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- [00:00]
A
So good, so good, so good.
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Score holiday gifts. Everyone wants for way less at your Nordstrom Rack store. Save on Ugg, Nike, Rag and Bone, Vince Frame, Kurt Geiger, London and more.
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C
Because there's always something new. I'm giving all the gifts this year.
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A
With that extra 5% off when I use my Nordstrom credit card.
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B
Santa who join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock our best deals. It's easy. Big gifts, big perks. That's why you rack.
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D
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- [01:01]
E
If you're an H VAC technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor, there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER clickgrainger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
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A
What happens when we push the boundaries of human capability? Well, we're about to find out. This is Curiosity Weekly and I'm your host, Dr. Samantha Yamin. Technology is constantly pushing the limits of what our bodies can do with wearable exoskeletons that give us superhuman strength to brain computer interfaces that allow people to communicate with their thoughts. The possibilities are incredible. And we're about to learn about a new bionic eye that can restore some vision to people with a certain type of blindness. But while technology can expand these physical frontiers, our bodies also face new challenges from the limits imposed by our changing environment. Senior producer Teresa Carey will talk with Dr. Georges Benjamin about the complex link between climate change and human health and how communities are adapting in creative ways. And speaking of limits, stick around to the end because I'm excited to share with you a new study that explores whether there's a cap on how much energy our bodies can spend. This study will give us insights into our metabolism and what it means for fitness. A new wireless implant is a hopeful step for people living with a common form of severe vision loss called age related macular degeneration Scientists have announced success with a tiny high tech eye implant that could actually help people regain some lost sight, so specifically in their central vision in the back of the eye. That central part of the retina helps us focus on finer details. This is crucial for common tasks like reading or driving. But with macular degeneration that center part of the retina is lost over time. When the disease advances, it can cause blindness and central vision, making everyday activities like reading, identifying loved ones or safely navigating new places difficult. Currently, it's the leading cause of irreversible blindness in older adults. That's where the PRIMA system comes in. The device is a combination of an implant and specialized glasses and a team from the University of Bonn in Germany and Science Corporation tested the system in a clinical trial and published the results in the New England Journal of Medicine. The PRIMA system has two a wafer thin electronic chip that's implanted into the eye and glasses equipped with a specialized camera that the patients simultaneously wear. The chip itself is photovoltaic, meaning it's wireless and self powered by light. The two pieces are designed to work together. The camera takes in the surrounding world. The images, shapes and contrast, much like any camera would. But instead of projecting that onto film or screen, this camera's feed is converted into infrared signals and projected through the eye and picked up by the implant. Then the implant stimulates the remaining healthy cells in the retina, which send signals back into the brain, effectively filling in some of the gaps left by the disease. The team tested this PRIMA system with 38 participants, all of whom had already lost lots of their Central Vision. After one year, more than 80% of the participants showed a clinically meaningful improvement in vision. Some of them had regained enough sight when using the system to read words. The reading was slow and vision only in black and white. But it was a significant improvement, a life changing difference for people who'd largely lost the ability to read words and sentences. The team hopes that this kind of bionic vision could offer some independence for people with age related macular degeneration in the future? Who drives the world forward?
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The one with the answers or the one asking the right questions? At Aramco, we start every day by asking how? How can innovation help deliver reliable energy to the world? How can technology help develop new materials to reshape cities? How can collaboration help us overcome the biggest challenges? To get to the answer, we first need to ask the right question. Search Aramco Powered by How Aramco is an energy and chemicals company with oil and gas production as its primary business.
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B
You know you've reached peak couple energy when your undies match. Meundies Match Me has you both covered literally in super soft ultra modal undies, soft socks, PJs and loungewear. Festive prints? Check. Cozy vibes? Double check. And right now it's deal season. Get up to 50% off site wide for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. Take your couple game to the next level with Meundies Match Me. To get deals up to 50% off, go to Meundies.com acast Enter promo code acast that's Meundies.com acasta code acast if.
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You'Re the purchasing manager at a manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.
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A
As the planet's thermostat rises, relentless heat waves and smoky skies can add new strain to our bodies. To explore how our bodies can and can't adapt, senior producer Teresa Carey is joined by Dr. Georges C. Benjamin, Executive Director of the American Public Health Association. They'll talk about climate driven health impacts and how we can protect our communities, especially the most vulnerable among us. Dr. Benjamin leads the charge in building resilient, equitable responses to one of the most pressing challenges of our time. Here they are.
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G
Dr. B. It's so great to have you on the podcast.
