Why Cavities Are So Sensitive to the Cold

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Science

4.6 • 963 Ratings

🗓️ 31 May 2021

⏱️ 13 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Learn about why cavities are so cold-sensitive; an ant that shrinks its brain; and why swimming makes you extra hungry.

Here's why dental cavities are so sensitive to cold by Cameron Duke

Bernal, L., Sotelo-Hitschfeld, P., König, C., Sinica, V., Wyatt, A., Winter, Z., Hein, A., Touska, F., Reinhardt, S., Tragl, A., Kusuda, R., Wartenberg, P., Sclaroff, A., Pfeifer, J. D., Ectors, F., Dahl, A., Freichel, M., Vlachova, V., Brauchi, S., & Roza, C. (2021). Odontoblast TRPC5 channels signal cold pain in teeth. Science Advances, 7(13), eabf5567. https://doi.org/10.1126/sciadv.abf5567
How teeth sense the cold. (2021). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-03/hhmi-hts032421.php

There’s an ant that shrinks its brain to try to become the queen by Cameron Duke

Annie, R. (2021, April 13). These Ants Shrink Their Brains for a Chance to Become Queen. The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2021/04/13/science/ants-brains-queen.html
Penick, C. A., Ghaninia, M., Haight, K. L., Opachaloemphan, C., Yan, H., Reinberg, D., & Liebig, J. (2021). Reversible plasticity in brain size, behaviour and physiology characterizes caste transitions in a socially flexible ant ( Harpegnathos saltator ). Proceedings of the Royal Society B: Biological Sciences, 288(1948). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.2021.0141
Urbani, C. B., Boyan, G. S., Blarer, A., Billen, J., & Musthak Ali, T. M. (1994). A novel mechanism for jumping in the indian antHarpegnathos saltator (Jerdon) (Formicidae, Ponerinae). Experientia, 50(S1), 63–71. https://doi.org/10.1007/bf01992052

Swimming Really Does Make You Hungrier Than Other Forms of Exercise by Ashley Hamer

Harvard Health Publishing. (2021). Calories burned in 30 minutes for people of three different weights - Harvard Health. Harvard Health; Harvard Health. https://www.health.harvard.edu/diet-and-weight-loss/calories-burned-in-30-minutes-of-leisure-and-routine-activities
Exercise In Cold Water May Increase Appetite, UF Study Finds. (2021). ScienceDaily. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2005/05/050504225732.htm
Sportscience Compeat: Swimmers: Body fat mystery! (1997). Sportsci.org. http://www.sportsci.org/news/compeat/fat.html
Harmon, K. (2011, May 10). Sink or Swim: Muscle versus Fat. Scientific American. https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/muscle-versus-fat/

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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
0:04.8	Curiosity.com. I'm Cody Goff. And I'm Ashley Hamer. Today you'll learn about
0:09.2	why dental cavities are so sensitive to cold, an ant that shrinks its brain to try to become a queen,
0:15.0	and whether swimming really does make you hungrier than other forms of exercise.
0:20.0	Let's satisfy some curiosity.
0:23.0	Dental cavities are agonizing.
0:26.0	If you've had one, you know what I'm talking about.
0:29.0	If you're one of the fortunate few with perfect teeth, well, you're just going to have to take my word for it.
0:34.0	And the worst part of a cavity is the pain you feel when you drink something cold.
0:39.0	And now scientists know why cavities are so cold sensitive.
0:44.8	Dental cavities happen when bacteria eat away at the enamel coating of your teeth.
0:50.4	This creates little pits in the enamel that can feel like exposed nerve endings when you eat or drink.
0:57.0	But the key words are, feel like.
1:00.0	You might be surprised to learn that up until now, scientists didn't really have a good explanation for this type of sensitivity.
1:07.0	I mean, teeth have nerves, but cavities are rarely deep enough to expose them.
1:12.0	New research from the Howard Hughes Medical Service. rarely deep enough to expose them.
1:13.0	New research from the Howard Hughes Medical Institute provides a solid explanation for this
1:17.7	annoying phenomenon.
1:19.9	Researchers found that specialized cells called odontoblasts
1:23.3	contain a cold sensitive protein called TRPC 5.
1:28.1	Odontoblasts can be found in Denton.
1:31.1	That's the tooth layer that's right below the enamel. Also the name of my
	...

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