1 00:00:00,040 --> 00:00:02,400 Speaker 1: I am Scott and I'm Ben and we're from Car Stuff. 2 00:00:02,480 --> 00:00:05,720 Speaker 1: We're the podcast that covers everything that floats, flies, swims, 3 00:00:05,920 --> 00:00:10,840 Speaker 1: or drives, adventures, thrills, chills, literally, planes, trains and automobiles. 4 00:00:10,920 --> 00:00:13,280 Speaker 1: That's right. Then you can find all of our episodes 5 00:00:13,320 --> 00:00:17,280 Speaker 1: on Google Play, Spotify, iTunes, and really anywhere else you'd 6 00:00:17,280 --> 00:00:22,120 Speaker 1: get your podcast. Welcome to How Stuff Works Now. I'm 7 00:00:22,160 --> 00:00:24,800 Speaker 1: your host, Lauren voc Obam, a researcher and writer. Here 8 00:00:24,800 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: at How Stuff Works. Every week, I'm bringing you three 9 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,479 Speaker 1: stories from a team about the weird and wondrous developments 10 00:00:33,520 --> 00:00:37,720 Speaker 1: we've seen in science, technology, and culture. This week, researchers 11 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,760 Speaker 1: asked and answered what a human body would be like 12 00:00:40,840 --> 00:00:44,760 Speaker 1: if we had evolved to withstand car crashes, and an 13 00:00:44,840 --> 00:00:48,479 Speaker 1: unrelated question, could the future of fighting mosquito born illness 14 00:00:48,600 --> 00:00:52,720 Speaker 1: be in gm O mosquito factories? But First Senior writer 15 00:00:52,840 --> 00:00:56,520 Speaker 1: and forward thinking video host Jonathan Strickland explores a study 16 00:00:56,600 --> 00:01:01,120 Speaker 1: that dug into CEO's pay and company perform The results 17 00:01:01,120 --> 00:01:05,200 Speaker 1: indicate that high CEO compensation and long term business performance 18 00:01:05,440 --> 00:01:08,920 Speaker 1: aren't necessarily aligned. Is it time to grab the torches 19 00:01:08,920 --> 00:01:14,760 Speaker 1: and pitchforks? Okay, maybe we don't storm the castle just yet. 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:18,399 Speaker 1: But Rick Marshall and Linda ealing Lee of m s 21 00:01:18,440 --> 00:01:21,399 Speaker 1: c I E s G Research have published the paper 22 00:01:21,400 --> 00:01:26,280 Speaker 1: titled r C EOS Paid for Performance Spoiler alert, The 23 00:01:26,319 --> 00:01:30,440 Speaker 1: answer seems to be nope. The report focused on publicly 24 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,360 Speaker 1: traded companies and stock performance. Marshall and Lee looked at 25 00:01:34,400 --> 00:01:38,319 Speaker 1: ten year spans to see how CEO compensation impacts long 26 00:01:38,440 --> 00:01:43,840 Speaker 1: term investments. CEO compensation consists of lots of stuff, including 27 00:01:43,880 --> 00:01:48,360 Speaker 1: a base salary, bonuses, travel budgets, stocks and stock options. 28 00:01:48,760 --> 00:01:51,520 Speaker 1: The bulk of a chief executive's pay comes from those 29 00:01:51,520 --> 00:01:55,680 Speaker 1: stocks and options, not from a base salary, and that 30 00:01:55,840 --> 00:01:58,440 Speaker 1: sounds like it makes sense right. If you link a 31 00:01:58,520 --> 00:02:02,520 Speaker 1: CEOs compensation with stock value, then it stands to reason 32 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:05,320 Speaker 1: the CEO will work hard to make certain the company 33 00:02:05,360 --> 00:02:08,720 Speaker 1: does well. In general, the better the company performs, the 34 00:02:08,840 --> 00:02:12,400 Speaker 1: higher the stock price goes, and that means more money 35 00:02:12,440 --> 00:02:15,840 Speaker 1: for the head cheese. But it turns out that doesn't 36 00:02:15,880 --> 00:02:19,960 Speaker 1: necessarily amount to big gains for long term investors. Marshall 37 00:02:20,000 --> 00:02:23,359 Speaker 1: and Lee examined four hundred twenty nine companies. They divided 38 00:02:23,400 --> 00:02:26,800 Speaker 1: