Welcome to Curiosity Weekly from Discovery! This week, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Anastasia Buyalskaya, a behavioral scientist, to unravel habit formation and debunk the 21-day myth. We also learn about a newly discovered link between musical training and left-handedness. Plus, hear about some space station bacteria that are flexing their superpowers!

Habit Formation

• “What Machine Learning Can Teach Us About Habit Formation.” by Anastasia Buyalskaya. 2024.

Space Bacteria

• “Multi-Drug Resistant Bacteria Found on ISS Mutating to Become Functionally Distinct.” by Elizabeth E. Keller. 2024.
• “Mutant Superbugs Pose a Threat to Human Life in Space.” by Javier Yanes. 2024.

Leftie Musicians

• “Left-Handed Musicians Appear to Develop Unique Brain Pathways for Language Processing.” by Eric W. Dolan. 2024.

Newscast Soundbites

• Microorganisms discovered on the Mir Space Station
• Space Station Live: Studying Basic Biology in Space
• There Are Microbes in Space?!

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Today, you’ll learn about the link between body temperature and depression, how taking the the Polar Bear Plunge could soothe symptoms of menopause, and a new sticker that can detect organ failure.

Depression Temp

•“Are Body Temperature and Depression Linked? Science Says, Yes.” by Jess Berthold. 2024.

•“Surprising Link Discovered Between Body Temperature and Depression.” by Jess Berthold. 2024.

Cold Water Menopause

•“Cold water swimming improves menopause symptoms.” EurekAlert! 2024.

•“Is cold water swimming in the winter healthy?” by Bard Amundsen. 2021.

Ultrasound Sticker

•“This ultrasound sticker senses changing stiffness of deep internal organs.” by Jennifer Chu. 2024.

•“Wearable bioadhesive ultrasound shear wave elastography.” by Hsiao-Chuan Liu, et al. 2024.

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Today, you’ll learn about a new blood test that could revolutionize bipolar diagnoses, how music could help knock out pain, and how a changing climate is changing puffins.

Bipolar Blood Test

•“Simple blood test can help diagnose bipolar disorder.” University of Cambridge. 2023.

•“Bipolar Disorder.” NIH. n..d.

•“Diagnosis and management of bipolar disorders.” by Fernando S. Goes. 2023.

Music & Pain

•“Emotional responses to favorite and relaxing music predict music-induced hypoalgesia.” by Darius Valevicius, et al. 2023.

•“Editorial: Perspectives on music and pain: from evidence to theory and application.” by Annabel J. Cohen, et al. 2023.

Puffin Hybrid

•“Hybridization of Atlantic puffins in the Arctic coincides with 20th-century climate change.” by Oliver Kersten, et al. 2023.

•“Atlantic Puffin.” n.a. N.d.

•“Puffin FAQs.” Audubon. N.d.

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Today, you’ll learn about mind-reading machines, the brightest object in the known universe, and the potential power punch of cinnamon.

Mind-Reading

•“Mind-reading devices are revealing the brain’s secrets.” by Miryam Naddaf. 2024.

•“The brain-reading devices helping paralysed people to move, talk and touch.” by Liam Drew. 2022.

•“The rise of brain-reading technology: what you need to know.” by Liam Drew. 2023.

•“How our brains decode speech: special neurons process certain sounds.” by Saima Sidik. 2023.

Universe’s Brightest Object

•“Astronomers discover universe’s brightest object - a quasar powered by a black hole that eats a sun a day.” by Tory Shepherd. 2024.

•“What is a quasar?” by Andy Briggs. 2021.

•“Revealed: the oldest black hole ever observed, dating to dawn of universe.” by Hannah Devlin. 2023.

Cinnamon

•“Cinnamon supplements reduce blood glucose in people with prediabetes.” by Dani Mann. 2024.

•“Cinnamon and Diabetes.” n.a. 2023.

•“Prediabetes (Borderline Diabetes).” by Mike Watts. 2022.

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Today, you’ll learn about a supervitamin you might already be taking some good news about the health of the world’s forests, and a new study that mapped ketamine’s effects on the brain.

B12

•“Vitamin B12 emerges as key player during cellular reprogramming.” by Alba Vilchez-Acosta. 2023.

•“Vitamin B12: A key player in cellular reprogramming and tissue regeneration.” ScienceDaily. 2023.

Healthy Forests

•“Twenty-year study confirms California forests are healthier when burned - or thinned.” by Kara Manke. 2023.

•“2023 North American Wildfires.” CDP. 2023.

•“Forest restoration and fuels reduction work: Different pathways for achieving success in the Sierra Nevada.” by Scott L. Stephens, et al. 2023.

Ketamine & the Brain

•“New Study Maps Ketamine’s Effects on Brain.” by Christopher D. Shea. 2023.

•“Ketamine.” reviewed by Melisa Puckey. 2023.

•“Whole-brain mapping reveals the divergent impact of ketamine on the dopamine system.” by Malika S. Datta, et al. 2023.

•“Understanding Ketamine Treatment for Depression.” n.a. 2023.

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