Curiosity Weekly
by Discovery
Latest episode
The Team Using Psychedelics to Treat Lyme Disease
The Team Using Psychedelics to Treat Lyme Disease
About this podcast
Welcome to Curiosity Weekly from Discovery, hosted by Dr. Samantha Yammine. Once a week, we’ll bring you the latest and greatest in scientific discoveries and break down the details so that you don’t need a PhD to understand it. From neuroscience to climate tech to AI and genetics, no subject is off-limits. Join Sam as she interviews expert guests and investigates the research guiding some of the most exciting scientific breakthroughs affecting our world today.
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Episodes
The newest 50 of 1,638 episodes
- The Team Using Psychedelics to Treat Lyme Disease · 31 minCases of Lyme disease have increased year by year due to climate change and expanding tick habitats. Unfortunately, this also means an increase in a condition known as…
- Finding Pinocchio’s Nose: What Science Tells Us About Lying · 28 minFor millenia, curious minds have been trying to find a universal piece of evidence that tells us someone is lying. From polygraph tests to studies examining eye contact and body…
- Bats Drink Blood But They Also Make Friends · 30 minBats aren’t just symbols of darkness and evil, they are incredible creatures that are unique among mammals. Just ask our guest, evolutionary biologist and bat expert, Dr. Dan…
- What Happens When You Donate Your Body to Science · 30 minHalloween is almost here! And we are leaning in. This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine goes all in on fear, death, and rebirth to celebrate spooky season. First, she looks into…
- Seeing Sound & Tasting Words: Systems of Synesthesia · 25 minAccording to neuroscientist Dr. Jamie Ward, everyone knows someone with synesthesia. It’s an under-discussed form of neurodiversity that blends the senses and creates a unique…
- Translating Science is More Complex Than You Think · 28 minEnglish being the common language in scientific research has its pros and cons. Scientists can collaborate easier and research can become more accessible, but what do we lose in…
- Can I Cut Mold Off My Cheese?: The Science of Food · 31 minLike it or not, food safety is something that people often bend the rules on. We leave leftovers on the counter too long, we use the five second rule, or maybe we don’t wash our…
- Mythbusting Reproductive Health · 29 minReproduction is the basis for life and yet, for many, it’s still a mystery. This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by author and gynecologist Dr. Karen Tang to discuss the…
- Awareness in a Vegetative State · 31 minWhen someone goes into a coma or vegetative state, it is only natural for their doctors and loved ones to try to understand their level of awareness of the world around them…
- Menstruation in Space · 26 minMicrogravity causes a ton of changes in the human body and there’s been a lot of research showing how these changes affect astronauts. One bodily function that hasn’t been…
- Why Does My Brain Make Me So Sensitive · 25 minThere’s a misconception that feeling deep emotions is a personality trait, rather than a neurological phenomenon. A lot of the time, it’s nature, not nurture that causes…
- Lefties, Raise Your Hands · 30 minMost people are right-handed. So this episode, we are celebrating International Left-Handers Day to honor the 10% of the population that are left-handed. To discuss the unique…
- Training the Families of Astronauts: Then and Now · 26 minIt’s been 57 years since humans first landed on the moon and there are a lot of ways that space travel has evolved since then. One of the major differences is that we now support…
- CSI Shark: Forensics of a Shark Attack · 27 minResearching apex predators often means putting yourself in situations that are mind-boggling to the average person. Our guest, Rosie Moore, is no stranger to this. She’s found…
- If You Give a Shark a Cookie… · 31 minIt’s that time of year again… #SharkWeek starts July 26 on Discovery and HBO Max. To celebrate, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by renowned shark behavior expert and Shark Week…
- Programming the Body to Fight Cancer · 29 minThere is some recent research that’s testing out cancer treatments that can utilize the power of our immune systems to attack cancer cells. It’s called CAR T-cell therapy and it…
- Jealousy Vs. Envy · 27 minEverybody experiences feelings of the old green-eyed monster now and again, but for such a common mental state, there’s a surprising lack of scientific research about it. This…
- The Researchers Translating Whale Language · 24 minUnderstanding animal communication has always seemed out of reach, but as technology advances, it might be more possible than ever before. Project CETI is an organization aimed…
- The Machine That Lets Us Look At Dark Energy · 25 minThe universe is expanding and the people of Earth want to know more! The Nancy Grace Roman Telescope is set to launch sometime in 2026 which will bring about some answers when it…
- Cocaine is in Our Waterways. How are Animals Responding? · 26 minIn this episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is asking a hard-hitting question: why are scientists giving salmon cocaine? Well, it turns out that the reasoning has less to do with…
- Science Needs Creativity · 27 minScience and art have always intersected but are still thought of as separate and opposing disciplines. This week, to talk about how the two concepts converge and how they benefit…
- Copy, Paste, Clone: What it Takes to Bring Back the Past · 21 minFor a subject that won the Nobel Prize in 2012 and could be considered a scientific miracle, we surprisingly don’t hear a lot about cloning today. This episode, Dr. Vilceu…
- What Out-of-Body Experiences Reveal About Consciousness · 30 minIt might sound like a sci-fi concept, but out-of-body experiences are surprisingly common, affecting up to 20% of the population. To explore what happens when our sense of self…
