Hey, what's up? This is Ramses Job. And I go by the name, Q Ward. And we'd like you to join us each week for our show Civic Cipher. That's right. We discuss social issues, especially those that affect black and brown people, but in a way that informs and empowers all people. We discuss everything from prejudice to politics to police violence, and we try to give you the tools to create positive change in your home, workplace, and social circle.

We're going to learn how to become better allies to each other.

So join us each Saturday for Civic Cipher on the IHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever

you get your podcast.

Welcome to Brain Stuff, a production of IHeart Radio.

Hey, Brain Stuff. Hey, brainstaff.

Lauren Bobba bomb here.

Snot.

It is inherently gross.

We swallow loads of it every day, even on our healthiest of days.

And that slimy gelatinous goo we call mucus isn't just in our noses.

It's actually found on all of the wet surfaces of your body that aren't covered in skin. That includes the lungs, sinuses, mouth, stomach,

intestines, cervix, and eyes, just to name a few. So why do we have to put up with it? It turns out that mucus plays a hugely important role

in keeping us healthy, and not just as humans. Similar mucus helps protect pretty much all

other creatures as well. But mucus is a bit of a mystery. Okay, we know that mucus is made up almost entirely of water,

along with tiny amounts of hundreds of other compounds, including proteins, fats, and salts.

And we know that mammals, fish, amphibians, reptiles, birds, mollusks, and some other

invertebrates all produce mucus. But a study from 2022 found that many

mucous-related genes don't share a common ancestor. This is relatively unusual because genes with

a similar function often evolve from a common ancestral gene. But just in humans, genes that encode for mucus are members of several families that probably

evolved independently.

For the study, a team from the University of Buffalo looked at the saliva of 49 different species

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