Today you’ll learn about how new discoveries are being made from the fire that nearly destroyed Notre-Dame, how there’s more hypoxia in our rivers than previously thought, and a new theory as to how gravity might be a cause of IBS.
Today you’ll learn about how new discoveries are being made from the fire that nearly destroyed Notre-Dame, how there’s more hypoxia in our rivers than previously thought, and a new theory as to how gravity might be a cause of IBS.
Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/notre-dame-fire-hypoxia-gravity-and-ibs
Notre-Dame Fire
Hypoxia
Gravity and IBS
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[SFX: INTRO MUSIC/WHOOSH]
NATE: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. Time flies when you’re learnin’ super cool stuff. I’m Nate.
CALLI: And I’m Calli. If you’re dropping in for the first time, welcome to Curiosity, where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you’re a loyal listener, welcome back!
NATE: Today you’ll learn about how new discoveries are being made from the fire that nearly destroyed Notre-Dame, how there’s more hypoxia in our rivers than previously thought, and a new theory as to how gravity might be a cause of IBS.
CALLI: Without further ado, let’s satisfy some curiosity!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: At 6:20 on April 15th, 2019, worshipers and tourists in the iconic Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris were evacuated after an alarm sounded. At first, they thought it was nothing. But soon, flames appeared around the church's spire. Within an hour and a half, the tower had collapsed.
NATE: I remember that. It was devastating to watch.
CALLI: Absolutely. The fire raged for some 12 hours while the world watched on in horror. But it turns out the damage and the renovations that have followed have led the way to some incredible discoveries that promise to reveal at least some of the secrets of this old landmark.
NATE: It's like an archeological dig. What have they found? A hunchback?
CALLI: Staples.
NATE: Staples?
CALLI: Yeah. Massive stables that are giving us a glimpse into how they managed to build this place. Before we get into that, let's actually talk about Notre Dame, because understanding its history is important to understanding its secrets. Work on the cathedral began in 1163.
NATE: 12th century. That is pretty old.
CALLI: Yeah, almost 900 years old. It was an engineering marvel in its time. So much so that it took over 180 years to complete.
NATE: That's some pretty good job security. You know, if your job is building cathedrals.
CALLI: Updates and changes over the years have happened. But this fire is the first time in around 150 years that major construction has taken place, giving us a chance to glimpse inside using modern tech. And what they found is very cool.
NATE: Was it a hunchback?
CALLI: You really set on that hunchback?
NATE: Well, it's. Yeah.
CALLI: Okay. No, it wasn't a hunchback. Among the first discoveries that many of us have already read about was an ancient graveyard under the floor.
NATE: Okay, I think I did hear about that. But who was buried there?
CALLI: There were two sealed sarcophagi made from lead that contained the remains of two men. Researchers found some writing in one of the coffins. And according to that text, one of the men was named Antoine de La Porte, who died in 1710 at the age of 83. He was a high priest, and judging from his remains, he led a sedentary lifestyle and probably suffered from gout, a form of arthritis that is often associated with overeating and, well, I mean drinking too much.
NATE: They could tell all of that just from his remains.
CALLI: Yeah, kind of cool, right? The other remains they found are likely much older, although how old is unclear. They do know that the man inside was between 25 and 40 years old when he died and probably rode a horse based on the structure of his pelvic bones. They believe he was likely an aristocrat.
NATE: Well, yeah. I mean, how else do you get a chance to be buried underneath the world's most famous cathedral?
CALLI: That's where it gets interesting. We've known for a long time about the esteemed Highborn leaders whose lives were so intertwined with Notre Dame. They are the subjects of art and history, and we've explored some of their graves. But we don't know all that much about the people who actually built the place.
NATE: And those workers I was talking about with all that job security.
CALLI: Exactly. That's where the staples come in. It turns out the workers used large iron staples to actually hold the cathedral stone blocks together.
NATE: I'm guessing these are not the kind of staples you'll find in, you know, your college history essay exams.
CALLI: I mean, they might write about them later, but no, definitely not. These were around 20 inches long and weigh anywhere between three and 9 lbs. This is a big deal for a couple of reasons. The first reason is, despite its size, Notre Dame is known for its light and elegant structure. Until now, historians couldn't agree on exactly how they were able to accomplish such a massive structure with such delicate lines.