the companies into peer groups and found the median CEO 39 00:02:27,000 --> 00:02:30,359 Speaker 1: compensation for each group. Then they asked the question, if 40 00:02:30,360 --> 00:02:34,160 Speaker 1: I invested a hundred dollars in these companies ten years ago, 41 00:02:34,240 --> 00:02:37,280 Speaker 1: how much would I have now. They found the companies 42 00:02:37,280 --> 00:02:40,560 Speaker 1: that paid their CEOs higher than the median would pay 43 00:02:40,600 --> 00:02:44,000 Speaker 1: out two hundred sixty four dollars seventy six cents after 44 00:02:44,080 --> 00:02:48,440 Speaker 1: ten years on average, but companies that compensated their CEOs 45 00:02:48,600 --> 00:02:51,800 Speaker 1: less than the median paid out three hundred sixty seven 46 00:02:51,800 --> 00:02:56,200 Speaker 1: dollars seventeen cents on that same one hundred dollar investment. 47 00:02:56,520 --> 00:03:00,360 Speaker 1: In other words, companies that paid their CEOs less formed 48 00:03:00,440 --> 00:03:04,440 Speaker 1: better in the long term. Why is this. Part of 49 00:03:04,440 --> 00:03:07,160 Speaker 1: the problem is that the average CEO tenure at large 50 00:03:07,240 --> 00:03:11,080 Speaker 1: companies is six point six years, so you could argue 51 00:03:11,280 --> 00:03:14,040 Speaker 1: that there's not enough incentive in place for ceo is 52 00:03:14,080 --> 00:03:17,760 Speaker 1: to focus on long term performance. Another issue is how 53 00:03:17,800 --> 00:03:21,840 Speaker 1: companies report and measure success. Marshall and Lee argue that 54 00:03:21,880 --> 00:03:26,280 Speaker 1: the annual reporting cycle encourages this obsession with short term gains, 55 00:03:26,680 --> 00:03:30,160 Speaker 1: and while that might push stock values upwards and brief spurts, 56 00:03:30,240 --> 00:03:33,000 Speaker 1: it could have a detrimental effect in the long run. 57 00:03:33,680 --> 00:03:37,880 Speaker 1: So is the answer to slash CEO compensation. Marshall and 58 00:03:37,960 --> 00:03:41,160 Speaker 1: Lee don't go that far. They argue that instead we 59 00:03:41,200 --> 00:03:44,520 Speaker 1: should create new systems to link CEO pay to long 60 00:03:44,640 --> 00:03:48,320 Speaker 1: term company performance. That means the U S Securities Exchange 61 00:03:48,320 --> 00:03:51,400 Speaker 1: Commission would have to draft new disclosure requirements to make 62 00:03:51,440 --> 00:03:58,200 Speaker 1: companies fall in line, and that's a tall order. Next up, 63 00:03:58,240 --> 00:04:01,560 Speaker 1: the senior writer and monster science wrangler Robert Lamb brings 64 00:04:01,640 --> 00:04:04,280 Speaker 1: us the story of experiments around the world that are 65 00:04:04,320 --> 00:04:10,320 Speaker 1: creating genetically inferior mosquitoes to either destroy or modify natural populations. 66 00:04:10,600 --> 00:04:13,760 Speaker 1: After all, mosquitoes are responsible for killing more humans every 67 00:04:13,840 --> 00:04:17,159 Speaker 1: year than any other animal, including other humans, isn't it 68 00:04:17,200 --> 00:04:21,280 Speaker 1: fair that we take the fight to them. In the 69 00:04:21,279 --> 00:04:25,200 Speaker 1: wake of Zekea and renewed outbreaks of dingay fever, scientists 70 00:04:25,200 --> 00:04:29,040 Speaker 1: are turning to new management methods, including using factories to 71 00:04:29,279 --> 00:04:34,159 Speaker 1: mass breed genetically modified mosquitoes. You're familiar with the problem here. 72 00:04:34,240 --> 00:04:37,040 Speaker 1: Mosquito suck our blood, and in doing so, they service 73 00:04:37,120 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: the perfect blood bridge from individual to individuals, spreading deadly 74 00:04:41,080 --> 00:04:46,200 Speaker 1: pathogens such as yellow fever, Zica, dingay malaria, west Nile virus, 75 00:04:46,240 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: and more. And all they need to reproduce is the 76 00:04:48,640 --> 00:04:52,280 Speaker 1: tiniest bit of water for their larva, manage standing water 77 00:04:52,360 --> 00:04:55,880 Speaker 1: all you want, dust their environment and yours with pesticides. 