meta_pixel
Tapesearch Logo
Log in
Curiosity Weekly

Why So Many Outbreaks (Like the Coronavirus) Come from Bats, Older Siblings’ Surprising Influence, and April’s Curiosity Challenge

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Self-improvement, Science, Astronomy, Education

4.6935 Ratings

🗓️ 10 April 2020

⏱️ 13 minutes

🧾️ Download transcript

Summary

Learn about why bats are the source of so many deadly virus outbreaks; and the surprisingly strong influence older siblings can have on their brothers and sisters — just in time for Siblings Day. Then, test your knowledge from this podcast with a Curiosity Challenge trivia game.

Why bats are the source of so many deadly virus outbreaks by Andrea Michelson

Older Siblings Might Be More Influential to a Child Than Parents by Anna Todd

https://curiosity.com/topics/siblings-shape-our-close-relationships-curiosity

Hear the answers to today’s trivia questions in these episodes of Curiosity Daily:

Pick up “Wanderers: A Novel” by Chuck Wendig on Amazon: https://amazon.com

Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/why-so-many-outbreaks-like-the-coronavirus-come-from-bats-older-siblings-surprising-influence-and-aprils-curiosity-challenge



Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Transcript

Click on a timestamp to play from that location

0:00.0

Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Curiosity.com.

0:06.4

I'm Cody Gough.

0:07.4

And I'm Ashley Hamer.

0:08.6

Today you learn about why bats are the source of so many deadly virus outbreaks and the surprisingly strong

0:14.3

influence older siblings can have on their brothers and sisters. Then you can play

0:18.1

along with a special edition of the Curiosity Challenge to test your knowledge from

0:22.0

this podcast.

0:23.0

Let's satisfy and challenge some curiosity.

0:26.0

Bats have gotten a bad rap lately.

0:29.0

They're the original hosts of many diseases that have plagued humanity, including SARS, MERS, Ebola, and now possibly COVID-19.

0:38.0

But why do so many of these deadly outbreaks come from bats of all things?

0:42.0

A recent study from a team of

0:44.2

researchers at UC Berkeley found that the reason they're so good at

0:47.6

spreading viruses may be because they're so good at fighting them.

0:51.0

Bats are old pros when it comes to keeping their systems safe from harm.

0:55.6

The metabolic demands of flying are super high and all that exercise can lead to an accumulation of

1:02.1

DNA damaging free radicals.

1:05.3

Damage DNA gets kicked out of its cells nucleus and left to float around aimlessly, where

1:10.0

it could cause harm.

1:11.6

At least, if it wasn't for some smart adaptations of the bat immune system.

1:16.6

In the blink of an eye, bats wall off their cells from potential intruders by releasing

1:21.0

a molecule called Interferon Alpha,

...

Please login to see the full transcript.

Disclaimer: The podcast and artwork embedded on this page are from Warner Bros. Discovery, and are the property of its owner and not affiliated with or endorsed by Tapesearch.

Generated transcripts are the property of Warner Bros. Discovery and are distributed freely under the Fair Use doctrine. Transcripts generated by Tapesearch are not guaranteed to be accurate.

Copyright © Tapesearch 2025.