WEBVTT - 9 Fresh Ideas in Science

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<v Speaker 1>Guess what mango with that will. So I feel like

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<v Speaker 1>when I've been traveling recently, I've been noticing more support

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<v Speaker 1>dogs traveling with passengers, and I think that's great. And

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<v Speaker 1>I decided to look into this because I do find

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<v Speaker 1>it an interesting field. And one of the facts that

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<v Speaker 1>I stumbled on was that sixty of dogs that try

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<v Speaker 1>to become guide dogs end up dropping out of school.

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<v Speaker 1>And it's actually a pretty expensive problem. Training a guide

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<v Speaker 1>dog cost about fifty thousand dollars a pup and it's

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<v Speaker 1>a two year training course, so it can be both

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<v Speaker 1>a drain on time and money. So I mean, obviously

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<v Speaker 1>there's a need for guide dogs though, so like, is

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<v Speaker 1>there some sort of like no dog left behind policy

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<v Speaker 1>that's getting institute, Well, not quite, but there are researchers

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<v Speaker 1>at Georgia Tech that are trying to come up with

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<v Speaker 1>a solution. In fact, they figured out a way to

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<v Speaker 1>draft winners before they even go to school, and this

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<v Speaker 1>is by using smart chew toys. So basically they put

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<v Speaker 1>sensors in these toys and balls to monitor how the

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<v Speaker 1>puppies work. They created profiles based on how they bite

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<v Speaker 1>and chew and tug and play, and then use this

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<v Speaker 1>data to pick the winners, and it's surprisingly effective. The

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<v Speaker 1>team claims they can select dogs who will graduate with

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<v Speaker 1>almost accuracy, and by using smart toys to weed out

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<v Speaker 1>the duds, Georgia Tech can actually save these guide schools

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<v Speaker 1>about five million dollars a year. And that's just the

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<v Speaker 1>first of nine stories and science we're about to share

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<v Speaker 1>with you. Let's dive in a their podcast. Listeners, Welcome

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<v Speaker 1>to Part Time Genius. I'm Will Pearson, and as always

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<v Speaker 1>I'm joined by my good friend man Guesh Ticketer and

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<v Speaker 1>sitting behind the soundproof glass showing off his collection of

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<v Speaker 1>vintage test tubes and beakers. I know he's so proud

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<v Speaker 1>of those things, but they really just look like regular

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<v Speaker 1>test tubes and beakers to me. I know, but you know,

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<v Speaker 1>let's not tell him that. But that's our PALIN producer

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<v Speaker 1>Tristan McNeil so mago. One of the things I know

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<v Speaker 1>you and I both love but don't get to spend

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<v Speaker 1>enough time doing is finding these weird little science stories. Yeah. So,

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<v Speaker 1>at Mental Class we used to do a ten issue

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<v Speaker 1>every year, and for people who don't know, it's just

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<v Speaker 1>like a weird magazine issue of lists of ten So

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<v Speaker 1>we'd feature things like ten guys named Fred you should know,

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<v Speaker 1>or how ten presidents popped the question, or things like that.

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<v Speaker 1>And in the first few years we always did a

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<v Speaker 1>ten Bright Ideas and Science and then a ten not

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<v Speaker 1>so Bright Ideas and Science, which was, you know, a

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<v Speaker 1>much shorter list. And I don't think people thought it

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<v Speaker 1>was not funny, except we thought it was funny. So

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<v Speaker 1>we just kept putting it in there. Oh man, I'm

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<v Speaker 1>still doing and even though we're not publishing the magazine,

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<v Speaker 1>it's still just too much fun to do well, all right,

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<v Speaker 1>So we kicked off today's nine Things with a fact

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<v Speaker 1>about guide dogs. So so where do you want to

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<v Speaker 1>take it from there? Mango? How about a weirdo study

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<v Speaker 1>out of the University of Queensland. And this claims that

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<v Speaker 1>wild leopards make good neighbors and cities because they actually

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<v Speaker 1>protect the population from rabies. So this is obviously super

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<v Speaker 1>weird and the data comes from the outskirts of Bombay,

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<v Speaker 1>where leopards apparently live in the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. Anyway,

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<v Speaker 1>so as the researchers were looking into the diet of

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<v Speaker 1>these leopards on the city's fringe, they realized that feral

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<v Speaker 1>dogs from the city actually make up forty percent of

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<v Speaker 1>the average leopards diet. And you know, for the thirty

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<v Speaker 1>five leopards there, that meant fifteen hundred dogs a year.