78 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,880 Speaker 1: But these most perfect organisms boast an incredible ability to 79 00:05:00,040 --> 00:05:03,120 Speaker 1: bounce back from these efforts, and that's one reason for 80 00:05:03,200 --> 00:05:07,200 Speaker 1: the mosquito factories their scientific projects aimed at pumping out 81 00:05:07,240 --> 00:05:11,000 Speaker 1: altered mosquitoes to compete with populations that pose a threat. 82 00:05:11,760 --> 00:05:15,760 Speaker 1: One such project in Guangzo, China, has reported promising results 83 00:05:15,800 --> 00:05:19,960 Speaker 1: their rearing and releasing mosquitoes infected with Walbakia bacteria, and 84 00:05:20,040 --> 00:05:23,359 Speaker 1: for two very good reasons. First, it renders the mosquitoes 85 00:05:23,360 --> 00:05:27,400 Speaker 1: incapable of carrying a wide variety of dangerous pathogens accord. 86 00:05:27,440 --> 00:05:29,960 Speaker 1: The mosquitoes then pass on to their offspring. Again, the 87 00:05:30,000 --> 00:05:33,159 Speaker 1: strategy is the same here breathe these compromise mosquitoes and 88 00:05:33,160 --> 00:05:37,320 Speaker 1: allow them to overwhelm their disease spreading brethren. And that's 89 00:05:37,360 --> 00:05:40,479 Speaker 1: where the second reason for wallabakia comes into play. It 90 00:05:40,560 --> 00:05:43,680 Speaker 1: helps to curb overall population as well. When a male 91 00:05:43,720 --> 00:05:47,600 Speaker 1: Wallbakia infected mosquito mates with an uninfected female, the resulting 92 00:05:47,640 --> 00:05:51,479 Speaker 1: eggs don't hatch only when both mates carry Wallbakia, as 93 00:05:51,520 --> 00:05:54,479 Speaker 1: the union result in a viable egg which passes on 94 00:05:54,520 --> 00:05:56,919 Speaker 1: the infection, which, by the way, it does not transferred 95 00:05:56,920 --> 00:06:00,320 Speaker 1: to people. According to the Atlantic, The Guangzo project currently 96 00:06:00,360 --> 00:06:04,640 Speaker 1: claims a suppression rate in localized tests, and a similar 97 00:06:04,640 --> 00:06:08,720 Speaker 1: project is currently underway in Australia. Now, the British biotechnology 98 00:06:08,760 --> 00:06:12,520 Speaker 1: company oxy Tech has an even more futuristic tactic flood 99 00:06:12,520 --> 00:06:16,520 Speaker 1: the mosquito population with genetically modified mosquitoes that die four 100 00:06:16,640 --> 00:06:20,120 Speaker 1: days later and produce offspring that die as larva. They've 101 00:06:20,120 --> 00:06:23,640 Speaker 1: been pumping these doomed gmosquitoes out in Brazil to the 102 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,520 Speaker 1: two of two million bugs a week, and as reported 103 00:06:26,520 --> 00:06:29,920 Speaker 1: in Technology Review, they've seen impressive drops in din gay 104 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,080 Speaker 1: fever cases as a result. Some scientists hold out hope 105 00:06:33,120 --> 00:06:35,800 Speaker 1: that such gene editing could even be used to drive 106 00:06:35,920 --> 00:06:39,960 Speaker 1: mosquitoes into extinction. Now, as great as that sounds, not 107 00:06:40,000 --> 00:06:43,800 Speaker 1: everybody's crazy about mosquito extinction, even if we're only talking 108 00:06:43,839 --> 00:06:46,640 Speaker 1: about the couple hundred or so species at a thirty 109 00:06:46,640 --> 00:06:50,159 Speaker 1: five hundred that actually pestry humans. They might be pests, 110 00:06:50,200 --> 00:06:53,080 Speaker 1: but they also make up a great deal of biomass 111 00:06:53,120 --> 00:06:56,040 Speaker 1: and as such service food for various predators. Wipe them 112 00:06:56,040 --> 00:06:59,880 Speaker 1: out and you potentially unbalanced the ecosystem and not everyone's 113 00:07:00,000 --> 00:07:03,120 