Everyone knows about magnetic fields, but very few people know what they really are and what they're capable of. Charlie brings in a paper from an experiment that broke a magnetic field world record...and blew itself up in the process. Read the paper here. Also watch the explosion video and read the Newsweek article.
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US embassy workers abroad have been reporting strange sicknesses and hearing imaginary sounds, and news reports say that microwave weapons may be to blame. Listen as James uncovers the mind-blowing science behind these alleged devices stretching back to human experimentation in the 1960s. Read the original papers here (PDF) and here, with modern reports here and here.
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Next time you meet a goat, make sure you put your best face on...but be careful which side you're standing on. Find out why when Charlie unravels a new paper that changes the way we look at goats. Read the paper here.
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Nobody likes pollution, but did you know it could actually harm your brain? James looks at a study on pollution in Chinese cities that will make you want to move to the suburbs. Read the paper here, and supplementary papers here and here (PDF).
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Want to know what a plasma wave from outer space sounds like? Well, it's kind of like whistling (or aliens, according to Nikola Tesla). Charlie brings in new research from NASA that you have to hear to believe. Read the paper here.
Also, huge thanks to Dammit Eugene for the Paper Boys theme song! Check out his other work here.
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When it comes to the search for life on other planets, scientists like to "follow the water." But finding water in the solar system is its own challenge. James brings in a study that could be a major breakthrough in the search on Mars. Read the paper here.
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Do you know how spiders fly? (Who even knew spiders could fly?) Charlie brings in new research that turns two centuries of conventional wisdom on its head. Read the paper here.
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