Ovarian Failure Cure, Honeypot Ants, AI Insomnia

Summary

Curiosity Weekly – Episode Summary
Podcast: Curiosity Weekly from Discovery
Host: Dr. Samantha Yammine (Daily Hosts: Nate & Callie)
Episode: Ovarian Failure Cure, Honeypot Ants, AI Insomnia
Date: September 7, 2023

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Overview

This episode dives into three fascinating scientific breakthroughs and curiosities:

• A promising potential cure for ovarian failure using stem cells
• The unique medicinal properties of “honeypot ant” honey
• Surprising emotional side effects of working with AI, including loneliness and insomnia

Hosts Nate and Callie break down new research, highlight their real-world significance, and share memorable anecdotes and quotes.

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Key Discussion Points & Insights

1. Stem Cells for Ovarian Failure (Starts 02:33)

• Background: Chemotherapy (not cancer itself) and genetic issues can cause ovarian failure, leading to infertility, reduced estrogen, and even autoimmune disorders. Around 5% of people with ovaries are affected.
• Current Solutions: Egg or embryo freezing and donor eggs are standard, but often unsatisfactory (“Imagine going through cancer treatment and then having to deal with that. It’s so terrible.” – Nate, 03:06).
• Breakthrough Research:
  • Researchers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital created pluripotent stem cells from mouse ovaries (03:48).
  • These stem cells, thanks to “epigenic memory,” transform back into ovarian cells and produce both estrogen and progesterone (04:09–04:21).
  • Implanted into mice sterilized by chemo, these cells restored fertility; the treated mice conceived and gave birth, and offspring were fertile as well (04:29–04:48).
  • Even more surprising, injecting cells into one ovary sometimes healed the other ovary as well (04:51).
  • The findings suggest scientists may be on the verge of learning what actually triggers the healing process, possibly even independent of stem cells (05:05).

Notable Quotes:

• “Ooh, stem cells. Magic little cells that can grow up to become anything.” – Nate (03:39)
• “It is just that simple.” – Callie (04:51)

Cautions:

• Still just in mice—human trials and long-term genetic impact studies are needed (05:21).

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2. Medicinal Benefits of Honeypot Ant Honey (Starts 05:21)

• Discovery: Australian researchers find honeypot ant (“Camponotus inflatus”) honey has distinct antimicrobial and antifungal properties.
• Cultural Context: Indigenous Australians (“First Nations”) have enjoyed these ants as a delicacy and natural remedy for generations, using the honey for sore throats and for wound care (06:06–07:11).
• How It Works:
  • Honeypot ants swell with honey in their balloon-like abdomens and share it with colony-mates (06:22–06:50).
  • The honey differs chemically from bee honey, including New Zealand’s famed manuka honey (07:17–07:25).
  • Research shows honeypot ant honey is effective against bacteria like golden staph and certain fungi (07:28–08:03).

Notable Quotes:

• “Balloon filled with honey. That sounds both delicious and kind of… disgusting and messy, to say the least.” – Nate & Callie (06:33–06:39)
• “It’s a honey buffet. Exactly.” – Callie (06:53)
• “Honey is kind of a miracle ooze, isn’t it? It’s sweet and soothing and totally nature made.” – Nate (07:11)
• “I’m convinced. You sold me. Where do I get some of this fancy honey?” – Nate (08:09)

Practical Considerations:

• Not yet widely harvestable or commercially available; harvesting is difficult and more research is needed, but the findings could lead to new antibiotics and antifungals (08:13).

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3. AI at Work: Emotional & Social Effects (Starts 09:45)

• Trend: AI use at work is skyrocketing, compared by some to the Industrial Revolution, with unpredictable social side effects (09:51–10:13).
• The Studies:
  • Four studies across different workplaces revealed consistent findings: those who use AI felt lonelier, suffered more insomnia, and reported higher rates of alcohol consumption after work (11:05–11:22).
  • These workers also reported being more helpful to colleagues, perhaps seeking human connection (11:26–11:50).
• Interpretation: The research shows correlation, not causation—AI doesn’t directly “cause” loneliness, but its use is linked to social isolation (10:38).

