The Role of Osmosis in the Brain

Today you’ll learn about what really happens when we get a whiff of something, about the mechanism that allows dolphins to communicate with vocal fry, and the dark and windy history of body donation.

Find episode transcripts here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/odor-receptors-whale-vocal-fry-body-donation

Odor Receptors   

• “How do we smell? First 3D structure of human odour receptor offers clues.” by Miryam Naddaf. 2023
  • https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-00818-3
• “First 3D model of human odor receptor tells us how we smell.” by Nergis Firtina. 2023.
  • https://interestingengineering.com/science/first-3d-model-of-human-odor-receptor
• “Making Sense of Scents.” by Robin Marks. 2023.
  • https://www.ucsf.edu/news/2023/03/424956/making-sense-scents
     

Whale Vocal Fry

• “Who’s Using Vocal Fry in the Ocean? Dolphins and Whaaaaaales.” by Sam Jones. 2023.
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2023/03/02/science/dolphins-whales-vocal-fry.html
• “They’re, Like, Way Ahead of the Linguistic Currrve.” by Douglas Quenqua. 2012.
  • https://www.nytimes.com/2012/02/28/science/young-women-often-trendsetters-in-vocal-patterns.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss&pagewanted=all

Body Donation 

• “From grave robbing to giving your own body to science - a short history of where medical schools get cadavers.” by Susan Lawrence & Susan E. Lederer. 2023.
  • https://theconversation.com/from-grave-robbing-to-giving-your-own-body-to-science-a-short-history-of-where-medical-schools-get-cadavers-199947
• “The Body-Snatching Horror of John Scott Harrison.” by Livius Drusus. 2015.
  • https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/64221/body-snatching-horror-john-scott-harrison
• “In Need of Cadavers, 19th-Century Medical Students Raided Baltimore’s Graves.” by Antero Pietila. 2018.
  • https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/in-need-cadavers-19th-century-medical-students-raided-baltimores-graves-180970629/

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