Nightlight Plight, Cancer Stinks, Literal Green Energy

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Science

4.6 • 963 Ratings

🗓️ 29 June 2022

⏱️ 16 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today, you’ll learn about how that light coming in through your window at night is in fact ruining your sleep, how some diseases—including cancer—can be smelled by dogs and we’re on the verge of being able to smell them with modern technology, and how algae may one day provide the power for our smallest devices.

Close your blinds.

“Light exposure during sleep impairs cardiometabolic function” by Ivy C. Mason, Kathryn J. Reid, Chloe D. Warlick, Roneil G. Malkani, Sabra M. Abbott, and Phyllis C. Zee
- https://www.pnas.org/doi/full/10.1073/pnas.2113290119
“Sleeping with a light on may be bad for your heart and blood sugar” by Nicoletta Lanese
- https://www.livescience.com/sleep-in-lit-room-worse-heart-metabolic-health
“Sleeping with the light on may be harmful to you” by Erin Blakemore
- https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2022/03/20/sleep-lights-health/
“What is the difference between lux and lumens?” by Waveform Lighting
- https://www.waveformlighting.com/home-residential/what-is-the-difference-between-lux-and-lumens
“Insulin Resistance & Prediabetes” by the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
- https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/diabetes/overview/what-is-diabetes/prediabetes-insulin-resistance

What’s that smell?

“Cancer has a smell. Someday your phone may detect it.” by Noam Hassenfeld
- https://www.vox.com/unexplainable/22323113/unexplainable-smell-mystery-nanonose
“Dogs Are Teaching Machines to Sniff Out Cancer” by Asher Jones
- https://www.the-scientist.com/news-opinion/dogs-are-teaching-machines-to-sniff-out-cancer-68469
“The Quest to Make a Bot That Can Smell as Well as a Dog” by Sara Harrison
- https://www.wired.com/story/quest-to-make-robot-smell-cancer-dog/
“What DARPA Does” by DARPA
- https://www.darpa.mil/about-us/what-darpa-does

Get used to algae-power.

“Algae-powered computing: Scientists create reliable and renewable biological photovoltaic cell” by Eureka Alert
- https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/952203
“Algae-powered computing: scientists create reliable and renewable biological photovoltaic cell” by University of Cambridge
- https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/scientists-create-reliable-biological-photovoltaic-cell-using-algae
“Scientists create algae computer powered by photosynthesis” by James Vincent
- https://www.theverge.com/2022/5/16/23074715/algae-computer-chip-photosynthesis-arm-cortext-iot-biophotovoltaics
“A Potato Battery Can Light Up a Room For Over a Month” by Tuan C. Nguyen
- https://www.smithsonianmag.com/innovation/a-potato-battery-can-light-up-a-room-for-over-a-month-180948260/

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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 Discovery.
0:09.0	Time flies when you learn in super cool stuff. I'm Nate.
0:12.0	And I'm Callie. If you're dropping in for the first time,
0:14.3	welcome to curiosity where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you're a
0:19.6	loyal listener, welcome back. Today you'll learn about how the light coming in through your
0:23.8	window at night is in fact ruining your sleep how some diseases including cancer
0:28.6	can be smelled by dogs and we're on the verge of being able to smell them with
0:32.2	modern technology
0:33.4	and how algae may one day provide the power for our smallest devices.
0:38.0	Without further ado, let's satisfy some curiosity.
0:41.0	Kali, what do you do before you fall asleep?
0:44.0	You know, I'd love to tell you I'm a big reader every night, but if we're being honest, I watch
0:49.6	my favorite Youtubers and then of course re-watch some of my favorite Carl Sagan clips. favorite Oh come on certain lights like falling asleep to that warm glow of a screen
1:04.3	feels a bit comforting. Well new research is showing that sleeping with even a single
1:08.5	moderately bright light on in your room can have a drastic effect on the
1:12.0	quality of your sleep and your health.
1:14.0	How much light are we talking? Like booklight, lamp, nightlight,
1:17.8	DJ's colored spotlights, headlights, high beams, high beams from the car behind you as you see them in your
1:21.9	rearview mirror?
1:22.5	I think that last one is the brightest light of all.
1:25.2	No, researchers tested this with a 100 Lux light.
1:29.2	Lux?
	...

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