Learn about why your body doesn’t actually replace itself every 7 years; whether you should worry more about having money or making money; and, why the difference between kill and no-kill animal shelters isn’t as simple as you might think. 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: Does Your Body Replace Itself Every 7 Years? — https://curiosity.im/2sTIbaN Which Matters More: Having Money or Making Money? — https://curiosity.im/2sWJ5U8 How the 50/20/30 Rule Can Help You Budget — https://curiosity.im/2MJXVX5 The Difference Between Kill and No-Kill Animal Shelters Isn't as Simple as You Think — https://curiosity.im/2sTI7I5 If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom 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 your body doesn’t actually replace itself every 7 years; whether you should worry more about having money or making money; and, why the difference between kill and no-kill animal shelters isn’t as simple as you might think.
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:
If you love our show and you're interested in hearing full-length interviews, then please consider supporting us on Patreon. You'll get exclusive episodes and access to our archives as soon as you become a Patron! https://www.patreon.com/curiositydotcom
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/what-no-kill-animal-shelters-really-mean-having-vs-making-money-and-replacing-your-cells
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 your body doesn’t actually replace itself every 7 years; whether you should worry more about having money or making money; and, why the difference between kill and no-kill animal shelters isn’t as simple as you might think.
CODY: Let’s satisfy some curiosity.
Does Your Body Replace Itself Every 7 Years? — https://curiosity.im/2sTIbaN (Cody)
Today in mythbusting, have you ever heard that your body replaces itself every 7 years? The idea is that every 7 years, every cell in your body has been replaced with new ones, so in a way, you’re a completely different person. Well, we’ve heard this, too, and while it’s kind of cool idea, it turns out that it’s just not true. The seven-year myth isn’t even a rough average of every cell’s lifespan. To understand how often your cells replace themselves, you need to understand how cells come into being in the first place. Your body can make new cells in a couple of ways. One way is when existing cells divide with a pretty simple process called mitosis. During mitosis, a parent cell splits into two new cells that are called daughter cells. And they’re basically copies of the original cells. The second way cells are created is through stem cells. Those are special cells in your body, and you don’t have as many of them as you do other cells. Stem cells can copy themselves using mitosis, but they can also make new “specialized” cells like blood cells and nerve cells. Those can’t make copies of themselves. Now, in order to control the growth of new cells, old cells also need to die. For example, you know the the spaces between your fingers and toes? Those are partly there because of cell death when you are born. You need this programmed cell death in order to prevent you from having webbed hands and feet. After some time, all cells eventually do shrivel and die. But not every cell's lifespan is the same. The cells that line your stomach can renew as fast as every two days, since they often come into contact with digestive acid. Cells that make up your skin are replaced every two to three weeks, which makes sense because your skin is your main protection against the environment. Pretty important to keep in good shape. But some cells have a lifespan that’s a lot longer than 7 years. Your fat cells live an average of 10 years, and the bones in your body also regenerate every 10 years or so. Brain cells are as old as you are, since they don’t regenerate as you age. You also never replace your tooth enamel or the lenses of your eyes. When it comes to certain cells, you're stuck with them for life. I hope it’s a comforting thought that there’s a part of you that’ll never change!