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<v Speaker 1>It's obviously a lot of dogs. Yeah, But this is

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<v Speaker 1>where it gets even weirder. So, I mean, my family

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<v Speaker 1>is actually from Bombay, and this is not my experience

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<v Speaker 1>of the city at all. From the summers I spent

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<v Speaker 1>there in church, kid or vend or or whatever. And

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<v Speaker 1>because you know, to me, the city doesn't feel provincial

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<v Speaker 1>at all. It really feels more like New York City.

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<v Speaker 1>But apparently these leopards were eating so many dogs that

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<v Speaker 1>they were actually preventing about a thousand dog bite incidents

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<v Speaker 1>per year and about nine cases of rabies and uh as,

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<v Speaker 1>one of the authors told New Scientists, quote, this study

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<v Speaker 1>is a striking example of a large carnivorous animal providing

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<v Speaker 1>a direct benefit to humans. Now, obviously I don't think

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<v Speaker 1>he's telling like Mayor di Blasio or other mayors, like,

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<v Speaker 1>if your city has a rabies epidemic, go adopt some leopards,

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<v Speaker 1>Because the scientists are pretty clear that there could be

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<v Speaker 1>some downsides to bring in a leopard population to deal

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<v Speaker 1>with their feral dog population. Yeah, maybe just a couple

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<v Speaker 1>of downsides. That is such a weird one, but it

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<v Speaker 1>is super interesting. All right. So, I know we did

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<v Speaker 1>an episode on weather We'll ever Cure Blindness a little

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<v Speaker 1>while back, But did you read about how Microsoft has

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<v Speaker 1>been working to create virtual reality for blind people? No,

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<v Speaker 1>that that's fascinating. How how's that work? Well, by manipulating

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<v Speaker 1>a walking kane or a cane troller as they call it,

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<v Speaker 1>it's and it's really awesome. So basically, the walking Kane

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<v Speaker 1>uses vibrations to make the user feel like they're exploring

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<v Speaker 1>new worlds filled with different types of objects. Plus there's

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<v Speaker 1>a vest that presses against your body to give you

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<v Speaker 1>the feeling of walls or other obstacles. And but is

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<v Speaker 1>their sound design paired with this experience, it can actually

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<v Speaker 1>create these amazing worlds. Obviously, the simulations can be used

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<v Speaker 1>for gaming, but there are practical applications as well. A

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<v Speaker 1>Microsoft employee expected that people will practice walking through heavy

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<v Speaker 1>traffic or you know, get a better feel for navigating

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<v Speaker 1>a city and a snowstorm. And I'm sure they're all

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<v Speaker 1>sorts of things we haven't thought about, but it's amazing

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<v Speaker 1>how well it works. People feel like they're winding through

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<v Speaker 1>narrow pathways and navigating icy curbs even though they're just

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<v Speaker 1>in these wide, empty spaces. That's pretty cool. So here's

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<v Speaker 1>a quick one I think is pretty interesting, and it's

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<v Speaker 1>that Chinese scientists have actually figured out how to make

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<v Speaker 1>a smart wallpaper. Now, Initially, when I saw a link

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<v Speaker 1>to the zap Boing Boing, I figured like the wallpaper

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<v Speaker 1>was something that resisted stains. And I think that's just

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<v Speaker 1>because that's where my mind goes, having like a four

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<v Speaker 1>year old banksy at our house who just draws all

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<v Speaker 1>over the walls and crayon. But you know, the wallpaper

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<v Speaker 1>is actually much much smarter than that. So first off,

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<v Speaker 1>it's made from a material that's found in your bone

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<v Speaker 1>and teeth called hydroxy appetite, and according to the American

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<v Speaker 1>Chemical Society, that material is brittle and inflexible. But if

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<v Speaker 1>you make it into these really long, thin nano wires

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<v Speaker 1>and then join them, it kind of ends up with

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<v Speaker 1>the thickness of a wallpaper. And the reason it's exciting

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<v Speaker 1>is because that material is actually fireproof, so already that

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<v Speaker 1>makes it smarter, right, because it's protecting your walls and house.

