1 00:00:01,080 --> 00:00:03,920 Speaker 1: Welcome to House to Works Now. I'm your host, Lauren Vogelbaum, 2 00:00:04,040 --> 00:00:07,840 Speaker 1: a researcher and writer here at House to Works. Thank 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:12,560 Speaker 1: Every week, I'm bringing you three stories from our team 4 00:00:12,560 --> 00:00:16,520 Speaker 1: about the weird and wondrous developments we've seen in science, technology, 5 00:00:16,600 --> 00:00:20,480 Speaker 1: and culture. This week, we know artificial lighting messes with 6 00:00:20,520 --> 00:00:23,639 Speaker 1: our bodies circadian rhythm, but research has now linked it 7 00:00:23,640 --> 00:00:28,080 Speaker 1: to childhood obesity. In less depressive medical news, a vaccine 8 00:00:28,120 --> 00:00:31,800 Speaker 1: that destroys tumors is being tested in cancer patients. And 9 00:00:31,960 --> 00:00:35,400 Speaker 1: further proof that not everything is hopeless. There's one printed 10 00:00:35,560 --> 00:00:39,000 Speaker 1: entertainment industry that has not been gutted by the rise 11 00:00:39,040 --> 00:00:43,159 Speaker 1: of digital publishing, comics. But first, we received our very 12 00:00:43,159 --> 00:00:47,199 Speaker 1: first listener mail today from Patrick. Thank you, Patrick, you 13 00:00:47,240 --> 00:00:50,840 Speaker 1: win everything intangible and I'll see if we can work 14 00:00:50,880 --> 00:00:53,320 Speaker 1: the story that you sent into a segment next week. 15 00:00:53,520 --> 00:00:56,960 Speaker 1: But speaking of segments, will start today with comics. My 16 00:00:57,080 --> 00:01:00,920 Speaker 1: colleague Christian Seger explains how printed comic books are thriving 17 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,399 Speaker 1: alongside their digital counterparts. Uh note, but the numbers in 18 00:01:04,400 --> 00:01:08,800 Speaker 1: this story are from which represent the most recent comprehensive 19 00:01:08,800 --> 00:01:14,959 Speaker 1: sales data At this time. Print sales are growing alongside 20 00:01:15,040 --> 00:01:19,720 Speaker 1: digital comics without any cannibalization of their audience. In a 21 00:01:19,800 --> 00:01:24,400 Speaker 1: time when comics characters are everywhere, TV, movies, and yes, 22 00:01:24,720 --> 00:01:28,400 Speaker 1: the Internet, good old floppy single issues have been selling 23 00:01:28,440 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 1: consecutively better for the last five years. Quick disclaimer, I'm 24 00:01:33,440 --> 00:01:35,880 Speaker 1: a comics creator and I sell my books in both 25 00:01:35,880 --> 00:01:38,880 Speaker 1: print and digital formats. But we're not covering this story 26 00:01:38,920 --> 00:01:42,200 Speaker 1: for my benefit. We're doing it because it's an interesting 27 00:01:42,240 --> 00:01:46,440 Speaker 1: look into how we consume media and culture. There's two 28 00:01:46,480 --> 00:01:50,080 Speaker 1: different models that let you read comics on your desktop, tablet, 29 00:01:50,240 --> 00:01:53,680 Speaker 1: or phone. The first is a purchase model that's dominated 30 00:01:53,720 --> 00:01:56,919 Speaker 1: by the comics Ology application. You simply buy a digital 31 00:01:57,000 --> 00:01:59,880 Speaker 1: comic with your digital payment of choice, download it to 32 00:01:59,880 --> 00:02:03,880 Speaker 1: your device, and start reading. There's also a subscription model, 33 00:02:03,960 --> 00:02:07,800 Speaker 1: promoted as Netflix for comics. Marvel has a service like 34 00:02:07,840 --> 00:02:10,919 Speaker 1: this called Unlimited that lets you read pretty much everything 35 00:02:10,960 --> 00:02:14,200 Speaker 1: in their archive up until a few months ago. Last month, 36 00:02:14,440 --> 00:02:19,120 Speaker 1: comics Oology launched a similar service, also called Unlimited, featuring 37 00:02:19,360 --> 00:02:23,000 Speaker 1: thousands of comics from a variety of publishers, designed as 38 00:02:23,040 --> 00:02:26,320 Speaker 1: a gateway drug for new readers. There's lots of other 39 00:02:26,360 --> 00:02:30,919 Speaker 1: subscription services out there, too, like script crunchy Roll, and more. Now, 40 00:02:31,240 --> 00:02:34,800 Speaker 1: just looking at the purchase model, digital comics revenues reached 41 00:02:34,800 --> 00:02:40,440 Speaker 1: a hundred million dollars. Meanwhile, print comics are still on 42 00:02:40,480 --> 00:02:44,320 Speaker 1: a steady rise since eleven, when sales were at an 43 00:02:44,360 --> 00:02:49,000 Speaker 1: all time low, as often single issue comics and collected 44 00:02:49,080 --> 00:02:53,639 Speaker 1: volumes were an eight hundred and thirty five million dollar business. 45 00:02:54,240 --> 00:02:57,239 Speaker 1: There are still dips and bumps in the business. For instance, 46 00:02:57,360 --> 00:03:02,040 Speaker 1: April saw sales go down own as many publishers released 47 00:03:02,120 --> 00:03:06,359 Speaker 1: fewer comics. But still the industry is doing great. As 48 00:03:06,440 --> 00:03:10,240 Speaker 1: David Harper from Sketched recently pointed out, more comics and 49 00:03:10,280 --> 00:03:14,200 Speaker 1: graphic novels are being released now than any time since 50 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:18,360 Speaker 1: the industry crash in the mid ninety nineties, and revenues 51 00:03:18,440 --> 00:03:22,200 Speaker 1: are up compared to the circulation and add revenue of 52 00:03:22,280 --> 00:03:26,800 Speaker 1: newspapers and magazines. That's tremendous. So what's the deal? Why 53 00:03:26,880 --> 00:03:30,120 Speaker 1: don't digital comics eat into the print market? Well, c 54 00:03:30,400 --> 00:03:33,720 Speaker 1: NBC speculates that the collectible nature of the medium might 55 00:03:33,800 --> 00:03:35,920 Speaker 1: have something to do with it, kind of like the 56 00:03:35,960 --> 00:03:40,960 Speaker 1: popularity of vinyl records. Concurrently, print and digital comics may 57 00:03:41,000 --> 00:03:46,760 Speaker 1: have completely different audiences either way, Most comics experts agree 58 00:03:46,800 --> 00:03:50,280 Speaker 1: that the industry is providing better quality comics with a 59 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:54,520 Speaker 1: broad variety of themes appealing to a growing audience, and 60 00:03:55,040 --> 00:04:03,080 Speaker 1: that can only help sell more books. Next up, Jonathan Strickland, 61 00:04:03,240 --> 00:04:06,200 Speaker 1: one of my co hosts on my other podcast, Forward Thinking, 62 00:04:06,520 --> 00:04:09,120 Speaker 1: brings us the story of how doctors in the United 63 00:04:09,200 --> 00:04:12,760 Speaker 1: Kingdom have begun human trials for a vaccine designed to 64 00:04:12,920 --> 00:04:19,320 Speaker 1: seek and destroy cancerous tumors. Over the past several decades, 65 00:04:19,440 --> 00:04:22,279 Speaker 1: doctors have been experimenting with a type of cancer treatment 66 00:04:22,279 --> 00:04:26,800 Speaker 1: called immunotherapy. The idea behind immunotherapy is pretty simple. The 67 00:04:26,839 --> 00:04:29,560 Speaker 1: goal is to train a cancer patient's immune system to 68 00:04:29,600 --> 00:04:33,039 Speaker 1: fight off cancer cells. But it's much easier said than done. 69 00:04:33,240 --> 00:04:37,200 Speaker 1: For one thing, cancer patients often have a suppressed immune system, 70 00:04:37,320 --> 00:04:41,040 Speaker 1: and for another, their defense mechanisms might not even recognize 71 00:04:41,120 --> 00:04:44,080 Speaker 1: cancer as a threat. That's where this vaccine, developed by 72 00:04:44,120 --> 00:04:47,760 Speaker 1: scientists at the Guys and Saint Thomas's Biomedical Research Center 73 00:04:47,760 --> 00:04:50,840 Speaker 1: in London comes in. A vaccine's job is to introduce 74 00:04:50,880 --> 00:04:54,240 Speaker 1: the body to antigens, which are molecules that instigate an 75 00:04:54,240 --> 00:04:57,480 Speaker 1: immune response. Typically, a vaccine will contain a weak or 76 00:04:57,560 --> 00:05:00,719 Speaker 1: deactivated version of the disease. It's meant to techt against 77 00:05:00,800 --> 00:05:03,800 Speaker 1: When you get a vaccine, your immune system fights off 78 00:05:03,800 --> 00:05:06,719 Speaker 1: the weekend illness, which is usually a virus or type 79 00:05:06,720 --> 00:05:09,359 Speaker 1: of bacteria. Your immune system makes a record of the 80 00:05:09,360 --> 00:05:12,080 Speaker 1: antigen so that it can spring into action should that 81 00:05:12,200 --> 00:05:15,640 Speaker 1: pesky disease show up again. We already have some vaccines 82 00:05:15,680 --> 00:05:18,240 Speaker 1: that are effective in preventing diseases that can lead to 83 00:05:18,279 --> 00:05:21,400 Speaker 1: certain types of cancer, but using a vaccine to treat 84 00:05:21,440 --> 00:05:24,599 Speaker 1: a patient's existing cancer is a bit different. The UK 85 00:05:24,800 --> 00:05:27,560 Speaker 1: doctor has used a piece of protein from an enzyme 86 00:05:27,600 --> 00:05:32,080 Speaker 1: called human telomerase reverse transcript tase or ht e r T. 87 00:05:32,480 --> 00:05:35,520 Speaker 1: This enzyme is what allows cancer cells to divide. If 88 00:05:35,560 --> 00:05:38,520 Speaker 1: all works as it should, the vaccine will teach immune 89 00:05:38,560 --> 00:05:42,400 Speaker 1: systems to target cells with this enzyme, leaving others untouched. 90 00:05:42,520 --> 00:05:45,280 Speaker 1: Patients in the trial will receive the vaccine in several 91 00:05:45,320 --> 00:05:48,680 Speaker 1: stages along with a low dose of chemotherapy drug. At 92 00:05:48,680 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: a low dose, the chemotherapy should stimulate the immune response 93 00:05:52,000 --> 00:05:54,560 Speaker 1: and kick things into gear. The study is scheduled to 94 00:05:54,680 --> 00:05:57,880 Speaker 1: last two years. If proven successful, the vaccine will be 95 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:07,640 Speaker 1: a huge leap forward in cancer tree. Finally, this week, 96 00:06:07,760 --> 00:06:11,200 Speaker 1: Robert Lamb, the undefeated winner of our Office's Best sideburn 97 00:06:11,320 --> 00:06:15,080 Speaker 1: superlative explorers research that has linked the use of artificial 98 00:06:15,160 --> 00:06:23,320 Speaker 1: lighting to childhood obesity and even to some forms of cancer. Now, 99 00:06:23,360 --> 00:06:27,280 Speaker 1: just to refresh, there's night, there's day, and life here 100 00:06:27,279 --> 00:06:29,880 Speaker 1: on Earth evolved to roll with those varying degrees of 101 00:06:30,000 --> 00:06:33,240 Speaker 1: light exposure. For us diurnal humans, that meant ruling the 102 00:06:33,279 --> 00:06:35,839 Speaker 1: sunlit hours and hitting the hay in the evenings. But 103 00:06:35,880 --> 00:06:40,279 Speaker 1: then came fire, lanterns, electricity, and now we're constantly lit 104 00:06:40,320 --> 00:06:44,400 Speaker 1: by night light, street lamps and countless glowing screens. Hey, 105 00:06:44,600 --> 00:06:48,240 Speaker 1: modernity is nice, but what's the cost? New research out 106 00:06:48,240 --> 00:06:52,120 Speaker 1: of Australia and Israel suggests some troubling answers. Researchers from 107 00:06:52,160 --> 00:06:55,920 Speaker 1: the Queensland University of Technology studied three to five year 108 00:06:55,960 --> 00:06:59,400 Speaker 1: olds from six Brisbane childcare centers. Specifically, they looked at 109 00:06:59,400 --> 00:07:02,880 Speaker 1: each child sleep, activity, and light exposure over a two 110 00:07:02,880 --> 00:07:06,640 Speaker 1: week period. They also noted height, weight and body mass index. 