3 minute lesson

Episode 481. Investigating myself. Topic: Marfan syndrome. 

What is connective tissue? How can mutations in one gene affect connective tissue? What is Marfan syndrome and what are the symptoms? Why is it often not included on commercial genetics tests? 

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Episode 480. Topic: Effective population size. Theme: Population genetics.

What is the difference between total population size and effective population size? What is an example of this difference? What causes the difference? What is the effective population size of humans? Will it ever increase?

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Episode 478. Topic: Evidence of selection. Theme: Population genetics.

What is natural selection? How can you tell from the DNA of a species when and where natural selection has occurred? What in recent human evolution has undergone natural selection?

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Episode 477. Topic: The founder effect. Theme: Population genetics.

How can reduced genetic diversity alter the frequency of traits? Can this be dangerous? What are some founder effect examples in humans? What caused them? 

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Episode 476. Topic: Genetic drift. Theme: Population genetics.

How can traits change frequency in a population without natural selection? What is genetic drift? What would this look like in a population?

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Episode 475. Investigating myself. Topic: Hereditary fructose intolerance.

What is fructose? How is it metabolized in the human body? What genetic disease disrupts fructose metabolism? What are the symptoms? Do I carry this condition?

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Episode 474. Topic: Sniffer bees. Theme: Working animals. 

How intelligent are bees and wasps? How good are their senses of smell? Can you train bees to detect odor? How can you tell if a bee recognizes something? How do bees compare to dogs in detecting explosives? Why aren't bees more commonly used?

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Episode 473. Topic: Mine hunting. Theme: Working animals. 

What are mines? Why are they so dangerous after conflicts? How are trained rats so effective at finding buried mines? How are mined located underwater? What other purposes are there for military dolphins?

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Episode 472. Topic: Detection dogs. Theme: Working animals. 

What else can dogs be employed to do? What types of drugs can they detect? What about weapons or other biological materials? Can dogs detect cancer? How about COVID-19 infections?

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Episode 471. Topic: Medical response dogs. Theme: Working animals. 

What else can dogs be trained to do? How can dogs alert someone to allergens in food or medicines? Can a dog detect low blood sugar in a human? Can they detect oncoming seizures? What are the benefits and limits to medical response dogs?

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Episode 470. Topic: Guide dogs. Theme: Working animals. 

How old is the use of guide dogs for the visually impaired? How is training performed today? How expensive are guide dogs? How long do they work?

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Episode 469. Investigating myself. Topic: Fanconi anemia. 

What is anemia and what causes it? What is Fanconi anemia? How common is this condition and how is is treated? Can you find out if you carry this disease on a common commercial genetic test? What about the 18 other genes involved? 

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Episode 467. Topic: Subatomic particles. Theme: Atomic physics. 

What are protons, neutrons, and electrons made from? What are subatomic particles or elementary particles? How are they described? How do they form matter? How were they discovered? Do they answer all questions about the universe?

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Episode 465. Topic: Radiocarbon dating. Theme: Atomic physics. 

What are isotopes? What are the common isotopes of carbon and how do they form? How is carbon-14 used to date organic material? What are the limits to radiocarbon dating? How are billion-year-old objects dated?

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Episode 462. Topic: Halloween. Theme: Holiday Origins. 

What are the origins of Halloween? Is it Christian or pagan in origin? How is it celebrated around the world? How are turnips involved?

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Episode 461. Topic: White Day. Theme: Holiday Origins. 

How is Valentine's Day celebrated in other countries? How is it more one-sided in Japan? What is White Day and why was it invented? Will White Day ever come to the United States?

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Episode 460. Topic: Valentine's Day. Theme: Holiday Origins. 

Who was Saint Valentine? Was he just one person? How did February 14th become associated with romantic love? How is Valentine's Day celebrated around the world? 

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Episode 459. Topic: Labor Day. Theme: Holiday Origins. 

