Let’s talk about whether “man flu” is fact or fiction, how the Arctic lakes just threw a curveball at our climate change projections, and the genius new way bats are tricking their predators.
Let’s talk about whether “man flu” is fact or fiction, how the Arctic lakes just threw a curveball at our climate change projections, and the genius new way bats are tricking their predators.
The Myth of Man Flu
Arctic Lakes
Buzzing Bats
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Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/the-myth-of-man-flu-arctic-lakes-buzzing-bats
[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 we’re gonna talk out whether or not “man flu” is fact or fiction, how the Arctic lakes just threw a curve ball at our climate change projections, and the genius new way bats are tricking their predators.
CALLI: Without further ado, let’s satisfy some curiosity!
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Phew, I’m glad to be back after being sick for so long, Calli. I was stuck in bed, coughing, sneezing, and I thought I was gonna die. I thought, “wow. This case of Man Flu is really messing me up.” So I went online to look up if the man flu can kill you, and I was shocked to find out… the Man Flu… is NOT. REAL. There’s a whole study about it and everything!
CALLI: I have so many questions, Nate. When people talk about Man Flu, I thought it was about men maybe exaggerating common cold symptoms. The idea that a guy gets the sniffles and feels like the world is over. But, you thought it was like a real scientific diagnosis?
NATE: Well, I thought it was real because until recently, there was science being reported by mainstream publications like The Guardian and The Telegraph that it WAS real. Man flu comes from the idea that men, when they have a normal cold, experience symptoms of greater severity, more similar to flu symptoms. Scientifically speaking, it’s a “hypersensitivity to acute rhinosinusitis.” Back in 2017, Dr. Kyle Sue from the Memorial University of Newfoundland claimed that while the Man Flu might not be fully real, there is truth in the idea that men have a weaker immune response to common viral respiratory infections, with worse symptoms that last longer. Men are even more likely to be hospitalized or die from a common cold than women.
CALLI: Really? But you started this off by telling me it’s not real. So what changed?
NATE: A brand new study out of the Journal of Psychosomatic Research has found that the reasons for the Man Flu have less to do with biological sex than they do with emotional reasons.
CALLI: What do you mean?
NATE: The researchers used something called a Sino-Nasal Outcome Test-22, or SNOT-22 for short, to have men and women self-measure their flu-like symptoms. They compared these to a more objective reading of the actual physical symptoms, and what they found was that women did, indeed, get better from their symptoms quicker… verbally. As in, they said they got better faster than men did. Physically, there were no differences between nasal, otological, or sleep-related symptoms.
CALLI: Let me see if I have this straight: women and men were sick for the same amount of time, but men were the ones who said they still FELT sick?
NATE: I regret to inform you that you’re exactly right. The research found that there are no sex-related differences between flu symptoms, and that the differences in flu-related deaths in men could actually be from any number of other factors, like lifestyle.
CALLI: Or… hear me out now… this study is REALLY exploring the irony of how women are perceived as more emotional than men.
NATE: Well, speaking of irony, the study saves its boldest reveals for the end: it’s not that men are hypersensitive to the flu, it’s that women are simply better at recovering from it. But most importantly, IF men are more susceptible to severe cold and flu symptoms, it’s because of the stereotypes surrounding Man Flu. That idea that men will fall apart because of the common cold. The researchers believe the likeliest answer is that there is a societal stigma surrounding the idea of men receiving timely treatment so as not to appear “weak” in any way.
CALLI: That’s… a lot more sad than I was expecting. So you’re saying that the “Man Flu” is really just men delaying potentially life saving treatment because they’re afraid of being seen as… not men?
NATE: That seems to be the case. Granted, the researchers say that more studies need to be performed to figure out if there’s more science behind it. But the reality is, whatever the case with Man Flu may be, there’s a lot of work to be done with men examining what it truly means to “be a man.” And maybe that starts with getting treatment if you feel a little under the weather.
CALLI: Well, in any case, you never answered my most important question: why did YOU believe the Man Flu was a real thing?
NATE: I used to believe that Santa Claus was real, and that the Easter Bunny was real, Calli. Are you telling me you’ve never believed in fairy tales?
CALLI: I mean, I’ve never believed in the MAN FLU, that’s for sure.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
CALLI: Alright, Nate. I’ve got good news and bad news for you. The good news is that we now know what the bottom of Arctic lakes look like! The bad news is it’s because they’re drying up.
NATE: Talk about a mixed bag, Calli. But, shouldn’t there be more water in the lakes rather than less? I remember reading somewhere once that climate change would make these lakes bigger because of the melting ground ice? Did I remember that wrong?
CALLI: You did not. The original research, as it turns out, was wrong. So, do you know what permafrost is? It’s the frozen soil that blankets the Arctic. Turns out when it gets thawed out… it actually makes the lakes drain quicker. What’s worse is that autumn rainfall has increased, too.
NATE: Explain that one to me. I would think more rain equals more water and therefore… that should help, right?
CALLI: Nope. It turns out rainwater actually carries heat into the soil which speeds up the thaw of the permafrost. When the permafrost thaws, it’s bad news because it opens up more drainage paths for the lakewater to seep out. This can also cause a lot of trouble with the organic matter and gasses that are stored in the soil. There’s a ton of carbon in there, about twice as much as in the atmosphere. So, when the permafrost thaws, the carbon gets released as methane and carbon dioxide which is really bad for global warming.
NATE: And we know the Arctic is a major hub of climate change activity.