111 00:07:07,000 --> 00:07:09,520 Speaker 1: Then they followed up with the children a year later 112 00:07:09,560 --> 00:07:12,240 Speaker 1: in a paper published in the journal Plos one. They 113 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:15,880 Speaker 1: found that slimmer children received the most light exposure in 114 00:07:15,920 --> 00:07:19,600 Speaker 1: the afternoon, and that's both indoor and outdoor lighting. Furthermore, 115 00:07:19,840 --> 00:07:23,520 Speaker 1: moderate light exposure earlier in the day and greater exposure 116 00:07:23,600 --> 00:07:28,480 Speaker 1: overall correlated to increased body mass index twelve months later. Hey, 117 00:07:28,560 --> 00:07:30,600 Speaker 1: this isn't that surprise in giving what we already know. 118 00:07:30,920 --> 00:07:34,040 Speaker 1: Artificial light exposure can interfere with circadian rhythm and alter 119 00:07:34,120 --> 00:07:38,120 Speaker 1: the expression of melatonin, impacting sleep as well as normal 120 00:07:38,240 --> 00:07:42,040 Speaker 1: hormonal function. Research from Israel's University of Hypha seems to 121 00:07:42,040 --> 00:07:44,880 Speaker 1: back this up. In a paper published in the International 122 00:07:44,960 --> 00:07:48,200 Speaker 1: Journal of Obesity. They connect the dots from artificial lighting 123 00:07:48,200 --> 00:07:52,480 Speaker 1: at night, particularly white led light, to melatonin suppression and 124 00:07:52,560 --> 00:07:56,280 Speaker 1: a metabolic tendency for increased body mass. Furthermore, they link 125 00:07:56,320 --> 00:07:59,960 Speaker 1: to previous Israeli studies linking light pollution to increased cases 126 00:08:00,000 --> 00:08:04,679 Speaker 1: of breast and prostate cancer, potentially due to melatonin's antioxidant 127 00:08:04,760 --> 00:08:07,800 Speaker 1: and anti cancer properties that are lost in all that 128 00:08:07,920 --> 00:08:10,520 Speaker 1: light induced suppression. There's still quite a lot of work 129 00:08:10,560 --> 00:08:12,880 Speaker 1: to be done here, but the science presents us day 130 00:08:12,880 --> 00:08:16,520 Speaker 1: walkers with a troubling picture. With our lamps and our tablets, 131 00:08:16,600 --> 00:08:20,920 Speaker 1: we've transformed the darkness and potentially opened a previously unknown 132 00:08:20,960 --> 00:08:27,600 Speaker 1: doorway to disease. That's our show for this week. Thank 133 00:08:27,640 --> 00:08:30,440 Speaker 1: you so much for tuning in Subscribe now for more 134 00:08:30,440 --> 00:08:33,960 Speaker 1: of the latest and strangest science news and sentence links 135 00:08:33,960 --> 00:08:36,200 Speaker 1: to anything you'd like to hear us cover, plus any 136 00:08:36,200 --> 00:08:39,360 Speaker 1: suggestions that you might have for science themed clothing that 137 00:08:39,440 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: I will feel compelled to buy despite my already large 138 00:08:42,840 --> 00:08:45,880 Speaker 1: science themed clothing wardrobe. Shore us an email at now, 139 00:08:45,960 --> 00:08:49,160 Speaker 1: podcast at how stuff works dot com, and to access 140 00:08:49,200 --> 00:08:51,560 Speaker 1: thousands of other stories like these, check out our home 141 00:08:51,640 --> 00:08:55,839 Speaker 1: planet Now dot how stuff works dot com.