Learn about why a normal temperature isn’t really 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; why Mars rovers should search for rocks that look like fettuccine; and how often you should replace your toothbrush. Please support today’s sponsor, ButcherBox! To get FREE bacon in EVERY box for the life of your subscription, PLUS $20 off your first box, visit https://www.butcherbox.com/curiosity In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes: A Normal Temperature Isn't Really 98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit — https://curiosity.im/2LJQ7Ge A New Study Says Mars Rovers Should Search for Rocks That Look Like Fettuccine — https://curiosity.im/2Lo3T0X This Is How Often You Should Replace Your Toothbrush — https://curiosity.im/2LpM4Pk Want to support our show?Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019 Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Learn about why a normal temperature isn’t really 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; why Mars rovers should search for rocks that look like fettuccine; and how often you should replace your toothbrush.
Please support today’s sponsor, ButcherBox! To get FREE bacon in EVERY box for the life of your subscription, PLUS $20 off your first box, visit https://www.butcherbox.com/curiosity
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following stories from Curiosity.com to help you get smarter and learn something new in just a few minutes:
Want to support our show? Register for the 2019 Podcast Awards and nominate Curiosity Daily to win for People’s Choice, Education, and Science & Medicine. After you register, simply select Curiosity Daily from the drop-down menus (no need to pick nominees in every category): https://curiosity.im/podcast-awards-2019
Download the FREE 5-star Curiosity app for Android and iOS at https://curiosity.im/podcast-app. And Amazon smart speaker users: you can listen to our podcast as part of your Amazon Alexa Flash Briefing — just click “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing.
Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/a-normal-body-temperature-isnt-98-6-degrees-fettuccine-like-rocks-and-toothbrush-tips
CODY: Hi! We’re here from curiosity-dot-com to help you get smarter in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about why a normal temperature isn’t really 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit; why Mars rovers should search for rocks that look like fettuccine; and how often you should replace your toothbrush.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
A Normal Temperature Isn't Really 98.6 Degrees Fahrenheit — https://curiosity.im/2LJQ7Ge (Ashley)
Ready to have your mind blown? A normal body temperature isn’t really 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit, or 37 degrees Celsius. It turns out that the old 98.6-degree rule of thumb is a result of outdated science that nobody thought to question — until relatively recently. The temperature you’re probably familiar with came from the 1868 publication titled “The Course of Temperature in Diseases,” by a German physician named Carl Reinhold August Wunderlich. The book was a big deal because Wunderlich had analyzed a ridiculously massive dataset to come up with the findings in it. As in, several million temperature records of around 25-thousand patients. After he analyzed that data, he wrote this historic statement: quote, "when the organism is in a normal condition, the general temperature of the body maintains itself at the physiologic point: 37°C = 98.6°F," unquote. Wunderlich also concluded that the upper limit of the normal body temperature was 100.4 degrees Fahrenheit, or 38 degrees Celsius, and anything above that counted as fever. Every check of a thermometer, touch of a burning forehead, and prescription of fever-reducing drugs hearkens back to this 1868 book. And his data set was so big, nobody really questioned it until almost a century later. In a 1950 study, researchers recorded an average temperature as low as 97.8, and in 1992, researchers found an average temperature of about 98.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Those studies used smaller data sets, but then again, it's nearly impossible that Wunderlich had actually analyzed all of the data he’d collected. Even if he had, the principles of statistical analysis didn’t make their way into general use until decades after he’d published his book, and there’s no evidence that Wunderlich knew about those principles. Not to mention he took his temperature readings before the thermometer scale was standardized, which happened about a decade after his death.
We’re not saying Wunderlich was a bad scientist. After all, he did establish that a fever is a symptom of a disease, not a disease itself. That’s a win! We’re just saying that even the most respected science still needs to be double-checked. Science is only valuable with a system of checks and balances. No result is above a second look.