CALLI: Exactly. Temperatures in the Arctic region are rising at a rate nearly four times faster than the rest of the world, leading to the collapse of glaciers, the suffering of wildlife, and the disappearance of habitats at a record pace. And now, the lakes are drying up completely across the pan-Arctic, that’s the area which is a region spanning the northern parts of Canada, Russia, Greenland, Scandinavia and Alaska. These lakes are cornerstones of the Arctic ecosystem. They provide fresh water for local Indigenous communities and industries. Endangered species like migratory birds and other aquatic animals also rely on the lake habitats for survival.
NATE: Whew. That’s a lot of doom and gloom. You said at the top that this is a good news and bad news story, so… is there ANY good news here?
CALLI: Yes! Yes there is. Now that lakes are drying, permafrost NEAR the lakes is actually thawing WAY less quickly, which means that fewer of those planet-warming gasses are being released there. They’re not sure exactly why, or what the trade-offs are here, but the amount of carbon being released back into the atmosphere is WAY less significant here than anywhere else affected.
NATE: Not exactly the greatest news, but I’ll take it. Less loss is still LESS loss, right? So how did this team figure this all out?
CALLI: Satellite data. They tried identifying trends in the surface water in the arctic. This process is called “remote sensing”. By harnessing large amounts of satellite images, they were able to analyze DECADES of data.
NATE: Well, what do the researchers suggest we do to help the lakes?
CALLI: It won’t be easy, but the best way to combat the loss of the Arctic lakes is by cutting fossil fuel emissions down. I don’t just mean you, Nate, driving a little less. It needs to be done on a societal level, and it involves us reducing our carbon footprint wherever possible, individually AND on a bigger scale. The researcher describes it as an “already rolling snowball.” We can’t just sit and watch the snowball gather more snow; we have to find a way to stop the rolling ball altogether.
NATE: I’ve got an idea… I’ll build a ramp for that snowball, and that snowball will fly off track and into a jar, so we can break it up and put the snow back where it’s supposed to go!
CALLI: I… don’t understand the analogy.
NATE: Analogy? What analogy?
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Buzzzzzzz. Quick, Calli, am I impersonating a hornet… or a bat? Trick question: according to a recent study, I’m impersonating both.
CALLI: Nate, are you okay? You’re speaking nonsense right now. What do bats and hornets have in common?
NATE: I’m glad you asked, Calli. You know how some animals copy other creatures to make themselves seem less appetizing to predators? Like the Atticus atlas moth, whose wing-design makes them look like a snake. It turns out that some bats can actually imitate the sound of buzzing hornets to scare off owls. This is the first documented case of a mammal mimicking an insect to deter predators! Specifically: they sounded like hornets. After some experimentation, researchers discovered that the greater mouse-eared bat is one of the very few animals that has actively stolen another SPECIES’ sound.
CALLI: Wow, that’s really cool! So, to us, it sounds like hornets. But does it sound like that to other animals?
NATE: Yes, but especially for owls. The researchers compared the sound structure of the European hornet’s buzzing to that of the bat’s distress call. At most frequencies, the two sounds weren’t that similar. But when the bat’s call was stripped down to include only frequencies that owls are able to hear, it was similar enough to dupe the owls. And don’t forget - owls are one of the bat’s main predators, so this is a big win for the bats’ survival strategy.
CALLI: So how did they test it?
NATE: By playing bat and hornet noises to captive owls. When they played recordings of social bat calls on a speaker, they discovered that owls would approach, almost as if the owls were tracking the bats as prey. But when they played a recording of hornets buzzing, the owls backed away because they were scared. And when they played the bat’s distress call, which mimics a hornet’s, the owls backed away again!
This supports the idea that the bats’ buzzing could confuse owls into thinking that a hornet is nearby! Wasps and other stinging insects have common warning signs that let predators like reptiles and other insects know to leave them alone. You know, like yellow and black stripes. But the color imitation is less obvious at night. A sound imitation however…
CALLI: Way more noticeable at night. Interesting!
NATE: Yep. Plus, bats are nocturnal and use echolocation to get around. They communicate using a wide array of sounds, so it stands to reason, given their wide vocal range, that they could figure out how to do this.
CALLI: It most certainly does. So what does it mean for the rest of us?
NATE: Well, the researchers believe this could help scientists spot other sound-based mimicry that might have so far flown under the radar. I, for one, have always wondered why frogs ribbit.
CALLI: Male frogs ribbit excessively to find mates, Nate.
NATE: I know that, but WHAT IS SO ATTRACTIVE ABOUT A RIBBIT?
CALLI: I imagine female frogs find the sound quite… ribbiting.
NATE: Aaaand we’re done here.
[SFX: WHOOSH]
NATE: Let’s recap what we learned today to wrap up. The Man Flu: true or hoax? Recent studies indicate that the Man Flu might not actually exist, though men should still look to receive treatment for any flu symptoms they DO have… because the reality is that women might just be better at seeking treatment, resulting in a faster recovery.
CALLI: Because of the damaging effects of climate change, arctic lakes are drying up at a massive rate and releasing dangerous levels of carbon emissions into the atmosphere. There’s a small silver lining, however; because the arctic permafrost is melting, it’s actually slowing the emissions marginally!
NATE: Have you ever heard a buzzing sound outside and thought “oh dang, there are hornets around!”? Well, recent studies show this could actually be a specific kind of BAT, who can imitate the buzz of a hornet to scare off predators! This discovery is huge, because auditory impersonation is VERY rare in the animal world, and could help researchers discover other creatures who imitate other animals!