What were workers' rights like during The Industrial Revolution? How were they improved? How is this related to Labor Day? Do other countries have a Labor Day equivalent? Which countries do not?

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Episode 457. Investigating myself. Topic: Low empathy?

What is empathy? How is it related to the hormone oxytocin? Are there genetic variations related to low empathy behavior? Do I carry it? If so, which parent did I inherit it from?!

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Episode 455. Topic: Russian oligarchy.  Theme: Money and politics. 

What is an oligarchy? How did Russian oligarchs rise out of the rubble of the Soviet Union? How can oligarchs wield power? Is this a uniquely Russian problem?

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Episode 453. Topic: Citizens United. Theme: Money and politics. 

How can corporations advertise on behalf of a political candidate? Why is this legal? How are documentary films involved? What are the consequences of saying corporations have protected political speech?

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Episode 452. Topic: The gold standard. Theme: Money and politics. 

How does money work? What are the pros and cons of basing money in the value of gold or silver? Has the United States ever used the gold standard? How has it changed over time? Why was it dropped in 1971?

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Episode 450.  Topic: Spinal fusion. Theme: Medical procedures. 

Why are humans so prone to back pain? What are some common causes of age-related back pain? How can a spinal fusion alleviate pain? Is this common procedure effective?

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Episode 449. Topic: Coronary artery bypass. Theme: Medical procedures. 

What arteries supply the heart muscle with oxygenated blood? How do arteries become blocked? What happens when coronary arteries are blocked? How does a coronary artery bypass work? How effective is it in the long term?

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Episode 448. Topic: Caesarean section. Theme: Medical procedures. 

How old are caesarean sections? Where does this term come from? How often are they performed? Are there any downsides for babies or mothers who undergo this procedure over natural childbirth? 

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Episode 447. Topic: Appendectomy. Theme: Medical procedures. 

What is the appendix? How did it evolve and what is its purpose? What is appendicitis and how can it be fatal? How is appendicitis treated? Are there downsides to not having an appendix?

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Episode 445. Investigating myself. Topic: Glycogen storage disease.

What is glycogen? How do we make it and where do we store it? How do genetic diseases lead to issues storing glycogen? What are some examples? Do I carry any mutations leading to glycogen storage disease?

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Episode 444. Topic: The Geneva Conventions. Theme: International law. 

What inspired the Red Cross and the first (of four) Geneva Convention? What about the others? How has war changed throughout the centuries? How are the Geneva Conventions upheld?

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Episode 442. Topic: The United Nations. Theme: International law. 

When and why was the UN founded? How does the UN operate today? How many countries are members? What are some UN operations? How is the UN criticized? 

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Episode 440. Topic: The World Trade Organization. Theme: International law. 

How was the WTO founded? What are its goals today? What is an example case where the WTO might get involved? How is the WTO criticized? Has the WTO helped or harmed us?

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Episode 439. Investigating myself. Topic: Lactase persistence.

What is lactose intolerance? How can 35% of the human population digest lactose after infancy? Is this a form of natural selection? Can I digest lactose as an adult?

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Episode 438. Topic: Acquired savant syndrome. Theme: Advantages. 

What is savant syndrome? Can someone have savant syndrome without being born with autism or another cognitive disability? What are some example cases? What can we learn from both traditional and acquired savant syndrome?

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Episode 433. Investigating myself. Topic: Covid-19 and Neanderthals.

Do Neanderthals have anything to do with the current Covid-19 pandemic? It turns out genes inherited from Neanderthals influence the severity of Covid-19 symptoms. How did we figure this out? How can that be?
 
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Methodology notes:
 Zeberg H, Pääbo S. The major genetic risk factor for severe COVID-19 is inherited from Neanderthals. Nature. 2020;587(7835):610-612. doi:10.1038/s41586-020-2818-3 

Episode 432. Topic: Virgin birth. Theme: Animal reproduction. 

