Learn about how octopus arms literally have minds of their own; and, the benefits of having plants and how to get started, with environmental scientist and author Summer Rayne Oakes. In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about how octopus arms have minds of their own: https://curiosity.im/31ijdB4 Read more about the benefits of “forest bathing” — https://curiosity.im/2Ko0wXb Additional resources from Summer Rayne Oakes: Pick up “How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart” on Amazon — https://amazon.com Official website — http://www.summerrayne.net/ Homestead Brooklyn — http://homesteadbrooklyn.com/ Follow @homesteadbrooklyn on Instagram — https://www.instagram.com/homesteadbrooklyn Follow @sroakes on Twitter — https://twitter.com/sroakes Summer Rayne Oakes on YouTube — https://www.youtube.com/user/summerrayneoakes 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 how octopus arms literally have minds of their own; and, the benefits of having plants and how to get started, with environmental scientist and author Summer Rayne Oakes.
In this podcast, Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer discuss the following story from Curiosity.com about how octopus arms have minds of their own: https://curiosity.im/31ijdB4
Read more about the benefits of “forest bathing” — https://curiosity.im/2Ko0wXb
Additional resources from Summer Rayne Oakes:
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/cultivate-green-space-in-your-home-w-summer-rayne-oakes-and-brains-of-octopus-arms
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 how the brains in octopus arms make decisions. You’ll also learn about the benefits of having plants and how to get started, with environmental scientist Summer Rayne Oakes.
CODY: Let’s plant some curiosity.
Octopus Arms Have Minds of Their Own — https://curiosity.im/31ijdB4 (from Saturday 8/10) (Ashley)
A new study has figured out how the brains in octopus arms make decisions. You heard that right — octopus arms literally have minds of their own. An octopus has 500 million neurons, but more than half of them are found outside of the animal's brain — well, outside of its main brain. Each of the octopus's arms has a small cluster of nerve cells that controls movement. That means the creature technically has eight independent mini-brains along with a larger central brain. Past studies have shown that severed octopus arms can respond to stimuli an hour after being separated from the central brain, reaching, grasping, and even trying to move food towards a mouth that's no longer there. And researchers from the University of Washington have come up with a detailed video model that shows how those arms make decisions. Ready to have your one, single mind blown? It turns out that some information bypasses the central brain entirely. The paper’s lead researcher Dominic Sivitilli described this as an “arm-up” decision mechanism. Basically, neurons in octopus arms can take in sensory information from their environment, then kick in a motor response without consulting the central brain. Having eight extra neural centers processing incoming stimuli helps the octopus think and react faster, which is quite the evolutionary advantage. And evolution is exactly what you can blame for the fact that we humans only have one brain. See, an octopus is a cephalopod, not a vertebrate. Vertebrates have highly centralized nervous systems that work in a “brain-down” manner. But cephalopods have multiple neuron clusters called ganglia throughout their bodies. One cluster evolved to become a dominant brain, while the others continue to operate the arms. These peripheral ganglia can communicate with each other via a "neural ring," which makes it possible for the arms to coordinate movements independent of the brain. If a creature with independently thinking limbs sounds like science fiction to you, you're not alone. In a press release, the lead author said, quote, “It's an alternative model for intelligence. It gives us an understanding as to the diversity of cognition in the world, and perhaps the universe,” unquote. [octopus pun]
Summer Rayne Oakes — benefits of plants [2 segments] [3:18 + 400] (Fri. 8/9) (Cody)
https://curiosity.com/topics/boost-your-health-with-japanese-forest-bathing-curiosity
CODY: Here’s a quick way to be happier and healthier: get some plants! That’s according to our guest today, Summer Rayne Oakes, She’s an environmental scientist, entrepreneur, and author, with a brand-new book called “How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart.” And in it, she helps you understand how to become a prized plant parent. But before she gives you tips on how to take care of your plant, let’s talk about WHY green space is so important. Here’s what Summer told us when we asked: do you get into the health benefits of plants in your book?
[CLIP 2:04]
Forest bathing is not some pseudo-science. A 2018 meta-analysis in the journal Environmental Research found that people who spend more time in green spaces have significantly reduced risks for a number of chronic illnesses. And a review published in 2017 showed that, quote, “from a physiological perspective, significant empirical research findings point to a reduction in human heart rate and blood pressure — and an increase in relaxation — for participants exposed to natural green spaces,” unquote. We’ve got a whole write-up on forest bathing on curiosity-dot-com, which we’ll put a link to in today’s show notes.
But if you’re worried that you just can’t have a green space because of your living conditions, than don’t panic: Summer emphasized in our conversation that you don’t have to have a huge yard or even a balcony to put plants in your home. There are plenty of houseplants that’ll do the trick, for apartments of any size. Problem is, if you’re like me, you’re not always sure where to start. Do you get fully grown flowers from the store? Do you start with seeds, like I did this year? Here’s what Summer recommends.
[CLIP 1:14]
See what kind of sun your plants want, and you, too, can reap the myriad of benefits that come along with having a little green friend. Again, that was Summer Rayne Oakes, an environmental scientist, entrepreneur, and author. Her new book is called “How to Make a Plant Love You: Cultivate Green Space in Your Home and Heart,” and it’ll help you learn a LOT more about how to take care of your plants, and why you should do so. You can find links to the book and more from Summer in today’s show notes.
[ad lib / MORNING GLORIES]
ASHLEY: Before we recap what we learned today, here’s a sneak peek at what you can catch this weekend on curiosity-dot-com. This weekend, you’ll learn about how you can watch the Perseid meteor shower this weekend;
Weird creatures from the deepest parts of the Gulf of Mexico;
A time-saving hack to chill your beer in just 5 minutes;
How blankets of silica aerogel could make parts of Mars habitable;
And more! Okay, so now, let’s recap what we learned today.
CODY: Today we learned that octopus arms have brains that can do things without even communicating with the octopus’ central brain.
ASHLEY: And that if you’re new to growing plants, try getting a plant with a root that’s been grown out in some sort of soil mixture, versus something that’s just a cutting with no root. Or you could start with seeds like Cody did, which he’s super cool for doing.
[ad lib optional]
CODY: Join us again tomorrow to learn something new in just a few minutes. And have a great weekend! I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Stay curious!