Learn about fun (but practical) tips for surviving a quarantine from psychologist Renée Lertzman and “Deadliest Catch” Captains Sig Hansen and Keith Colburn. Plus: learn about why we have birthmarks.
Learn about fun (but practical) tips for surviving a quarantine from psychologist Renée Lertzman and “Deadliest Catch” Captains Sig Hansen and Keith Colburn. Plus: learn about why we have birthmarks.
Why do we have birthmarks? by Ashley Hamer (Listener question from Taha)
Learn more about Deadliest Catch, Tuesdays at 8 PM ET/PT on Discovery
Additional resources from Dr. Renée Lertzman
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Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/quarantine-survival-tips-w-dr-renee-lertzman-and-deadliest-catch-captains-sig-keith-and-why-we-have-birthmarks
CODY: Hi! You’re about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from curiosity-dot-com. I’m Cody Gough.
ASHLEY: And I’m Ashley Hamer. Today, you’ll learn about some fun (but practical) tips for staying happy and healthy during a quarantine. And we’ll do it with help from Captains Sig and Keith from “Deadliest Catch,” and psychologist Renee Lertzman. But first, we’ll answer a listener question about why we have birthmarks.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
We got a listener question from Taha, who asks, “Why do we have birthmarks and/or moles on our bodies?” Great question, Taha!
Short answer? You have a few different types of cells in your skin, and birthmarks and moles form because those cells aren’t evenly distributed. Now, just to get our definitions straight: a “birthmark” is just any skin mark that’s present when you’re born. Moles can be birthmarks, or they can show up later in life.
To be clear, scientists don’t know why birthmarks form — but they have a pretty good understanding of how. To understand that, we’ll have to go back in time to before you were born. Like, nine months before you were born, when you were just a clump of dividing cells. Those cells pretty quickly specialized and divided themselves into three layers. The inner layer formed most of your internal organs, the middle layer formed your heart, bones, and deep layers of skin, and the outer layer formed your surface layer of skin, your hair, and your nervous system. That outer layer was where pigment-producing cells called melanocytes were made. As all of those different cells got jobs around your body, they spread out to the places they were needed — but they didn’t always spread out properly. Sometimes, these pigment-producing cells crowded together in concentrated groups. Sometimes those formed moles, other times they formed brown, splotchy birthmarks. Something similar can happen with blood vessels, where an overgrowth of those cells in the surface skin can form port-wine stains and other reddish or purplish marks.
But here’s something cool: remember how melanocytes are formed out of the same group of cells that form your nervous system? Well there’s one theory that says some birthmarks might arise out of nerve cells that lost their way. These cells migrate to the skin to form nerves and end up getting mixed signals from skin cells. The result? They turn into melanocytes instead! So some of your birthmarks may have had a past life as a proto-nerve cell. Aww.
Now, as you grow up, some of those marks may fade and new ones might show up. You’ll want to keep an eye on that. The vast majority of moles are totally harmless, but, since moles and birthmarks are, by definition, an overgrowth of cells, they do have the potential to become cancerous. If they’re bigger than a pencil eraser, a funny color, or they grow over time, it’s a good idea to consult a doctor. Otherwise, enjoy your moles and birthmarks! They’re what make you unique. Thanks for your question, Taha! If you have a question, email it to podcast at curiosity dot com or leave us a voicemail at 312-596-5208.
How do you spend a bunch of time cooped up with roommates or family members and not let it drive you up the wall? We’re welcoming back some of our guests from earlier this week to talk about surviving the widespread quarantines and shelter-in-place orders happening around the world right now. We’ll start with Captains Sig Hansen and Keith Colburn from the hit show “Deadliest Catch,” which is now in its SIXTEENTH season. These guys spend months at a time on boats in close quarters with their shipmates, so if anyone knows how to handle this kind of situation, it’s them. We’ll start with Sig’s tips for what to do when tensions start running high.
[CLIP 3:20]
Pretty straight-forward advice: just be choosy about which battles you actually wanna fight, and remember that at the end of the day, we all have a common goal. Now that you know how to deal with OTHER people, let’s leave you with advice for dealing with yourself. Dr. Renee Lertzman is a psychologist and engagement strategist with a focus on environment and climate. Her TED Talk about how to turn climate anxiety into action has been viewed more than 900,000 times. We asked her what she’d say if she could offer once piece of advice for people right now.
[CLIP 1:40]
You can find links to learn more about Dr. Renee Lertzman, including a link to her TED Talk, in today’s show notes. We’ll also include links to learn more about DEADLIEST CATCH, which YOU can catch Tuesdays at 8 PM Eastern on Discovery.
CODY: Before we recap what we learned today, here’s a sneak peek at what you’ll hear next week on Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Next week, you’ll learn about how ultra-processed food took over your shopping basket;
An undersea discovery that’s good news for finding life on Mars;
Which we lose first, brain or brawn;
And more! Okay, so now, let’s recap what we learned today.
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CODY: Today’s first story was written by Ashley Hamer, who’s the managing editor for Curiosity Daily.
ASHLEY: Today’s episode was produced and edited by Cody Gough.
CODY: Have a great weekend, and join us again Monday to learn something new in just a few minutes.
ASHLEY: And until then, stay curious!