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<v Speaker 1>But then the scientists also equipped it with these sensors

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<v Speaker 1>and smoke detectors. So basically, if a fire breaks out

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<v Speaker 1>anywhere in your house, it's both equipped to set off

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<v Speaker 1>an alarm within the house at the first instance of

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<v Speaker 1>a fire, but it can also communicate to the outside

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<v Speaker 1>world to like fire departments, to alert them. I mean,

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<v Speaker 1>this kind of stuff is so cool. It's just crazy.

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<v Speaker 1>You can take something like a chew toy or wallpaper

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<v Speaker 1>and you know and say, like, what does it connected

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<v Speaker 1>smart version of this really do for society? And you know,

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<v Speaker 1>when scientists ponder these questions, they figure out ways to

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<v Speaker 1>give the world more seeing eye dogs and save people

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<v Speaker 1>from fires. And it's just it's just incredible, all right.

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<v Speaker 1>So here's a study we didn't talk about in our

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<v Speaker 1>Science of Paying killers, but scientists in Denmark have discovered

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<v Speaker 1>that taking six hundred milligrams of ibuprofen twice a day

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<v Speaker 1>will give you hypogonadism or or what I think they

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<v Speaker 1>call medically. I think they call it small balls, So

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<v Speaker 1>I don't think that's a medical term, but I do

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<v Speaker 1>think you're gonna have to explain yourself. Well, from what

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<v Speaker 1>I understand, the scientists were looking into fertility issues, and

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<v Speaker 1>they got thirty one healthy guys and they had them

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<v Speaker 1>take ibuprofen for six weeks, and across the board, the

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<v Speaker 1>drug lowered their testosterone production. But what the scientists realized

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<v Speaker 1>was that when the body noticed the drop, the pituitary

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<v Speaker 1>gland kicked in another hormone and to overdrive, and that

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<v Speaker 1>triggered more testosterone production. And because the tests were overworked

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<v Speaker 1>to compensate for what the ibuprofen was doing, they basically

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<v Speaker 1>shrunk significantly. So I mean, is this much of an issue? Like, like,

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know anyone who takes ibuprofen twice a day regularly. Well,

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<v Speaker 1>according to the study, it can be a problem in

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<v Speaker 1>things like sports, where you know, apparently a lot of

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<v Speaker 1>athlet eats to take hyboprofen daily to reduce swelling. But

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<v Speaker 1>if you're looking to go back to r T S

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<v Speaker 1>or what we obviously know is regular testable size, all

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<v Speaker 1>you have to do is quit taking the eyboprofen, and

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<v Speaker 1>if you do it soon enough, it won't have any

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<v Speaker 1>permanent damage. So I'll definitely keep that in mind. And

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<v Speaker 1>here's one that people have been talking about for a while,

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<v Speaker 1>but it's fun to see finally coming true and it's

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<v Speaker 1>creating plants that glow. So for a while, scientists have

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<v Speaker 1>been able to genetically engineer plans to express the gene

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<v Speaker 1>that fireflies use, which is called luciferase, and it produces

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<v Speaker 1>this sort of weak glowing light. But unfortunately it isn't

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<v Speaker 1>particularly easy to do or effective, like the light that

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<v Speaker 1>emerges is too dim to read by, and also they

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<v Speaker 1>could only pull off this trick with a few types

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<v Speaker 1>of plants. But scientists M. I. T. Have actually figured

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<v Speaker 1>out this new method where they could basically turn any

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<v Speaker 1>plant into a glow stick. So far, they've actually done

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<v Speaker 1>it with a arugula, kale, spinach, water cross. I. I

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<v Speaker 1>don't know why it's only vegetables for some reason, I

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<v Speaker 1>was gonna but from the photos you can actually read

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<v Speaker 1>by the plant's glow. And what's cooler is that the

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<v Speaker 1>next iteration of this is to be able to like

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<v Speaker 1>create a spray that sprays nanoparticles onto plants to have

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<v Speaker 1>that same effect. So it isn't a far fetched idea

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<v Speaker 1>like this should be able to be done fairly soon,

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<v Speaker 1>and the result is that instead of like our neighborhoods

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<v Speaker 1>using lamp posts, we'd have like glowing trees casting light

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<v Speaker 1>for us. Or if you like ambient light around your house,

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<v Speaker 1>like you might purchase tulip bulbs instead of light bulbs.