Notable Quotes:

• “Lonely, tired, drinking too much, and helpful. How does that fit?” – Callie (11:44)
• “I hope not. The thing is, humans are social animals, right? So they think that working with AI has a sort of isolating effect.” – Nate (11:26)
• “AI will not just take up some of our busy work. It might help us find space to connect with each other once again. IRL.” – Nate (12:24)

Key Takeaway: “We gotta do everything we can to figure it out before it’s too late.” – Nate (12:01)

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Memorable Moments

• Callie’s dry humor around honey: “It’s a honey buffet. Exactly.” (06:53)
• Nate’s pun exchange after the honey story: “All right, sweet.” – Nate (08:36) / “I see what you did there. My pun was better.” – Callie (08:37)
• Subtle reassurance vs. anxiety about AI—balancing the episode’s optimism and skepticism (12:21–12:37).

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Timestamps for Key Segments

• Welcome & Topics Preview: 02:12–02:33
• Ovarian Failure Cure: 02:33–05:21
• Honeypot Ants & Honey: 05:21–08:36
• AI & Workplace Emotions: 09:45–12:37
• Episode Recap/Summary: 12:47–13:17

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Recap

• Stem Cell Success: A groundbreaking method restored fertility to chemotherapy-damaged mice, raising hope for future infertility cures.
• Honeypot Ant Honey: Ancient remedies meet modern science as unique ant-derived honey demonstrates the power to fight different microbes.
• AI at Work: Interactions with AI may be changing workplace well-being in unexpected ways—highlighting the need for more research as AI continues spreading.

For further inquiry:
Tune in next week for more digestible science, and look out for continued updates as these stories evolve.

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Curiosity Weekly – Digging into discoveries, so you don’t need a PhD to be amazed.

Transcript

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

ACAST helps creators launch, grow and monetize their podcasts everywhere. Hi, you're about to get smarter in just a few minutes with Curiosity Daily from Discovery. Time flies when you're learning super cool stuff. I'm Nate.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

And I'm Callie. If you're dropping in for the first time, welcome to Curiosity, where we aim to blow your mind by helping you to grow your mind. If you're a loyal listener, welcome back.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Today you'll learn about how researchers are using stem cells to cure infertility in mice, the health benefits of honey made by ants, and the potential emotional toll of using AI at work.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Without further ado, let's satisfy some curiosity. As cancer rates go up in young adults, a new problem is on. The infertility caused by ovarian failure. But there is good news on the horizon.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Hang on. Is cancer causing all of this infertility?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Not directly. It's the chemotherapy that's used to treat cancer, especially ovarian cancer. And the thing is, there's currently nothing doctors can do to reverse infertility chemotherapy. Most women who think they would still like to have children after treatment have to undergo the process of freezing their eggs or embryos, or they have to use donor eggs down the road.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Imagine going through cancer treatment and then having to deal with that. It's so terrible. And it must take a ton of courage to go through, right?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

But that's not the only cause of ovarian failure. Some women have genetic issues that cause infertility. But the long and short of it is ovarian failure can lead not just to infertility, but also to lower estrogen levels and even autoimmune disorders. And estimates, up to 5% of people with ovaries suffer some level of ovarian failure. So there are a lot of reasons to celebrate a potential breakthrough using stem cells.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Ooh, stem cells. Magic little cells that can grow up to become anything. We haven't talked about stem cells in a while. How are they using them to treat ovarian failure?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

This is a really exciting study, actually. A research team from Brigham and Women's Hospital created what's called pluripotent stem cells from mouse ovaries. So the pluripotent stem cells, like you said, can basically turn lab. They turned into ovarian cells just on their own.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Like these little stem cells just decided to turn into ovarian cells.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

I mean, yeah, they think that happened because of something called epigenic memory. Basically, they think a cell has a sort of memory, and it uses that memory to grow and change.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

