World Population Reaches 8 Billion, Leprosy, Planet-Killer

Curiosity Weekly

Warner Bros. Discovery

Self-improvement, Science, Astronomy, Education

4.6 • 935 Ratings

🗓️ 26 January 2023

⏱️ 14 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

Today you’ll learn about what it means for the planet now that we’ve reached a global population of 8 billion people, how leprosy might be able to repair damaged livers, and some information about an asteroid that’s been dubbed a, “Planet-killer.”

World Population Reaches 8 Billion

“The world population has now reached 8 billion” by Allison Gasparini
- https://www.sciencenews.org/article/world-population-8-billion-humans-earth
“Day of 8 Billion” by United Nations
- https://www.un.org/en/dayof8billion
“World population hits 8 billion: What does it mean for the planet?” by CGTN
- https://newseu.cgtn.com/news/2022-11-19/World-population-hits-8-billion-What-does-it-mean-for-the-planet--1f47kiG46qs/index.html#:~:text=On%20November%2015%202022%2C%20the,billion%20people%20in%20around%202080.
“The World Population Just Hit 8 Billion and Here’s How It Will Continue to Grow” by David Adam
- https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-world-population-just-hit-8-billion-and-heres-how-it-will-continue-to-grow/

Leprosy

“Leprosy: Ancient disease able to regenerate organs” By James Gallagher
- https://www.bbc.com/news/health-63626239.amp
“In vivo partial reprogramming by bacteria promotes adult liver organ growth without fibrosis and tumorigenesis” by Samuel Hess et al.
- https://www.cell.com/cell-reports-medicine/fulltext/S2666-3791(22)00379-2?_returnURL=https%3A%2F%2Flinkinghub.elsevier.com%2Fretrieve%2Fpii%2FS2666379122003792%3Fshowall%3Dtrue
“Leprosy bacteria use 'biological alchemy'” by James Gallagher
- https://www.bbc.com/news/health-21056644

Planet-Killer

“Largest potentially hazardous asteroid detected in 8 years” by National Science Foundation
- https://beta.nsf.gov/news/largest-potentially-hazardous-asteroid-detected-8
“A Deep and Wide Twilight Survey for Asteroids Interior to Earth and Venus” by Scott S. Sheppard et al.
- https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.3847/1538-3881/ac8cff

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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.
0:08.7	Time flies when you're learning super cool stuff. I'm Nate.
0:12.0	And I'm Callie. If you're dropping in for the
0:13.7	first time welcome to curiosity where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your
0:17.9	mind. If you're a loyal listener, welcome back. Today you'll learn about what it means
0:22.0	for the planet now that we've reached a global
0:24.2	population of 8 billion people, how leprosy might be able to repair damaged
0:30.0	livers and some information about an asteroid that's been dubbed a planet killer.
0:35.8	Without further ado, let's satisfy some curiosity.
0:39.3	You might already know that leprosy is a contagious disease that negatively affects the skin and in
0:43.7	especially severe cases can even cause permanent deformities but what have I told you
0:48.9	that the bacteria responsible for leprosy may actually be holding the secret to repairing the body.
0:54.0	To me it sounds like those two sentences are a bit at war with each other and might be time for you to be calling a ceasefire.
1:00.0	How can leprosy be responsible for damaging a body and for repairing it?
1:06.0	Okay, I totally understand your skepticism here.
1:08.5	This study actually began with a bit of a paradox.
1:11.5	The bacterium that causes leprosy is called mycobacterium leprey and when it gets into a human's
1:16.3	nerves, skin or eyes, it can cause irreversible disability, but it can also convert one type of bodily tissue into another.
1:24.0	For example, an earlier experiment on mice showed the leprosy bug infected nerve cells
1:29.0	and for a few weeks the bacteria began to morph the nerves into stem cells.
1:34.0	For a lack of a better word, they called this biological alchemy.
1:38.0	Because in alchemy, you're attempting to turn base metals into gold, right?
	...

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