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<v Speaker 1>It's not awesome, that's that is really cool. Or well,

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<v Speaker 1>here's another idea I saw out of M I T.

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<v Speaker 1>And and the backstory of this is ridiculous. And this

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<v Speaker 1>is from new scientists, always with the great stories. But

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<v Speaker 1>apparently a professor named Jeffrey Lipton at M I T

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<v Speaker 1>was friends with a carpenter who accidentally cut off each

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<v Speaker 1>of his thumbs with a saw twice. That's four thumbs, mango.

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<v Speaker 1>I don't know how many thumbs this guy had and

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<v Speaker 1>how that happened exactly, but I just like to leave

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<v Speaker 1>it at that, know that he cut off four thumbs.

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<v Speaker 1>But anyway to prevent this from happening again, you would think,

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<v Speaker 1>like to prevent this of it happening again, would just

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<v Speaker 1>be like, don't use this is four thumbs. This is

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<v Speaker 1>a problem anyway. So Lipton and his team have designed

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<v Speaker 1>a system where you submit a design for tables or

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<v Speaker 1>sheds or frames or whatever it is, and then the

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<v Speaker 1>team of robots cut all the pieces out for you,

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<v Speaker 1>and it's it's pretty amazing because what you end up

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<v Speaker 1>with is basically this personalized flat pack furniture. But the

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<v Speaker 1>funnier part is how he built the things. So to

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<v Speaker 1>cut wavy patterns, he attached a jigsaw to a roomba.

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<v Speaker 1>So I really want to watch the team of machines

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<v Speaker 1>at work. It sounds kind of amazing. Yeah, so Lipton

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<v Speaker 1>expects you'll see these robot carpenters in the next few years.

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<v Speaker 1>But until then, he's begging people, please don't just trap

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<v Speaker 1>a jigsaw to a room. But unless you're a roboticistem

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<v Speaker 1>that's pretty good advice. So we've got two more facts

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<v Speaker 1>to do before we declare winner. But let's take a

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<v Speaker 1>quick break. First, welcome back to Part Time Genius, where

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<v Speaker 1>we're talking about some new science studies we've been reading about. So, Mago,

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<v Speaker 1>this is your last fact. What do you got for us?

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<v Speaker 1>So there are a ton of studies we won't get

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<v Speaker 1>to today, Like there was one on babies and how

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<v Speaker 1>they actually expect adults to behave morally, like babies are

0:11:21.160 --> 0:11:23.040
<v Speaker 1>kind of born with ethics, which is kind of amazing.

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<v Speaker 1>And uh, there was one on woodpeckers possibly being communists,

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<v Speaker 1>which I really like, Like, there's a lot of great

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<v Speaker 1>stuff we'll get into in future episodes. But there's a

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<v Speaker 1>study that actually kind of bothered me, and it was

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<v Speaker 1>about how people who are more disgusted by body odor

0:11:37.600 --> 0:11:40.920
<v Speaker 1>prefer to vote for authoritarian leaders. Next, there's just like

0:11:41.080 --> 0:11:44.120
<v Speaker 1>so much bad news going on right now that I

0:11:44.200 --> 0:11:46.720
<v Speaker 1>kind of wanted something the opposite of that. So I

0:11:46.760 --> 0:11:48.840
<v Speaker 1>was looking for, like, what's the study on something that

0:11:48.880 --> 0:11:52.320
<v Speaker 1>actually increases empathy? And it turns out one thing that

0:11:52.400 --> 0:11:56.319
<v Speaker 1>will increase empathy is reading Harry Potter. H Yeah, So

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<v Speaker 1>this comes from the Journal of Applied Social Psychology, and

0:11:59.520 --> 0:12:02.679
<v Speaker 1>this is why epacific standard. But in two different studies

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<v Speaker 1>in Italy, kids who paid attention to Harry Potter's behavior

0:12:05.679 --> 0:12:09.600
<v Speaker 1>to marginalized groups and characters actually reduced their prejudices and

0:12:09.640 --> 0:12:13.560
<v Speaker 1>became more empathetic for marginalized communities. And obviously there's a

0:12:13.640 --> 0:12:16.120
<v Speaker 1>lot of this in the book, right, like Harry himself

0:12:16.160 --> 0:12:19.240
<v Speaker 1>as an outsider, he's making friends with people like Hagrid

0:12:19.400 --> 0:12:23.920
<v Speaker 1>and these muggles and animals and house elves. And the

0:12:23.920 --> 0:12:26.520
<v Speaker 1>study also showed that kids who read Harry Potter tend

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<v Speaker 1>to have fewer homophobic tendencies, which is equally amazing to me.