Which Matters More: Having Money or Making Money? — https://curiosity.im/2sWJ5U8 (Ashley)
Money can be a stressful subject, but today we’ve got a story about what really matters when it comes to money. What do you think matters more: having money or making money? According to money guru Sam Dogen of the Financial Samurai, there are some pretty compelling reasons to focus more on the money you have than the money that’s coming in. [ad lib]
ASHLEY: Here’s the science. In 2013, a meta-analysis published in Clinical Psychology Review found that people who have debt are three times more likely to have a mental health problem like depression or anxiety. And a 2018 study published in JAMA found that a sudden financial loss was associated with a higher risk of death. Ignoring your finances isn't just a bad idea; it's a health concern. Now let’s address the elephant in the room: Your job is not guaranteed. I’m not trying to stress you out, but let’s face it, there are a hundred different reasons you might come into work tomorrow and leave with your things in a box. Even if your job security is ironclad, emergency expenses could come up and turn your paycheck into peanuts. If you put away a certain amount of money from every paycheck, you'll be in better shape if disaster hits. And if disaster doesn't hit, then hey! You'll be in a good financial place once it's time to retire. If you’re looking for a hard number, then try to shoot for saving about 20 percent of your paycheck, based on the 50-20-30 rule. We’ve talked about that on this show before, and you can find a link to that article on curiosity-dot-com in today’s show notes. If you’re having trouble putting money away, then the Financial Samurai points out that real wealth is earned in the very long term, through saving and investing. In more technical terms, remember that the government taxes you on your income, not your savings. You can have millions in the bank and just get taxed on the interest, but if you’re making millions of dollars, then you’ll end up giving a lot of it back. When you focus on having more instead of making more, you'll make smarter decisions across the board. The best advice is never the flashiest, but there's a reason you always hear the same boring rules, like "don't spend more than you make" and "save a portion of every paycheck.” Sayings like this may be a dime a dozen, but remember: a penny saved is a penny earned.
CODY: Put your money where your mouth is and don’t break the bank when you bring home the bacon. ...Sorry, got kinda carried away there. What can I say? Idioms are my bread and butter.
The Difference Between Kill and No-Kill Animal Shelters Isn't as Simple as You Think — https://curiosity.im/2sTI7I5 (Cody)
The difference between kill and no-kill animal shelters is not as simple as you think. Ashley, where’d you get your cat? [ad lib]
CODY: Well for those of you wondering whether you should take a stray dog to a kill or a no-kill animal shelter, you should know the choice is not necessarily straight-forward. There's actually no universal definition for a no-kill shelter. And it's not even true that no-kill shelters never euthanize animals they take in. Generally, no-kill shelters try to maintain a 90 percent "live-release rate," according to the Washington Post. That means no-kill shelters try to save nine out of every 10 animals, and may still euthanize pets that are elderly or sick and genuinely need to be put down — although not all do. Regardless, as a result of these policies, no-kill shelters are usually full. Every shelter has limited space, and at no-kill shelters, animals can stay for their whole natural lifetime. That's ... not a ton of turnover. When no-kill shelters turn animals away — and usually it's the struggling, not-cute animals they can't find room for — they more or less sentence those animals to the streets or to kill shelters. And if the choice is between being left on the streets and being sent to a kill shelter, even PETA says kill shelters are the more humane option. "Kill shelters" are also called "traditional" or "open-admission" shelters, and they do euthanize animals they no longer have room for. But they never turn an animal away. That makes them great for emergency cases, and anyway, the actual "killing" they do is humane. Animals killed on the streets, meanwhile, tend to suffer. One animal control officer says that leaving them on the streets is essentially "euthanasia by proxy." And animals left on the streets can reproduce, which causes even more homeless animals, who could suffer and even cause public safety issues. If you really want to help the problem of homeless animals, then instead of protesting open-admission shelters, consider working to make shelters unnecessary in the first place. PETA recommends advocating for spay and neuter laws in your area. A problem like homeless animals might be best solved at the level of public policy, not at the level of individual shelters. And if you stumble on a stray, sure, it'd be ideal to take it to a no-kill shelter. But consider traditional shelters (and adoption!) too — the no-kill shelter's likely full.
ASHLEY: Today’s ad-free episode was brought to you by our Patrons. Special thanks to Lynn Smith, Jordan Sanford, Dave Broschinsky, Ryan Day, and Kyle Hewitt for your support on Patreon. We really appreciate it!
CODY: To learn more about how you can support Curiosity Daily, and to take our poll to tell us what you think of our new podcast logo, then please visit patreon-dot-com-slash-curiosity-dot-com, all spelled out.
ASHLEY: Join us again tomorrow for the award-winning Curiosity Daily and learn something new in just a few minutes. I’m [NAME] and I’m [NAME]. Stay curious!