Speaker 1: bazy about the GMO thing either, especially in species so 114 00:07:03,200 --> 00:07:06,960 Speaker 1: intimately connected to our own blood supply. More reasonable critics 115 00:07:07,040 --> 00:07:10,360 Speaker 1: question a commercial company's use of proprietary gene codes to 116 00:07:10,480 --> 00:07:14,239 Speaker 1: combat illness, while conspiracy theorists in Brazil have even gone 117 00:07:14,240 --> 00:07:20,000 Speaker 1: so far as to erroneously blame Zekea on genetically modified mosquitoes. Hey, 118 00:07:20,120 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: until vaccination catches up with a threat, all options remain 119 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:27,200 Speaker 1: on the table, and the resulting advancements just redefine how 120 00:07:27,320 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: humans manipulate every detail of their environment. Finally, this week 121 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:40,440 Speaker 1: Head Video Writer and Stuff They Don't Want You To Know, 122 00:07:40,480 --> 00:07:45,120 Speaker 1: host Ben Bowen talks about Graham, the hypothetical accident proof man. 123 00:07:45,560 --> 00:07:48,400 Speaker 1: The Graham was created because, despite the progress we've seen 124 00:07:48,440 --> 00:07:53,040 Speaker 1: in car safety technology, driving is still inarguably dangerous. Graham 125 00:07:53,080 --> 00:07:55,680 Speaker 1: is what would happen if, instead of evolving our cars, 126 00:07:55,880 --> 00:08:02,400 Speaker 1: we evolved ourselves to the In fifteen, US auto manufacturers 127 00:08:02,400 --> 00:08:07,120 Speaker 1: sold seventeen point five million cars and light trucks, smashing 128 00:08:07,160 --> 00:08:10,120 Speaker 1: a fifteen year old record. And there's no question that 129 00:08:10,200 --> 00:08:15,200 Speaker 1: cars are becoming increasingly sophisticated, but humans aren't evolving as 130 00:08:15,240 --> 00:08:18,240 Speaker 1: fast as the cars we create, and our bodies aren't 131 00:08:18,280 --> 00:08:22,840 Speaker 1: physically capable of withstanding the forces we encounter in car accidents. 132 00:08:23,280 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 1: According to the n h T s A, over the 133 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,560 Speaker 1: course of there were thirty two thousand, six hundred and 134 00:08:29,640 --> 00:08:34,000 Speaker 1: seventy four accident related fatalities in the US alone. But 135 00:08:34,120 --> 00:08:37,360 Speaker 1: what if we could evolve past our current state? What 136 00:08:37,480 --> 00:08:40,840 Speaker 1: would we look like if our species adapted specifically to 137 00:08:40,920 --> 00:08:44,960 Speaker 1: the rigors of automobiles? Meet Graham. Graham is the result 138 00:08:45,000 --> 00:08:50,239 Speaker 1: of a collaboration between artists Patricia Piccanini, trauma surgeon Christian Kinfield, 139 00:08:50,320 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: and collision expert David Logan. Their team asked what humans 140 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:56,480 Speaker 1: would look like if we were built to survive on 141 00:08:56,559 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 1: the roads. The differences between Graham and the average per 142 00:09:00,040 --> 00:09:03,640 Speaker 1: us in our striking, to say the least and the 143 00:09:03,679 --> 00:09:06,280 Speaker 1: most polite way to put it. First, his skull is 144 00:09:06,440 --> 00:09:10,120 Speaker 1: much much larger than average. Our brains flew in cerebro 145 00:09:10,240 --> 00:09:13,440 Speaker 1: spinal fluid, surrounded by a skull designed to fracture and 146 00:09:13,559 --> 00:09:16,640 Speaker 1: spread the force of an impact. Graham's brain is the 147 00:09:16,720 --> 00:09:19,520 Speaker 1: same as ours, but it's encased in a better helmet, 148 00:09:19,720 --> 00:09:23,160 Speaker 1: It's surrounded by more fluid, and his skull has essentially 149 00:09:23,520 --> 00:09:27,000 Speaker 1: crumple zones, allowing him to survive a much stronger impact 150 00:09:27,000 --> 00:09:30,480 Speaker 1: than you or I could. Second, Graham's face is super 151 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,600 Speaker 1: flat and covered with fatty tissue to protect his nose, 152 00:09:33,679 --> 00:09:37,320 Speaker 1: his sinuses, and his ears from steering wheels, dashboards, and 153 00:09:37,360 --> 00:09:42,320 Speaker 1: breaking glass. Third, the neck, or rather the lack thereof. 