- [07:48]
C
Well, thank you very much. I'm glad to be here. Absolutely.
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G
Climate change is increasingly recognized not just as an environmental issue, but also a profound public health challenge. And so over the recent years, we've seen some inspiring examples of communities and health systems that are adapting to these new realities, from early warning systems to innovative cooling centers. So to start, could you share with us some of the most hopeful developments that you've seen in the public health's response to climate change.
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C
I think there's a growing recognition of the fact that climate change is real and is impacting our health right now. This is not one of those futuristic things. When we first started talking about climate change, a lot of people said, it's in the future, we've got time. Well, we don't. And so people right now are recognizing, you know, the heat waves, the wildfires, the extreme weather that we're seeing all over the world is impacting them. And they're beginning to connect the dots. Not everybody, but people are beginning to connect the dots to the terrible, terrible health impact that climate change poses, both in the short term for sure, and they're beginning to understand their long term implications behind it as well.
- [09:08]
G
Even though climate change poses some big challenges, we've also seen some incredible scientific advances in understanding how to protect vulnerable groups from heat stress. Can you share some some breakthrough research or technologies that give you hope for reducing heat related illnesses in the future?
- [09:24]
C
Well, you know, one of the more innovative ones is smart surfaces. You know, smart surfaces is the concept that you can build communities to reduce the temperature of their community. So one of the things we know, for example, is that lower income communities can be as much as 10 degrees hotter than the more affluent community. So the question is, why is that? Well, they have darker surfaces, you know, more dirt, less green space, darker roofs, less trees. You know, when what happened in a low income community is instead of re putting, you know, fixing the parks, they pave them over, put these dark asphalt coverings in, they build the homes very cheaply and they just put this kind of asphalt level black covering on the roofs. So we know that if you can put light covering on the roofs, you get reflective surfaces that if you can, there are these amazing new surfaces you could put on roads where the water gets absorbed so you don't get the flooding. You can put in more trees, more green space. And if you do that in a productive way, you can actually get a dramatic reduction of as much as 10 degrees. Now, 10 degrees may not sound like a big deal, but it turns out it is, particularly in a community where people don't open their windows. In fact, some of those windows are nailed shut because of safety concerns. And so people are living in places that get real hot pretty quickly. And if you're in a high rise apartment, remember the heat rises. So those seniors that are living in those buildings, which may or may not, by the way, have air conditioning, A, because they don't have air conditioning, or B because of the cost of Energy, those folks are at higher risk of basically living in a stove when it gets really hot. So there are many things that you can do with smart services to do that. The other thing, of course, is on the response side doing the work, the hard work to identify what, where the most vulnerable populations are. Who's elderly, who doesn't have access to water, who doesn't have. The mobility and health departments working with social services agencies are now beginning to identify where those people are, either individually, because you know the individuals, or by looking at the high risk populations, because you know where the high risk populations are. And then those are some of the first places you go when there are projections that the temperature is going to be hot that day, particularly when it's not just high heat, but also high humidity, because that combination is very dangerous. And then you go into those communities and you offer them support, shelter, you remove them from that, from the, from the, from the risk. If they're electricity dependent, for example, someone on a respirator or who gets portable oxygen and they're required to be plugged in when the power goes out, you want to rush to them right away and provide the support so that they don't die or become sicker because they don't have the electricity that they need to survive. So those are the kinds of systems and structural things that you could do.
- [12:52]
G
And so these smart surfaces, is this economical or is this for just higher income housing?
- [12:59]
C
No, no, it's economical, it turns out. Let me just remind you that because we do this a lot, because it's irritating, right? One of the irritating things in my life is that every year they redo the surfaces of the roads. So they're going to redo those surfaces anyway. So even if it costs a little bit more money to increase the surface of the road, the incremental savings on the health side of the equation offsets the cost of the additional cost for the surfaces. The other thing is those surfaces tend to be more durable, so they tend to last a little longer. So the answer is yes, you can actually save money by doing this, both on the economic side of the structural savings as well as on the health side of the equation.
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G
That definitely does feel hopeful because these are things, paving the road, maintaining buildings, these are things we're going to do anyway.
- [13:56]
C
Yep, we do it all the time. And you know, if you think about what happens when you have a flood, you think about all the resources that are involved in addressing these emergencies where you have to remove people from a building because it's gotten too hot in that building, that's a savings too that often doesn't get calculated.