That's pretty mind blowing.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yeah, totally. And the ovarian cells that came out of those stem cells started producing estrogen and progesterone.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

And those are the hormones that are needed for fertility.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Exactly. And they were able to change into eg Yahweh. But the real magic is what happened next. They implanted these stem cells into mice that had gone through chemotherapy, and they regained their fertility. They were able to conceive, give birth, and all of those cute little mice babies were eventually able to have babies of their own.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

So their infertility was just reversed.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

It is just that simple. Not only that but when they injected the cells into one of the mouse's ovaries, the recovery spread to the other one, too.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Okay, if I'm hearing you right, this sounds like a cure for infertility. Isn't this just, you know, kind of too good to be true?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

It's even better than that, actually. Seeing how one ovary could heal the other one makes them think that they might be on the verge of figuring out the actual mechanisms that promote the healing process. That could mean treatments that don't even need stem cells.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

For so many women trying to conceive, this feels like a miracle.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yeah. Well, as with any breakthrough, researchers are quick to say, not so fast. More research is needed on the knock on effects of this treatment. Like how does it affect the genes of offspring? But not only that, they still need to figure out if it can even be replicated in humans. But in the case of infertility, any news is good news. Researchers in Australia are finding that honey could have some pretty special antimicrobial properties that could lead to new medicines for all sorts of things.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

All right, but don't we already know that honey is antimicrobial? Like, my mom used to make me honey tea if I had a cold.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yes, but this new study is looking for the first time at ant honey, which means it's anti microbial.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

I get it.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

The Australian honeypot ant, or the Camponotus inflatus, is a pretty amazing little creature that the indigenous Australians, or First nations, have known about for thousands of years.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

I had no idea that ants could produce honey. That's. That's pretty wild.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

It's even cooler than it sounds. So they live in huge colonies, and some of them will slurp up all the food they can possibly fit into their bodies, and their abdomens swell up into something that looks like a balloon filled with honey.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Balloon filled with honey. That sounds both delicious and kind of.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Disgusting and messy, to say the least. So these workers with the honey balloon bodies hang out and wait for their hungry friends to walk by so they can basically spit honey into their mouths.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Mmm. They're like a living snack bar.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

It's a honey buffet. Exactly. So, like I said, first nations people have been digging for these little guys for thousands of years. The way people over here take their kids strawberry picking, it's sort of a bit of a treat. But they've also found that it helps to soothe sore throats, and they even use it on minor cuts and scrapes to ward off infection.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Honey is kind of a miracle ooze, isn't It. It's sweet and soothing and totally nature made.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Exactly. But scientists wanted to know if honey pot and honey was different than honey made by bees. After testing, they found that it was in fact, different.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

I guess that makes sense. I mean, they're ants.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

True. But it's also just honey. Right. Or so they originally thought. But when compared to manuka honey, which is bee honey found in New Zealand that has also been found to have antimicrobial properties, they found that the honeypot ant honey is actually effective against different bacteria and fungi.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Oh, okay. So different honey can treat different things?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yeah. They found that it was effective against golden staph infections, which is caused by a bacteria that lives on our skin and nose, but can lead to some pretty crazy infections. If they enter our bodies through a cut, they can even lead to death.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

But honeypot ant honey can fight that off.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yeah, and they can fight off a couple of species of fungi that can cause real problems in people with suppressed immune systems.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

I'm convinced. You sold me. Where do I get some of this fancy honey?

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Well, you'll have to wait or go on a honeypot ant tour in Australia. For now, researchers would like to do more research on the effects of the honey. And so far, there isn't a real market for it. That could be because it's hard to harvest. But even if you won't be eating honeypot honey anytime soon, researchers think this new study could lead to a lot of new and natural treatments for everything from staph infections to the common cold.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

All right, Sweet.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

I see what you did there. My pun was better.

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

We've talked a lot about AI recently.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

And I would guess we'll be talking about it a lot in the near future, too, right?