NATE: Turns out the secret was iron.
CALLI: Yeah, the staples really held the place together and it stood for almost 900 years. So, I mean, I'd say it was a good idea.
NATE: Okay. And is it unique or have, you know, have other churches used methods like this?
CALLI: Well, that's the thing. Other medieval cathedrals around France have used iron reinforcements, but they were all built after Notre Dame.
NATE: Okay. So this discovery allows us to get closer to that spark of genius that helped us build is bigger, stronger structures.
CALLI: And that is history that is most often buried deep in stone and high in the rafters.
NATE: Who knew Staples could tell such an important story.
CALLI: Or that a devastating fire that nearly destroyed a landmark could actually lead to understanding what made it. Strong enough to last through the ages.
NATE: I still think it might have been a hunchback. Was just holding it together right now.
CALLI: No.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: There's a scary phenomenon happening where Dead Sea creatures are showing up in droves, and it's due to something called hypoxia. And a massive research effort has shown that hypoxia in rivers around the world is more common than we thought.
CALLI: Well, crap, that's not good. What's hypoxia?
NATE: It's very bad, is what it is. Have you ever heard of a dead zone? That is hypoxia at work. The term hypoxia actually refers to low or depleted oxygen levels across bodies of water. And it's this lack of oxygen that can cause huge die offs of fish and other marine life like corals, plants and shellfish. We hear about it most often in bigger bodies of water.
CALLI: Oh, that's like what's happening in the Gulf of Mexico right now.
NATE: Right. That dead zone forms every spring. Researchers found it grew to cover more than 6900 square miles in 2019. So it's a major problem. But the thing is, scientists believed hypoxia was extremely rare in rivers and streams. Until now.
CALLI: Okay, so wait a second. What causes hypoxia and is there any stopping it once it starts?
NATE: Well, there are a few causes and some of them occur naturally. The oxygen level of all water actually fluctuates between seasons and even between day and night. Algae produces oxygen that gets released into a water column, but oxygen is produced using photosynthesis. So when the sun goes down.
CALLI: So do oxygen levels.
NATE: Yeah. So aside from natural fluctuations, one of the main causes of hypoxia is nutrient pollution, especially nitrogen and phosphorus from agricultural runoff, the burning of fossil fuels and from wastewater, of course.
CALLI: Okay, so we did this.
NATE: Yeah, of course, pretty much. But the thing about rivers and streams is that they don't sit still based on previous research and on their understanding of flowing water. Scientists didn't believe that hypoxia in rivers was something they had to worry about. But Joanna Blaschke of University of Nevada, Reno, and her research team realized that previous oxygen tests of rivers and streams were all done, or at least for the most part, during the day.
CALLI: When oxygen levels are highest because of the algae.
NATE: Exactly. Her team compiled more than 118 million readings taken from over 125,000 locations in rivers from 93 countries.
CALLI: Dude, that's huge.
NATE: Yeah. And the research compiled readings from as long ago as 1900 with those taken more recently with newer, more accurate methods. And what they found was shocking. 12.6% of all locations showed at least some hypoxic conditions. That might not sound like a lot until you realize that's actually about one out of every eight locations that could be in danger of forming a dead zone.
CALLI: Okay, that doesn't sound good. Is there a solution? Can we somehow shove more oxygen into these rivers?
NATE: Well, one of the best solutions is management simply monitoring and controlling the kinds of pollutants that are allowed to enter our water systems will have an effect. Which is why studies like this are so important.
CALLI: Right. I mean, if you want to solve a problem, you have to know it exists first.
NATE: Totally. Now that they have a more accurate picture of the problem, they can also predict where the problem might spread in the future. But one of the bigger points here is that what we thought we knew about rivers turned out to be wrong. And the only thing that can fix that is a willingness to conduct more intensive research like this.
CALLI: Well, knowledge is power.
NATE: I think that should be our motto or something.
CALLI: I think it kind of is our motto.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: A new hypothesis is offering up a possible cause for irritable bowel syndrome. And it's pretty heavy.
NATE: Heavy.
CALLI: Literally heavy, because the theory has to do with gravity.
NATE: Wait a second. Gravity. Come on. Everyone on earth feels gravity. So why doesn't everyone on earth suffer from IBS?