154 00:09:42,720 --> 00:09:45,079 Speaker 1: Since the neck is one of the most vulnerable points 155 00:09:45,120 --> 00:09:48,360 Speaker 1: of the body in a crash and incapable of preventing 156 00:09:48,360 --> 00:09:52,560 Speaker 1: the head from jolting forward, Graham has none has no neck. 157 00:09:52,920 --> 00:09:55,120 Speaker 1: His ribs just go all the way up to the skull. 158 00:09:55,760 --> 00:09:59,040 Speaker 1: Let's follow those uh neck ribs down to his rib cage. 159 00:09:59,280 --> 00:10:02,880 Speaker 1: It's filled with organic air bags which excrete a fluid 160 00:10:02,960 --> 00:10:07,120 Speaker 1: upon impact, providing much more protection than our conventional muscular 161 00:10:07,160 --> 00:10:10,880 Speaker 1: skeletal structure. These provide an opportunity for a more gradual 162 00:10:11,040 --> 00:10:14,520 Speaker 1: stop during the forward momentum of an accident. Graham's skin 163 00:10:14,640 --> 00:10:19,040 Speaker 1: is also thicker and tougher to reduce the likelihood of abrasions. Finally, 164 00:10:19,559 --> 00:10:22,560 Speaker 1: and honestly, this is probably the coolest part. Graham has 165 00:10:22,559 --> 00:10:25,800 Speaker 1: an extra joint in his feet, allowing him to execute 166 00:10:25,800 --> 00:10:28,480 Speaker 1: a super jump when he needs the GTFO out of dodge, 167 00:10:28,679 --> 00:10:31,319 Speaker 1: you know, like like a grasshopper, or like the Hulk 168 00:10:31,559 --> 00:10:34,839 Speaker 1: in the Marvel movies. Before I get too carried away 169 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,600 Speaker 1: with this, we should point out that Graham is not 170 00:10:37,800 --> 00:10:41,400 Speaker 1: a living being, and there are at this point no 171 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:44,040 Speaker 1: plans to make him one, although if we did, he 172 00:10:44,080 --> 00:10:48,439 Speaker 1: would be the first living Saturn for you, doctor who fans. Instead, 173 00:10:48,480 --> 00:10:52,680 Speaker 1: Patricia Enter Team intended Graham to be a catalyst for conversation. 174 00:10:53,040 --> 00:10:56,280 Speaker 1: He's an educational tool meant to emphasize the importance of 175 00:10:56,320 --> 00:10:59,839 Speaker 1: safety systems and to remind us how vulnerable we all 176 00:11:00,080 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: actually are. That's our show for this week. Thank you 177 00:11:06,520 --> 00:11:08,760 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in. Subscribe now for more of 178 00:11:08,800 --> 00:11:11,719 Speaker 1: the latest and strangest science news and sendence links to 179 00:11:11,760 --> 00:11:14,040 Speaker 1: anything you'd like to hear his cover plus your favorite 180 00:11:14,080 --> 00:11:17,040 Speaker 1: cold remedy. I could use that thing this week. Check 181 00:11:17,080 --> 00:11:19,840 Speaker 1: out Forward Thinking, Monster Science and Stuff they Don't Want 182 00:11:19,880 --> 00:11:22,000 Speaker 1: You To Know on YouTube if you're into that whole 183 00:11:22,040 --> 00:11:24,880 Speaker 1: YouTube thing, and shoot us an email at now podcast 184 00:11:24,960 --> 00:11:27,880 Speaker 1: at how stuff Works dot com. Also to access thousands 185 00:11:27,960 --> 00:11:30,240 Speaker 1: of other stories like these, check out our home planet 186 00:11:30,440 --> 00:11:35,439 Speaker 1: now that how Stuff Works dot com.