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

If trends continue. You don't need a large language model to tell you that AI is not only here to stay, but it's just going to keep evolving and quickly. Some are comparing the rise of AI to the Industrial Revolution. And just like the Industrial Revolution raised millions upon millions of people out of poverty, it also came with some unforeseen bad stuff.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Yeah, like climate change.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

That's a good example. But AI is evolving so quickly that some are warning about the unintended consequences that we aren't even able to predict yet. And four new experiments are showing a link between using AI at work and feelings of loneliness and increased alcohol consumption.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Wait, so AI is making people lonely and wanting to drink? I mean, talk about unintended consequences. That one's horrible.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Well, so these studies don't show causation. They only show a correlation. Let's talk about these studies so you can see what I mean. Lead researcher Park Man Tong worked in an investment bank and used AI before he worked to get his PhD. So he was fascinated by the psychological effects of AI.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Right. It feels like there's been a ton of research done on how AI helps productivity or on what kinds of jobs are going to be lost because of it, but not much done on how it affects our emotions.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Exactly. So he conducted four studies in total on four different groups of workers in four different locations. And the results from each study matched up for the most part. They found that employees who worked with AI systems felt lonelier, were more likely to suffer from insomnia, and also drank more alcohol after work.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

What the heck? Is their AI chatbot giving them subliminal messages or something?

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

I hope not. The thing is, humans are social animals, right? So they think that working with AI has a sort of isolating effect. And that theory might be supported by the fact that not only did the use of AI correlate to all these other bad things, the people in the study who used AI also tended to be more helpful to their colleagues.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Okay, wait a second. Lonely, tired, drinking too much, and helpful. How does that fit?

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Again, they can't pinpoint a specific reason, but they have a hunch it might be because they crave that basic human connection that comes from when you help out a friend.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

So what do we do with this information?

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

That's the important thing here. Like I said, these studies don't show that AI causes these problems, only that the use of AI is linked to them. And because AI is advancing at lightning speed, studies like these are more essential than ever. With AI, we really just don't know what we're getting ourselves into. But we gotta do everything we can to figure it out before it's too late.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Well, that's a happy thought. I mean, I'm kidding. It's terrifying.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Here's a little bit of hope. Knowing that the people in the study were also more helpful to their friends might signal that AI will not just take up some of our busy work. It might help us find space to connect with each other once again. Irl.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

Okay, I mean, I'll take that hope, but I'm still skeptical.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Well, fair enough. Maybe there'll even be more hopeful news about AI in the future that will change your mind.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

I mean, if there is, you'll hear about it right here.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

First, let's recap what we learned today. To wrap up, researchers used stem cells to reverse ovarian failure in mice due to chemotherapy and genetic issues. If the process can be replicated in humans, this could mean hope for millions of women suffering from infertility.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

A new study in Australia has found that honey made by the honeypot ant has antimicrobial and antifungal properties that could be used to develop new treatments for everything from staph infections, the common cold. First nations people have been enjoying the benefits of the sweet little ant for millennia.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

Scientists have found that workers who use AI tend to suffer more feelings of loneliness, insomnia, and tend to drink more alcohol after work. Their studies don't show that AI causes these issues, only that they are correlated. They also found that workers who use AI are more helpful to their colleagues. So the news isn't all bad. Curiosity Daily is produced by Wheelhouse DNA for discovery.

[Callie (Curiosity Daily Co-host)]

You can follow our show wherever. Get your podcast and we would love it if you could take a second to leave us a five star review on Apple Podcasts.

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[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

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We're reconsidering everything right now. What is time post Covid? What is truth in Trump's America? Is you've got mail secretly a movie about a creepy, gaslighting stalker? We can't answer the first two questions, but we have opinions about the third. We on Hot and Bothered are revisiting romance movies of the past and asking, what were these movies teaching us? What did we not even realize they were teaching us? Hot and Bothered is me, Vanessa Zoltan, a pop culture critic and nice lady with opinions, and Hannah McGregor, a bonafide professor of media studies, loving love stories and also just a little bit concerned. Come listen to Hot and Bothered.

[Nate (Curiosity Daily Host)]

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