Curiosity Daily Discovery

Today, you’ll learn about a tantalizing new discovery about dark energy that could change our understanding of the entire universe, how scientists are pulling electricity from raindrops, and the barcode memory tool inside a chickadee’s brain.  
 
Dark Energy 
 
“A Tantalizing ‘Hint’ That Astronomers Got Dark Energy All Wrong.” by Dennis Overbye. 2024.  “What Is Dark Energy? An Astrophysicist Explains.” Ars Technica. YouTube Video. 2023.  “What is Dark Energy? Inside our accelerating, expanding universe.” by Chelsea Gohd. 2024.  “DESI Data Documentation.” Database. 2023.  
Electric Rain 
 
“New green technology harvests energy from raindrops and humidity.” by Robert F. Service. 2024.  “The Amazing Drinking Bird.” by Brian Rohrig. 2024. “Rapid progress of key clean energy technologies shows the new energy economy is emerging faster than many think.” IEA.org. 2023.    
Chickadees 
 
“Chickadees use memory ‘bar codes’ to find their hidden food stashes.” by Jake Buehler. 2024.  “Barcoding of episodic memories in the hippocampus of a food-caching bird.” by Selmaan N. Chettih, et al. 2024.  “Birdist Rule #71: Figure Out What Kind Of Chickadees You’ve Got.” by Nicholas Lund. 2016.  “Somewhere in the brain is a storage device for memories.” by Laura Sanders. 2018.  “A manifold neural population code for space in hippocampal coactivity dynamics independent of place fields.” by Eliott Robert Joseph Levy, et al. 2023.  “Heterogeneous representations in the hippocampus.” by Kazumasa Z. Tanaka. 2021.  
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Today, you’ll learn about some potential good news about whale populations, what decades-old cans of salmon can tell us about the health of the ocean, and how climate change is literally slowing down the world.  
 
Recovered Whales  
 
“Whale population recovers five years after hundreds washed up dead.” n.a. 2024.  “The gray whale die-off on West Coast is over, NOAA declares.” by Karen Garcia. 2024.  “Endangered Species Day Information.” Endangered Species Coalition. 2020.  
Old Salmon Cans 
 
“Decades-old Cans of Salmon Reveal Changes in Ocean Health.” by Rachel Nuwer. 2024.  “Opening a can of worms: Archived canned fish fillets reveal 40 years of change in parasite burden for four Alaskan salmon species.” by Natalie Mastick, et al. 2024.   
Climate Change & Time 
 
“Climate change is changing how we keep time.” by Carolyn Gramling. 2024.  “A global timekeeping problem postponed by global warming.” by Duncan Carr Agnew. 2024.  “50 years ago, timekeepers deployed the newly invented leap second.” by Cassie Martin. 2024.  
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Today, you’ll learn about an AI-designed window film that could keep your house cool, the mysterious ways Mars causes deep-sea erosion on Earth, and how playing the didgeridoo could help treat sleep apnea.  
 
Cooling Windows   
 
“New window film drops temperature, slashes energy consumption.” by Paul McClure. 2024.  “Engineers use quantum computing to develop transparent window coating that blocks heat, saves energy.” University of Notre Dame. 2022.  “The Solar Spectrum.” Ossila.com. N.d.   
Mars & Erosion 
 
“Mars as a Driver of Deep-Sea Erosion.” by Grace van Deelen. 2024.  “Milankovitch (Orbital) Cycles and Their Role in Earth’s Climate.” NASA Science Editorial Team. 2020.  “Deep-sea hiatus record reveals orbital pacing by 2.4 Myr eccentricity grand cycles.” by Adriana Dutkiewicz, et al. 2024.   
Didgeridoo Slumber 
 
“Playing the Didgeridoo to Treat Sleep Apnea.” by Brandon Peters, MD. 2023.  “What Is Sleep Apnea?” by Brandon Peters, MD. 2023.  “Didgeridoo basics.” Hollow Log Digderidoos. N.d.   
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Today, you’ll learn about an artificial reef that could save the shore from storms, how simply owning a pair of glasses can make you earn more income, and how air conditioners could help CSI detectives solve crimes. 
 