A New Study Says Mars Rovers Should Search for Rocks That Look Like Fettuccine — https://curiosity.im/2Lo3T0X (Republish) [FREELANCER]
According to a new NASA-funded study that appeared in Astrobiology, the next missions to Mars should be on the lookout for rocks that look like fettuccine pasta. The formation of these type of rocks here on earth is controlled by ancient bacteria that thrives in environments similar to Mars.
As reported by Universe Today, This bacteria, known as Sulfurihydrogenibium yellowstonense or Sulfuri, belongs to a lineage that evolved over 2.35 billion years ago. It uses sulfur and carbon dioxide as energy sources, thrives in heat and extremely low oxygen environments and can withstand exposure to ultraviolet light.
In hot springs, the microbe assembles itself into strands and promotes the crystallization of calcium carbonate rock, more commonly known as travertine, which gives it its “pasta-like" appearance. The unique shape and structure are a result of the Sulfuri bacteria forming into chains to prevent from being washed away. The chains allowed them to remain fixed to rock formations and absorb nutrients from the hot springs.
This behavior makes it relatively easy to detect when conducting geological surveys and would make it easy to identify when searching for signs of life on other planets.
Bruce Fouke, a professor of geology and lead researcher on the NASA study, collected samples from Mammoth Hot Springs in Yellowstone National Park using sterilized pasta forks of all things and then analyzed the microbial genomes to evaluate the organism's metabolic needs.
The team also examined the bacteria's rock-building capabilities and found that proteins on the bacterial surface dramatically increase the rate at which calcium carbonate crystallizes in and around the strands. In fact, they determined that these proteins cause crystallization at a rate that is one billion times faster than in any other natural environment on the planet.
A little over a year from now, NASA's Mars 2020 rover will be heading to the Red Planet to carry on the hunt for life. According to Fouke, the rover should be on the lookout for this type of bacteria and the resulting rock formations as they would be an easily discernible biosignature and definite evidence of the presence of alien microbes.
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This Is How Often You Should Replace Your Toothbrush — https://curiosity.im/2LpM4Pk (Ashley) [FREELANCER]
If you don’t remember the last time you replaced your toothbrush, then this is something you’re going to want to hear. And fair warning: You'll probably be chucking away your current toothbrush before you finish listening to this podcast.
If you’re brushing twice a day, you’re probably confident your cleaning routine is adequate. After all, this is what dentists recommend, right? Well, it all depends on the status of your toothbrush. If your bristles start to bend, you’re not cleaning effectively, according to dentist Keith Arbeitman. Or worse: if your brush isn’t clean, how can you expect it to clean your teeth effectively? That’s why the American Dental Association recommends you should swap out your toothbrush every three to four months.
If this seems a little often to you, then consider a 2015 study that was pretty gross. Fair warning. It found that toothbrushes in communal bathrooms can become contaminated with fecal matter. This isn’t as bad as it sounds if you’re living alone, but it’s trouble when that matter is from someone else because it contains bacteria, viruses or parasites that are not part of your normal flora.
The most logical solution is a toothbrush cover, right? Unfortunately, a 2007 study confirms that using a cover doesn't protect a toothbrush from bacterial growth. In fact, keeping the bristles constantly moist actually encourages bacteria to flourish.
Luckily, there’s an easy way to protect your uncovered toothbrush from unwanted germs, and it’s something you might be doing already. Just stand it upright and let it dry between uses, and you’ll end up with the bacteria dying off.
Combine this easy tip with a new toothbrush every three to four months, and knowing you’ve got your dental hygiene covered, you’ll have one more reason to keep smiling.
CODY: Before we recap what we learned today, we want to thank we want to give a special shout-out to some of our supporters for today’s ad-free episode. Special thanks to Gautam and Priyanka Ankam [“An” like “an object], Walt DeGrange, Maksmillian Dikarev, John Friesen, and Dr. Braeden Johnson for supporting our show. We really appreciate it!
ASHLEY: Today we learned that the idea that your normal temperature is 98.6 degrees Fahrenheit is just outdated science.
CODY: And that [Mars rovers should search for rocks that look like fettuccine]
ASHLEY: And that you should replace your toothbrush every 3-4 months.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!