CALLI: Okay. Okay. I know it sounds crazy. It even sounds crazy to other scientists and researchers. But once you dig in just a little bit, there might be something to it.
NATE: Okay. I can't wait to hear this.
CALLI: Dr. Brennan Spiegel, a gastroenterologist at Cedars Sinai in L.A., published his hypothesis in the American Journal of Gastroenterology. But before we get to gravity, it's important to understand a little bit about IBS itself, which is a very common condition in the U.S.. By some estimates, up to 15% of Americans are affected. And it can be pretty awful. You've got your stomach cramps, gas, bloating. It can cause diarrhea or constipation or both. And the thing is, is nobody has any real idea what causes it.
NATE: Okay. But gravity??
CALLI: There are all kinds of theories as to the cause. Gut infections, poor diet, stress and all these causes can be backed up with some level of evidence, but nothing has ever been proven. So when Dr. Spiegel watched a relative's development of symptoms after being confined to a nursing home bed, he had an idea. What if all of those other issues actually caused our bodies to experience a hypersensitivity to gravity, which then causes IBS?
NATE: Okay, let me get this straight. You get stressed out or you're eating too much junk food and suddenly your body can't handle gravity and you get irritable bowel syndrome?
CALLI: Something like that. But okay, think about it. Gravity is a major force that we have to withstand every second of our lives. Our bodies evolved to thrive under this pressure. Our necks can hold our heads upright. Our blood can pump upward. Dr. Spiegel mentions serotonin, a chemical that helps regulate many body functions. It causes muscles to contract or relax. It causes blood vessels to narrow. And it helps our bowels function properly. He says that without serotonin, our intestines couldn't survive gravity. So what happens when serotonin levels plummet because of stress or inflammation?
NATE: Gravity takes over.
CALLI: He also talks about the amygdala, one of the parts of the brain that handles our fear responses. Stress can cause the amygdala to blast off, which would make you overreact to potential threats like falling.
NATE: Oh, boy.
CALLI: Yeah. He says that IBS can come as a result of the amygdala overreaction.
NATE: Do people with IBS have an overactive amygdala?
CALLI: Yup, At least some do. But that's just one part of it. But we do know that gravity affects us in ways that we have yet to fully grasp. Consider astronauts who spend months in orbit and whose muscle mass and bone density decrease.
NATE: That's true, but they are experiencing a feeling of actual weightlessness. This hypothesis is saying that actually experiencing gravity is causing IBS.
CALLI: Yes, and that's one reason other researchers are skeptical. But still others are saying we shouldn't be so quick to dismiss it. The big picture is that gravity and our biology have worked together since the beginning, so it would make sense that our bodies have adapted systems to counter its effects. If anything, this just gives us a new way of looking at conditions like IBS that could help us begin to understand what's really going on.
NATE: So what if it's true that gravity causes IBS? How can you cure the Earth's pull on your body?
CALLI: I mean, you don't. But getting closer to a root cause will also get us closer to finding a treatment that doesn't involve turning off gravity.
NATE: Although that would be pretty cool, assuming you could turn it back on.
CALLI: I mean, if it happens, you'll definitely hear about it on this podcast.
NATE: And on ESPN. I can't wait to see what zero gravity sports they come up with.
CALLI: Oh, my gosh. Blitz ball.
NATE: I just want the game from Ender’s Game.
CALLI: Splits balls in water.
NATE: I want the. I want the battle game from Ender's Game. Yeah.
CALLI: You get the Ender's Game Battle. I get Blitz ball.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Let’s recap what we learned today to wrap up.
CALLI: The devastating fire that hit the Notre-Dame Cathedral in 2019 has unveiled some interesting secrets. Firstly, there’s a graveyard underneath the structure, and second? It was built with huge staples.
NATE: Hypoxia, or when water doesn’t have enough oxygen in it to sustain life, is a lot more common than we thought, according to new research. Turns out that hypoxia actually does exist in flowing water, like rivers and streams, and is usually caused by pollution.
CALLI: Most of us either suffer from or knows someone who suffers from IBS, but in a new study a researcher begs the question: is it gravity’s fault? Others are skeptical but it’s definitely a unique approach to discovering the cause behind a very common affliction.