0:12:30.240 --> 0:12:33.120
<v Speaker 1>But all of this comes with the catch, So the

0:12:33.200 --> 0:12:36.720
<v Speaker 1>empathy only increases with young readers who actually feel connected

0:12:36.720 --> 0:12:39.520
<v Speaker 1>to Harry, and for those who are on Team Baltimore,

0:12:39.760 --> 0:12:42.400
<v Speaker 1>the researchers didn't see the same changes. No way, is

0:12:42.440 --> 0:12:45.040
<v Speaker 1>that really true. That's pretty wild. I mean, of course,

0:12:45.120 --> 0:12:47.320
<v Speaker 1>natural born Slytherins aren't going to look out for others,

0:12:47.320 --> 0:12:50.080
<v Speaker 1>so I guess we can't be that surprised. But I

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<v Speaker 1>do like that reading Harry Potter has this positive impact

0:12:53.040 --> 0:12:55.240
<v Speaker 1>on so many people's lives. But I do have to

0:12:55.280 --> 0:12:58.880
<v Speaker 1>say I also like my last fact, and yeah, that's

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<v Speaker 1>that any type of regular reading might help you live longer.

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<v Speaker 1>So this comes from mental flaws and it's about a

0:13:03.800 --> 0:13:07.000
<v Speaker 1>study at Yale. But basically, the scientists there have looked

0:13:07.000 --> 0:13:09.640
<v Speaker 1>at things like how watching TV and being a couch

0:13:09.679 --> 0:13:12.960
<v Speaker 1>potato can reduce your lifespan. So they decided to turn

0:13:12.960 --> 0:13:16.680
<v Speaker 1>their attention to reading and analyze people over the age

0:13:16.679 --> 0:13:19.480
<v Speaker 1>of fifty. And here's how the study worked. They started

0:13:19.480 --> 0:13:22.160
<v Speaker 1>by sorting the groups into people who didn't read books,

0:13:22.520 --> 0:13:24.600
<v Speaker 1>people who read up to three and a half hours

0:13:24.600 --> 0:13:27.440
<v Speaker 1>a week and people who read more than that. Then

0:13:27.480 --> 0:13:30.280
<v Speaker 1>they followed up with them twelve years later, and after

0:13:30.360 --> 0:13:34.160
<v Speaker 1>adjusting for factors like education, income, health, and a few

0:13:34.160 --> 0:13:37.320
<v Speaker 1>other things, actually found that quote book readers experience the

0:13:38.040 --> 0:13:40.800
<v Speaker 1>reduction and the risk of mortality over the twelve years

0:13:40.800 --> 0:13:44.080
<v Speaker 1>of follow up compared to non book readers. On average,

0:13:44.080 --> 0:13:47.120
<v Speaker 1>the book readers lived twenty three months more than non readers,

0:13:47.360 --> 0:13:49.680
<v Speaker 1>which the author points out should make everyone want to

0:13:49.720 --> 0:13:52.880
<v Speaker 1>get a library card. Oh. I like that. Hooray for reading.

0:13:53.000 --> 0:13:54.920
<v Speaker 1>And there are a lot of fun facts in here.

0:13:54.920 --> 0:13:56.800
<v Speaker 1>But I I think the fact that we both got

0:13:56.800 --> 0:13:58.600
<v Speaker 1>to plug books and reading at the end of it

0:13:58.640 --> 0:14:00.760
<v Speaker 1>makes us both winners. So what do you say we

0:14:00.760 --> 0:14:03.319
<v Speaker 1>share today's prize. I think that's a great idea. Well,

0:14:03.320 --> 0:14:05.120
<v Speaker 1>that's it for today's episode. We'll be back with a

0:14:05.160 --> 0:14:08.319
<v Speaker 1>full length episode tomorrow. Thanks so much for listening. H