Shark Week: The Podcast Discovery

FACT: Abandoned bricks of cocaine wash ashore every year off the coast of Florida from drug smugglers evading the Coast Guard. FICTION: We need to be worried about cocaine fueled sharks. Your host Kasha Patel imagines what would happen if sharks consumed that cocaine and explores the science behind it. 

“Behavioral screening for cocaine sensitivity in mutagenized zebrafish,” by Tristan Darland and John E. Dowling “Yes, ‘Cocaine Bear’ Was Real. Here’s the Back Story.” by Amanda Holpuch Powdered Cocaine Fast Facts, by National Drug Intelligence Center “Are ‘Cocaine Sharks’ Really Scarfing Down Drugs off Florida’s Coasts?” by: Jack Timisiea “How sharks recycle toxic ammonia to keep their skin moist,” by University of British Columbia “Are whale sharks exposed to persistent organic pollutants and plastic pollution in the Gulf of California (Mexico)? First ecotoxicological investigation using skin biopsies,” by Maria Cristina Fossi, Matteo Baini, Cristina Panti, Matteo Galli, Begoña Jiménez, Juan Muñoz-Arnanz, Letizia Marsili, Maria Grazia Finoia, Dení Ramírez-Macías NBC News Learn: Ocean Acidification Uptake of human pharmaceuticals in bull sharks (Carcharhinus leucas) inhabiting a wastewater-impacted river WPLG Local 10: Keys locals find hauls of cocaine worth over $2 million Business Insider: Tracking Drug Smugglers And Unauthorized Migrants With The Coast Guard In Miami Animal Fact Files: Nurse Shark Facts: why a NURSE? 🦈 Animal Fact Files The Verge: Italy’s eels have a cocaine problem 
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FACT: Some female sharks can reproduce without a fertilized egg; it’s a phenomenon called parthenogenesis. FICTION: A Coney Island fortune teller predicts a shark cloning miracle. Your host, Kasha Patel, imagines what would happen if spectators witnessed a shark give a virgin birth and explores the science behind the various ways sharks reproduce. 
  
A full guide to shark reproduction and baby sharks by Gili Shark Conservation Switch from sexual to parthenogenetic reproduction in a zebra shark by Christine L. Dudgeon, Laura Coulton, Ren Bone, Jennifer R. Ovenden & Severine Thomas  Virgin births from parthenogenesis: How females from some species can reproduce without males by Mercedes Burns How does a shark reproduce without a mate? By Louisa Wright Lone Parents: Parthenogenesis in Sharks by Wendee Holtcamp Intrauterine Cannibalism in Sharks by ReefQuest Centre for Shark Research Shark Cannibalism: It's A Thing And It Just Got Weirder by Melissa Cristina Marquez Body, jaw, and dentition lengths of macrophagous lamniform sharks, and body size evolution in Lamniformes with special reference to ‘off-the-scale’ gigantism of the megatooth shark, Otodus megalodon by Kenshu Shimada Cannibalism in animals is more common than you think by Liz Langley  
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FACT: Sharks can sense electrical currents in saltwater, where salt ions conduct electricity. This ability allows them to detect the electrical signals generated by the movement of animals, including potential prey...FICTION: In 1937, off the coast of Bondi Beach a shark read the thoughts of an environmental engineer. Your host, Kasha Patel, imagines how a shark could read a human’s mind and the science behind how they actually communicate.  
    
Forrest Galante - Forrest Galante The Shark Whisperer - Nautilus Shark Senses - Shark Trust Shark Senses - Hawaii Government Research Blacktip Reef Shark  - Darmawan Mukharror and Dewi Susiloningtyas White Shark Spy Hopping - Mark Graham Animal Communication - PBS Nova Jaws 4 | Tom and Jerry Trivia - IMDB 
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FACT: Many products today are inspired by sharks, from medical research to Olympic swimsuits. FICTION: In the 1940s, the military created a shark-man mega soldier by injecting shark DNA into its bravest recruits. Kasha unpacks biomimicry with the help of her guest, Steve Kessel, Director of Marine Research at the John G. Shedd Aquarium in Chicago, Illinois.
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FACT: Sharks have been around longer than dinosaurs. We can make guesses and similarities and analogs of what could have happened, but we're never going to know how life started on Earth. FICTION: Sharks are aliens! Join host Kasha Patel as she traces the ancient origins of sharks, their evolution, their cultural significance, genetic insights, and theories about life's cosmic origins.

Gavin Naylor - Gavin Naylor Big Bang Hum - John G. Cramer,University of Washington Shark Fossils - Florida Museum of Natural History Shark Evolution - Natural History Museum  Shark Cultural Significance - Hakai Magazine Shark Cultural Significance - History Collection Fermi Paradox - Space.com Fermi Paradox - Live Science Alien Theories - National Geographic 
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FACT: Scientists have studied and observed shark shivers to ascertain whether their social behavior is driven by mutual companionship or survival instincts. FICTION: Sharks go on roadtrips just like humans. Join host Kasha Patel as she delves into groundbreaking research on shark social behavior and chats with Dr. Yanis Papastamatou, the esteemed head of the Predatory Ecology and Conservation Lab at Florida International University. 
 
Dr. Yanis Papastamatou - Dr. Yanis Papastamatou How sharks choose their friends - Bimini Biological Field Station Foundation Social preferences - University of Miami Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science (UM) and the Institute of Zoology at the Zoological Society London (ZSL)  Complex Social Networks - Advancing Earth and Space Sciences Social Lives of Sharks - Florida International University Shark Shiver Observations - Stanford University    Social Dynamics of Shark Hunting - Shark Project Social Structures of Great Whites - Oceanographic 
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