- [14:18]
G
So I think a lot of people are just beginning to understand how climate change directly affects vulnerable populations. As you mentioned, especially older adults facing extreme heat, heat waves, they're becoming more frequent, more intense. And the impact on human health is really complicated. It could be worsening chronic conditions, it could be sleep disruptions, medication effects. So from what you've observed, how is the public health system working to protect these particularly at risk groups?
- [14:48]
C
Well, doing a lot of education to make sure that they understand what those risks are. Again, identifying where those high risk populations are and focusing on them when an emergency occurs and literally before the emergency occurs. So when there's prediction of bad weather to going in right away and pre positioning supplies, equipment response capacity going in and again removing people from high risk situations. Beginning to think about how you can reduce their dependence on high cost electricity and high cost power systems. One of the problems we have with lower income individuals is, is they pay a lot more of their disposable income for power. And that's one of the other problems. So to the extent you can reduce their costs for electricity and for gas and for the things that well to do, people just take for granted.
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A
Yeah.
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G
And so we can see that this health crisis isn't experienced equally across communities. It really equity is at the front and center of this. And you've mentioned that a couple times throughout our conversation so far.
- [16:02]
C
Well, it is a reminder that these folks actually contribute less to the problem than those of us who are more well to do, who are actually spending more money and using more resources and actually contributing more to the climate problem. I can tell you one of the biggest contributors to the climate problem is the health system. We're an enormous contributor. We consume a lot of products that contribute to the climate crisis. And so the health system, if we could just focus just on the health system, getting the health systems more in the renewables, upgrading some of our H Vac systems and our energy systems. Within hospitals we have a lot of very old heating systems, particularly some of the older hospitals. And to the extent that we can upgrade those so that they're much more energy efficient, we can do a lot to reduce the climate crisis that the health system itself contributes to.
- [17:08]
G
It makes you really think about that pledge to first do no harm in the health system.
- [17:13]
C
That's correct. That's correct. And yet we're saving lives on one side, but we're doing it in some cases from a climate perspective in the most inefficient manner. And of course, climate change, it's kind of a catch 22. The climate changes, we change the ecology, we get new bugs, new diseases which we get to treat in the health system, but they're bad diseases. And so to the extent that we can reduce climate change, we can improve the ecology. We can change and reverse in some cases the migration of some of these, to the extent that we change the environment, some of the migration of some of these very, very bad disease vectors that we're seeing, you know, we're seeing more Lyme disease, more mosquito borne diseases.
- [18:06]
G
For example, we just got a brand new tick that appeared here in Maine that isn't normally from here.
- [18:12]
C
There you go. Yeah, yeah.
- [18:14]
G
There's so much climate news, so much climate anxiety.
- [18:18]
C
Oh yeah.
- [18:19]
G
Can you tell me about an example of where you've seen maybe a community come together to support each other or some innovative solution? There's a lot of challenges going on in this field of yours. What gives you hope?
- [18:33]
C
Yeah, well, we're seeing more and more of that where people are pre planning. You know, last summer when we had big heat waves, we had people going out to check on their loved ones. There were these campaigns where people went to had kind of knock on the door campaign, get to know your neighbor campaign for people who were preparing for the heat wave. And we're seeing more and more of that happening through public health departments. You know, when we had the storms this last couple years in Florida, we saw just a whole lot of people who were just preparing their communities, people taking people in their homes after the storm. And so that gives me hope that people at least are responding in a collective manner. And as we're recording this today, as you know, there is a severe hurricane hitting Jamaica and hurricanes are in the Caribbean all the time. That's not what's new. But what is new is the intensity and ferocity of these storms. Why I'm hopeful that we have the capacity to help people.
- [19:55]
G
Yeah. And that hurricane that you're talking about, we're recording this on October 28th. That hurricane is Hurricane Melissa. And it's supposed to be one of the biggest ones that Jamaica sees.
- [20:04]
C
Yeah.
- [20:05]
G
Thinking about this Hurricane Melissa on the mind, everything you just said on the mind, As I said, people feel overwhelmed by climate news, but individuals can actually take meaningful steps to protect themselves and their families. So from a health science perspective, what are some simple everyday habits, our listeners at home, habits that they can do or actions that people can adapt right now to stay healthier during extreme heat or poor air Quality events or other examples?