How can female sharks in captivity for years suddenly give birth? What is parthenogenesis and how does it work? Do other animals reproduce this way? Are human males in jeopardy from parthenogenesis? 

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Episode 431. Topic: Mole salamander. Theme: Animal reproduction. 

Can an animal evolve out the males of their species? How are some salamanders unisex? How can they maintain this form of reproduction without losing genetic diversity? Why is salamander reproduction much more flexible than human?

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Episode 430. Topic: Mystery males. Theme: Animal reproduction. 

What are Osedax? Why are all specimens seemingly female? Where are all the male Osedax? How is the mystery male also present in angler fish? Why might such extreme sexual dimorphism arise in evolution?

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Episode 428. Topic: The octopus. Theme: Animal reproduction. 

What are octopuses and why are they such fascinating creatures? How smart are they? How do they reproduce? Why is octopus reproduction a death sentence?

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Episode 427. Investigating myself. Topic: Neanderthal DNA. 

Who were the Neanderthals and how or when did they evolve? How did modern humans evolve by comparison? What happened to the Neanderthals and why do most modern humans have Neanderthal ancestors? How much Neanderthal DNA do I have? 

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Episode 425. Topic: The British. Theme: Indigenous peoples. 

How many species of human have inhabited the islands of Great Britain and Ireland? When did modern humans first migrate in? Did they stay for long? How did the indigenous population of Great Britain change in relatively recent history?

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Episode 423. Topic: The Ainu. Theme: Indigenous peoples. 

Who are the Ainu people? How are they different from the modern majority Japanese ethnic group? How did the modern Japanese ethnic group come to be? What does Ainu culture look like today? What does it mean to be indigenous?

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Episode 422. Topic: Aboriginal Tasmanians. Theme: Indigenous peoples. 

How did the aboriginal population of Tasmania come to be? How long was this population isolated and when was contact reestablished? What happened to the indigenous population? Did they go extinct? What about their language and culture?

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Episode 421. Investigating myself. Topic: Fragile X syndrome.

What is Fragile X syndrome? What are the symptoms? What are the genetics behind this disorder? How do some people have a premutation for this syndrome? Do I carry the premutation?

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Methodology notes: Repeats were assessed with ExpansionHunter

Episode 419. Topic: Dialects and cultures. Theme: Animal communication.

Do animals have language, dialects, and cultures? Yes they do! What are some examples of animal dialects?  What are some examples of animal cultures?

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Episode 418. Topic: Prairie dog alarms. Theme: Animal communication. 

What animal (besides humans) have the most complex communication system? Why might it be prairie dogs? How complex are predator alarms for prairie dogs? How do they regulate alarms based on who they want to protect?

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Episode 413. Topic: Embryos. Theme: Three biological parents.

We all have two biological parents right? How is it possible that some children alive today can have three biological parents? Is this a natural occurrence or does it require manipulation? Who is the third parent then?

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Episode 410. Topic:  In vitro fertilization. Theme:  Embryos .

How does IVF work? How much does it cost and how many rounds are typically done? How many children are born from IVF every year? What are some IVF controversies? 

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Episode 409. Investigating myself. Topic: Huntington's disease. 

What is Huntington's disease and what causes it? How does the Huntington's disease mutation develop? How does the disease progress? Am I going to get it?

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Methodology notes: CAG repeats were evaluated with ExpansionHunter. 

Episode 408. Topic: Electrical outlet types. Theme: Home technology. 

How do electrical outlets work? Why are there so many types around the world? Why does outlet voltage vary as well? Is standardization feasible?

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Episode 407. Topic: Microwave ovens. Theme: Home technology. 

When were microwave ovens invented? How do they work? Why do different foods heat unevenly? Are microwaves dangerous?

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Episode 406. Topic: Air conditioning. Theme: Home technology. 

How does air conditioning work? Why is it kind of like human sweating? How has air conditioning changed human civilization?

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