- Hantavirus Outbreak: Separating Fact from Fear · 21 minAll you late night caffeine drinkers, it turns out that habit might be making you more impulsive. And with all the news of the hantavirus outbreak, we’ve brought on Laurel…
- Why Are People Getting Poop Transplants? · 30 minIt might sound like a wacky treatment, but recently, the fecal microbiota transplant has emerged as an effective way to help reshape our gut microbiomes. There are a lot of ideas…
- How Violent Video Games Shape Perception · 27 minThe debate about video games and mental health has been happening for decades and sometimes it can be hard to cut through the noise. This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is…
- AI in Healthcare Isn’t What You Think · 29 minArtificial Intelligence has seemingly taken over every industry and headline in the past year, making it hard to keep up with advances in the technology. And things are evolving…
- How Much Socializing Do You Really Need? · 31 minRecent studies based on raccoons ability to solve puzzles taught researchers a lot about a raccoon’s desire to learn their environment. Dr. Samantha Yammine speaks to Dr. Ben…
- Ending Animal Testing: Realistic or Not? · 23 minScientific testing on animals has existed for hundreds of years and is considered a controversial element of how modern research is done. To discuss the past, present, and future…
- The Analog Movement · 22 minAs reliance on digital technology increases, there are plenty of people who are rejecting their screens and moving back to physical devices and experiences. The analog movement…
- Inside the High-Tech Hunt for Dinosaur Bones · 29 minThese days, discovering a new species of dinosaur looks a lot different than it does in the movies. Technology enables paleontologists to search for dino bones with care and…
- Medicinal Psychedelics: Hype or Health? · 27 minThe brain is a complex and adaptable organ; one that can be transformed by a multitude of external factors. This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine investigates the ways the brain can…
- Magic Mushrooms Help Trees Gossip · 33 minThe trees are talking about us… but not the way you think. Almost thirty years ago, Dr. Suzanne Simard discovered a vast network of fungal threads beneath the forest floor that…
- Online BS Fools Everyone, Even Experts · 24 minIt’s hard to imagine just how much misinformation lives online and it turns out that people are only able to identify it a fraction of the time. To speak more on developing the…
- Life Under the Sea, No Singing Crabs · 27 minThey say it’s better down where it’s wetter… but is it really? Aquanauts have more in common with astronauts than they do with singing marine life. In fact, NASA conducts…
- Happiness IRL · 26 minIf everyone wants happiness, why does it so often seem hard to achieve? This episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by psychologist Dr. Sonja Lyubomirsky to talk about…
- Tips For Pits: The Science of Body Odor · 23 minIt’s not a stretch to say that everyone suffers from unwanted body odor from time to time. Whether it’s stress, exercise, or heat, there are plenty of reasons why we sweat and…
- History Punished Scientists - Are We Doing the Same Thing? · 27 minIt’s easy to think that every major scientific breakthrough in history was met with acceptance and enthusiastic fanfare, but that is not the case. Many modern scientific truths…
- Does Your Dog Actually Feel Guilt? · 30 minExploring the science behind pet ownership is a more complicated process than you might think. This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by the author of The Science of Pets…
- Urban Ecosystems With The Rat Detective · 24 minWe know that the health of the planet affects human health but what about the other way around? This episode, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by Dr. Kaylee Byers to discuss how…
- The Biggest Animal Sanctuary in the World with Forrest Galante · 27 minThere are always constraints when it comes to conservation. Finances, logistics, population dynamics, medicine, and general care all need to be considered when asking: how do we…
- The End of the Universe · 23 minTo understand how our universe might end, scientists often have to go back to the beginning. This episode of Curiosity Weekly, Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by astrophysicist…
- Why Scientists Can’t Agree on Aging · 28 minIt’s a new year which means many of us are focusing on resolutions designed to take better care of our bodies as we age. But, even those conducting research on healthy aging find…
- Why Society Treats Allergies Like a Nothingburger · 34 minAllergies are estimated to affect upwards of 30% of people globally, so why are they so often swept under the rug? People in restaurants lie about their allergies, food labelling…
- We Are Starting to Talk Like ChatGPT · 30 minLanguage has always evolved but it seems like technology has sped that process up to a staggering degree. Memes, algorithms, AI, and social media are altering the words we use…
- The Inequity of Climate Change · 26 minClimate change is one of the most powerful forces shaping our world today. With an uptick in extreme weather events, it’s time to focus on how to adapt to this new normal from a…
- This is Your Brain on Sleep · 33 minWe spend about a third of our lives sleeping, so you’d think we’d know more when it comes to understanding what is going on in our bodies and brains when we’re doing it. But…
- The Batmobile Lab That Chases Storms · 20 minMeteorologist and storm chaser Dr. Reed Timmer doesn’t just study extreme weather, he drives straight into it with a custom build, storm proof vehicle. Host Dr. Samanthat Yammine…
- How Science Can Hack Flavor · 30 minWill eating mint cancel out the feeling of spice in your mouth? How do you manipulate aroma compounds to mimic the taste of lemon? When it comes to the science of flavor, there…
- This Episode Will Make You Love Math · 36 minIf sitting down to solve a math problem is your personal nightmare, you’re not alone. On this episode, host Dr. Samantha Yammine is joined by drag queen and math communicator…