- [20:34]
C
Well, a couple things you can do. First of all, from the long term, you can reduce your own carbon footprint, right? You can recycle. You can use less electricity. You can turn down the temperature in your home. Those are some things you can do right now. You can prepare for emergencies. You know, you can get an emergency kit. You can think about what happens if the power goes out and how are we going to, you know, protect ourselves. You can have a call plan so that your family knows what happens if we get separated and there's an emergency. Those are some things that you clearly can do. If you go to go to the APHA website@apha.org we have a whole series under our Get Ready campaign where we give tips to people about how to prepare themselves for the, for hurricanes and tornadoes, for floods. Those are some things you can do. You can look and see whether or not you live in a flood zone. There are a lot of people that don't know that they do live in a flood zone. And plan your escape route if you, if you're, you know, you're notified that you have to evacuate and always have kind of a go bag, a little bag of stuff that you put together in case you have to leave your home suddenly. One of the things that people don't often plan for is what do you do with your pets? Because what we discovered during Katrina was people will not leave their pets. And so it's important to have a plan, have a pet plan for cats, for dogs. If you have unusual animals, you know, pets that you keep, you know, the iguana that people have at home or some of the more unusual pets. You really need to have a plan for your pets as part of that process, an evacuation plan, because a lot of shelters, by the way, will not accept even cats and dogs. So you have to know that. And if you have a disability, you need to have a particular plan on how to address that disability. And you have to have a plan what happens if the power goes out. And, you know, they tell people to be prepared for 72 hours to kind of be on your own. Well, that's true, but increasingly, we're telling people to be prepared a little longer than that because it may take longer for people to come and help you.
- [22:51]
G
We've been seeing lately growth in interdisciplinary science that brings together climate experts, medical experts, social scientists, and that's opening up kind of a new way to tackle climate and health challenges. And at the same time, researchers are emphasizing climate justice and equity more than ever before. How do these shifts in research priorities, how do they impact collaboration and what kinds of innovation do you think it will spark moving forward?
- [23:21]
C
Well, I think we ought to build equity in everything that we do. It ought to be the core fundamental issue. But I think the best way to think about this is that when you're doing this kind of research, you want to get the community involved at the conceptual stage of the research. Let's not go in the back room, design a research project and then go do the research on the community. We need to bring the community as part of that research project. Because a lot of times what happens is you discover that you have a plan, but it's not a viable plan because you really haven't taken things into account that based on your life experience, you may not have considered.
- [24:02]
G
So I want to close on a hopeful note. Despite all these daunting challenges that we're talking about, there's a lot of potential for innovation, collaboration that can improve these health outcomes in a changing climate. So for you personally, what gives you hope for the future of public health and where do you see opportunities for people to get involved and make a meaningful difference?
- [24:24]
C
You know, I've got three grandkids and so I do what I do for them and I know and they're aware of climate change. We actually talk about climate change all the time. And you know what's hopeful to me is the fact that they are all paying attention to their carbon footprints. They're recycling, they cut off the lights when they leave rooms, they're paying attention to their own consumption of energy. And just like the kids now nag you when you don't put your seatbelt on. My grandkids are now nagging me when I'm not as climate sensitive as I need to be. That gives me a great deal of hope.
- [25:06]
G
Oh good, that's wonderful. Thank you to Dr. B for chatting with me today.
- [25:09]
C
Teresa, thank you for having me.
- [25:17]
D
Think enterprise software is too costly, too complex and takes too long to get up and running? Think again. Workday Go makes simplifying your small or mid sized business simple. HR and finance together on one powerful AI platform right at your fingertips. Workday Go gets you live fast and fits the needs of your business. Find out what Workday Go can do for you. Go with Workday Go.
- [25:47]
E
If you're an H VAC technician and a call comes in, Grainger knows that you need a partner that helps you find the right product fast and hassle free. And you know that when the first problem of the day is a clanking blower motor. There's there's no need to break a sweat. With Grainger's easy to use website and product details, you're confident you'll soon have everything humming right along. Call 1-800-GRAINGER Click grainger.com or just stop by Grainger for the ones who get it done.
- [26:17]
A
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- [26:46]
D
Hey, Ryan Reynolds here for Mint Mobile. One of the perks about having four kids that you know about is is actually getting a direct line to the big man up north. And this year he wants you to know the best gift that you can give someone is the gift of Mint Mobile's unlimited wireless for $15 a month. Now you don't even need to wrap it. Give it a try@mintmobile.com Switch upfront payment.