Artificial Reef 
 
“Artificial reef designed by MIT engineers could protect marine life, reduce storm damage.” by Jennifer Chu. 2024.  “Coastal Protection.” Coral Reef Alliance. 2024.  “Architected materials for artificial reefs to increase storm energy dissipation.” by Edvard Ronglan, et al. 2024.   
Glasses & Income 
 
“Having the right glasses could boost earning power by a third, Bangladesh study shows.” by Sarah Johnson. 2024.  “The effect on income of providing near vision correction to workers in Bangladesh: The THRIVE (Tradespeople and Hand-workers Rural Initiative for a Vision-enhanced Economy) randomized controlled trial.” by Farzana Sehrin, et al. 2024.  “Presbyopia.” Mayo Clinic. 2021. “The Global Burden of Potential Productivity Loss from Uncorrected Presbyopia.” by Kevin D. Frick, et al. 2015.   
AC DNA 
 
“Cold case: DNA in airconditioners to place suspects at the scene of a crime.” by Ben Coxworth. 2024.  “Up in the air: Presence and collection of DNA from air and air conditioner units.” by Mariya Goray, et al. 2024.   
Follow Curiosity Daily on your favorite podcast app to get smarter with Calli and Nate — for free! Still curious? Get exclusive science shows, nature documentaries, and more real-life entertainment on discovery+! Go to https://discoveryplus.com/curiosity to start your 7-day free trial. discovery+ is currently only available for US subscribers. 

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Today, you’ll learn about a revolutionary new system that can turn saltwater into drinking water with the help of the sun, how your brain chooses what memories to keep, and a super-Earth with a really dark side.  
 
Solar Drinking Water 
 
“Solar-powered technology converts saltwater into drinking water emission-free.” King’s College London. 2024.  “Flexible batch electrodialysis for low-cost solar-powered brackish water desalination.” by Wei He, et al. 2024.  “Valuing Water.” United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. 2021.  
Forgetting Memories 
 
“How the brain chooses which memories are important enough to save and which to let fade away.” by Linda Carroll. 2024.  “Relax! It’ll boost your memory, study shows.” by Kate Kelland. 2010.  “Normal and Abnormal Sharp Wave Ripples in the Hippocampal-Entohinal Cortex System: Implications for Memory Consolidation, Alzheimer’s Disease, and Temporal Lobe Epilepsy.” by Zhi-Hang Zhen, et al. 2021.   
Super-Earth 
 
“This super-Earth is the first planet confirmed to have a permanent dark side.” by Joseph Howlett. 2024.  “LHS 3844 b.” NASA Exoplanet Catalog. N.d.  “Tidal Locking.” NASA. 2024. 
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Today, you’ll learn about a massive discovery of new species from the depths of the ocean, why you shouldn’t buy your brand new driver their own car, and a possible breakthrough in microchip data collection from animals.  
 
New Marine Species  
 
“Scientists Discover 100 New Marine Species in New Zealand.” by Rebecca Carballo. 2024.  “Expedition to Uncover Secrets of New Zealand’s Unexplored Bounty Trough.” Ocean Census. 2024.  “Our Mission: Enhancing Ocean Life Discovery Worldwide.” Ocean Census. 2024.  “This metal marvel collects time capsules of life from the abyss.” Marine Biodiversity Hub. 2017.   
Teen Drivers 
 
“‘Don’t buy your kids a car’: young drivers with own cars in more crashes.” by Lachlan  Gilbert. 2024.  “Young drivers’ early access to their own car and crash risk into early adulthood: Findings from DRIVE study.” by Huei-Yang Chen, et al. 2024.  “Teen Drivers.” Injury Facts. 2024.  “Young Drivers.” NHTSA. 2022.  “Teen Driver Statistics.” Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia Research Institute. 2024.   
Animal Microchips 
 
“Injectable Microchip Tracks Animal Health.” by Julianne Pepitone. 2024. “Microchips Result In Higher Rate Of Return Of Shelter Animals To Owners.” by Linda Lord. 2009.  “A Subcutaneously Injectable Implant for Multimodal Physiological Monitoring in Animals.” by Parvez Ahmmed, et al. 2024.  
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