Leeches in Medicine, Potty Training Cows, the Math of Eggs
Curiosity Weekly
Warner Bros. Discovery
4.6 • 963 Ratings
🗓️ 28 October 2021
⏱️ 15 minutes
🧾️ Download transcript
Summary
Learn about the medical history of using leeches; potty training cows to help the environment; and the math behind eggs.
More from zoologist Bill Schutt:
- Pick up "Pump: A Natural History of the Heart" https://www.workman.com/products/pump
- Website: https://billschutt.com/
- Follow @BillSchuttBooks on Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillSchuttBooks
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/BillSchutt1/
Potty training cows can help the environment by Steffie Drucker
- BORENSTEIN, S. (2021, September 13). No bull: Scientists potty train cows to use “MooLoo.” ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Weird/wireStory/bull-scientists-potty-train-cows-mooloo-79991165
- Dirksen, N., Langbein, J., Schrader, L., Puppe, B., Elliffe, D., Siebert, K., Röttgen, V., & Matthews, L. (2021). Learned control of urinary reflexes in cattle to help reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Current Biology, 31(17), R1033–R1034. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cub.2021.07.011
- Researchers are toilet-training cows to reduce ammonia emissions caused by their waste. (2021, September 13). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/927878
Scientists have uncovered the mathematical formula for the shape of an egg by Briana Brownell
- Research finally reveals ancient universal equation for the shape of an egg. (2021, August 31). News Centre - University of Kent. https://www.kent.ac.uk/news/science/29620/research-finally-reveals-ancient-universal-equation-for-the-shape-of-an-egg
- Narushin, V. G., Romanov, M. N., & Griffin, D. K. (2021). Egg and math: introducing a universal formula for egg shape. Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences. https://doi.org/10.1111/nyas.14680
- Who Laid The First Egg? Scientists Move A Step Closer To Linking Embryos Of Earth’s First Animals To Adult Form. (2021). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/11/041104005307.htm
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Transcript
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| 0:00.0 | Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from |
| 0:05.2 | Curiosity.com. I'm Cody goth. And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today you learn about the |
| 0:09.9 | history of using leeches for medical purposes, with help from zoologist Bill Shut, how potty |
| 0:15.6 | training cows can help the environment, and why it's a big deal that scientists finally |
| 0:20.8 | figured out the mathematical formula for the shape of an egg. |
| 0:24.3 | Sounds egg-ucational. Let's satisfy some curiosity. |
| 0:28.9 | You probably knew that people used to use leeches for medical purposes. |
| 0:35.0 | What you might not know is that we're still using them today, |
| 0:38.5 | and for a pretty surprising reason. |
| 0:41.0 | Halloween is just around the corner, which is why we've got a guest today |
| 0:44.8 | who's known for diving into the science of the Macabre. I know it's pronounced macabre. |
| 0:50.3 | I just really like saying macabre. |
| 0:53.0 | Bill Shut is a zoologist at the American Museum of Natural History who's written about everything from |
| 0:59.0 | cannibalism to blood feeding. |
| 1:01.8 | His new book is entitled Pump, a natural history of the heart. |
| 1:05.9 | And in it, he explains why people started using leeches in medicine and why they still do today. Here's Bill. So as far as leeches go, that |
| 1:16.6 | dates back to probably the ancient Greeks and maybe even before that where there was |
| 1:20.6 | this concept of the four humors. |
| 1:23.0 | They believe that there were these four substances in the body, |
| 1:25.5 | one of them being blood, |
| 1:26.9 | and that by keeping them in balance, |
| 1:28.8 | that you could cure every disease, |
... |
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