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- [27:21]
A
At its core, food is the fuel that powers our bodies through daily tasks. And for elite high endurance athletes doing the most extreme activities, it makes sense that the body would ramp up our metabolism so we can get more energy from our food, right? Well, scientists at the Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts, Duke and Yale recently found that there's a limit to that relationship. They recruited 14 high endurance athletes. One we're talking ultra runners, cyclists and triathletes. And they found that the body has a limit on how much energy it can burn over time, even when put to the ultimate test. They found that the human body has a metabolic ceiling of about 2.4 times its basal metabolic rate. That's the baseline level of energy we use just for our regular everyday functions. This is something researchers have been trying to figure out for a while, but the estimates have been all over the map. Data from 11 hour triathlons and 25 hour ultramarathons found that athletes were burning nearly 10 times their basal metabolic rate. That's a lot of energy, like 15,000 calories in a single day. But those are relatively short events. Can't believe we're calling a 25 hour ultramarathon short. But if you compare it to estimates from athletes in the 23 day Tour de France, there, researchers found that they couldn't burn more than four to five times their basal metabolic rate, even when they were doing all that cycling. The key variable here that the researchers of the current study realized is the time span. Think of our metabolism like a car. Sure, maybe it can accelerate for short bursts, but F1 fans know that a car can't sustain super high speeds for too long or it'll burn through its fuel and tires. These researchers hypothesized that our metabolism could be similar. It can run faster on some days, for example, during an extreme sport. But they wanted to look beyond a snapshot and study how our metabolism changes over longer time spans to see if it finds its way back to a comfortable cruising speed, even for athletes putting major demands on their body. So the researchers followed 12 men and just two women who are world class athletes, as they participated in ultra endurance competitions spanning anywhere from a day to 13 days. They also followed them through lower and higher workload training weeks. What sets this study apart is how they measured energy use during those events. They had participants drink double labeled water. This is special water with heavy isotopes of hydrogen and oxygen, called deuterium and oxygen 18. The body excretes these through urine and sweat. But some of that oxygen 18 also gets exhaled as carbon dioxide. Since carbon dioxide is a direct byproduct of our metabolism. That gap in how much oxygen 18 was lost to exhales helped them accurately quantify energy spent outside the lab in real world competitions. With these measurements in hand, the researchers modeled energy expenditure over longer periods of time to see how the body adapts for durations up to 12 weeks. Their models never predicted energy expenditure above the 2.4 times limit. There were some minor exceptions over longer periods. We're talking eight months to a year. When you look over that stretch, there were a few individuals who maintained slightly higher energy levels. The max though, was just like 2.7 times higher than an individual's basal metabolic rate. So still close to that general ceiling of 2.4 times baseline. That means our metabolism can rev the gas. But even when we're pushing our bodies to the max, it'll still find its way back to cruising speed. An average of just more than double the basal metabolic rate. That means that for extreme athletes, they'd be using on average around 4,000 calories of energy in total. I don't think I'll ever do anything to get close to that level of energy use, but it is super cool to know what our bodies can do for Warner Bros. Discovery Curiosity Weekly is produced by the team at Wheelhouse DNA. The senior producer and editorial correspondent is Teresa Carey, our producer is Chiara Noni, our audio engineer is Nick Kharismi and head of production for Wheelhouse DNA is Cassie berman. And I'm Dr. Samantha Yamin. Thanks for listening.
- [31:44]
D
Think enterprise software is too costly, too complex and takes too long to get up and running? Think again. Workday Go make simplifying your small or mid sized business simple HR and finance together on one powerful AI platform right at your fingertips. Workday Go gets you live fast and fits the needs of your business. Find out what Workday Go can do for you. Go with Workday Go. So good, so good so good.
- [32:16]
B
Score Holiday gifts Everyone wants for way less at your Nordstrom Rack store. Save on Ugg, Nike, Rag and Bone, Vince Frame, Kurt Geiger, London and more.
- [32:27]
C
Cause there's always something new. I'm giving all the gifts this year.
- [32:30]
A
With that extra 5% off when I use my Nordstrom credit card.
- [32:34]
B
Santa who Join the Nordy Club at Nordstrom Rack to unlock our best deals. It's easy. Big gifts, big perks. That's why you rack.
- [32:45]
A
We all love our pets, but we love to travel too, and sadly they can't always come along for the ride. Don't stress. Trusted Housesitters connects you with verified sitters who'll stay in your home and care for your pets, all in exchange for a place to stay on their travels. So while you're off exploring, your pets get to stay safe and happy at home, right where they belong. Find a loving in home pet sitter today@trustedhousesitters.com if you're the purchasing manager at.
- [33:16]
F
A manufacturing plant, you know having a trusted partner makes all the difference. That's why hands down, you count on Grainger for auto reordering. With on time restocks, your team will have the cut resistant gloves they need at the start of their shift and you can end your day knowing they've got safety well in hand. Call 1-800-GRAINGER click granger.com or just stop by Granger for the ones who get it done.