Do rats get high in heaven?  This week we tackle the science behind addiction. Is it a disease or does it only exist because drugs are just chemically irresistible?   References and Further Reading https://youtu.be/d-0KfwFCMRM https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/substance-use-disorder/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction https://sencanada.ca/content/sen/committee/371/ille/presentation/alexender-e.htm https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2890392/ https://www.psychiatrictimes.com/substance-use-disorder/what-does-rat-park-teach-us-about-addiction https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/healthy-body/addiction-what-is-it/ https://www.drugabuse.gov/publications/research-reports/tobacco-nicotine-e-cigarettes/nicotine-addictive Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

Have you ever wondered how Corry comes up with a wacky new science story every week? This episode we dig into one of the inspirations for the podcast, the Ig Nobel Prize! Having a prize for great scientific achievements is certainly an important thing, but when it comes to the crazy, weird, and wonderful stories (that still make you think) there’s the Ig Nobel Prize! References and Further Reading 1. https://www.improbable.com/ 2. https://www.wired.co.uk/article/wired-awake-140918 3. https://www.drgoulu.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/09/Rheology-of-cats.pdf 4. https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/science/2019/sep/13/study-french-postmens-testicles-ig-nobel-winner 5. https://twitter.com/improbresearch?s=20 6. https://www.mentalfloss.com/article/600249/2019-ig-nobel-prize-winners Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

If you had the chance to change your child’s genes, would you? Is that Eugenics? Those are the questions we debate today! Gene editing has come to the point that we can choose almost any feature we like for our unborn children. As usual, science has run far ahead leaving important ethical questions behind. Jurassic Park have been onto something... References and Further Reading https://pged.org/history-eugenics-and-genetics/ https://www.nature.com/scitable/forums/genetics-generation/america-s-hidden-history-the-eugenics-movement-123919444/ https://www.history.com/topics/germany/eugenics https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1127045/ Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

“You be good, see you tomorrow. I love you” were the last words of Alex the Parrot, who may have been the only animal to understand and engage in human speech We cover the life of Alex, and the controversy surrounding his supposed ability to actually speak English.  References and Further Reading https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/science/10cnd-parrot.html https://www.theguardian.com/world/2007/sep/13/usa.stephenmoss https://youtu.be/rrX1nrvPbLY https://youtu.be/62rXKjXgr60 https://www.nytimes.com/2007/09/10/science/10cnd-parrot.html https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/experts-parrots-mimic/ https://www.sciencefocus.com/nature/how-do-parrots-talk/amp/ http://whoami.sciencemuseum.org.uk/whoami/findoutmore/yourbrain/whatisspecialabouthumanlanguage/howdoesyourbraincontrollanguage/howdoyouspeak https://text.npr.org/s.php?sId=129083762 Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

Do rats go to heaven? The answer is yes, but it’s not as nice as you might think! Corry tells the story of John B Calhoun, a man who ran massive, years long experiments on rats and mice to really see what made them tick. Turns out rats and humans aren’t as different as we expected. References and Further Reading https://youtu.be/5m7X-1V9nOs https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/how-mouse-utopias-1960s-led-grim-predictions-humans-180954423/ https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-1-349-24483-6_20 https://www.theguardian.com/science/the-h-word/2016/mar/23/science-ballard-high-rise-animal-research-pathological-overcrowding https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1111/j.1467-8330.1973.tb00574.x http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/22514/1/2308Ramadams.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2636191/ Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

Do vaccines cause autism? That’s just one of the questions we’re debating this week. We get into the scientific roots of the Antivax movement, and figure out whether it’s really that dangerous to choose to leave a child unvaccinated.  Whether you believe in vaccinations or not, there’s something for you in this episode. Have a listen, and hopefully you’ll learn something about both sides of this debate. References and (a lot of) Further Reading  https://youtu.be/5F_yj1T8Qu8 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(97)11096-0/fulltext https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33774181 https://www.theguardian.com/society/2018/aug/23/russian-trolls-spread-vaccine-misinformation-on-twitter https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/21/no-link-between-mmr-and-autism-major-study-concludes https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/autism/ http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3513365.stm https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/damning-verdict-on-doctor-who-linked-mmr-with-autism-1882547.html https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/andrew-wakefield-who-is-mmr-doctor-anti-vaccine-anti-vaxxer-us-a8328326.html https://www.businessinsider.com/who-is-andrew-wakefield-2015-2?r=US&IR=T https://www.nhs.uk/news/medication/no-link-between-mmr-and-autism-major-study-finds/ https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2727726/measles-mumps-rubella-vaccination-autism-nationwide-cohort-study https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/herd-immunity-how-does-it-work https://www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/mmr-vaccine-does-not-cause-autism/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757918/ https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/patient-ed/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-thimerosal-color-office.pdf https://www.independent.co.uk/news/health/andrew-wakefield-who-is-mmr-doctor-anti-vaccine-anti-vaxxer-us-a8328326.html https://www.nhs.uk/news/pregnancy-and-child/mmr-vaccine-does-not-cause-autism/ https://www.nhs.uk/news/medication/no-link-between-mmr-and-autism-major-study-finds/ https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/herd-immunity-how-does-it-work https://www.nejm.org/doi/full/10.1056/NEJMoa021134 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3136032/ https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(97)11096-0/fulltext https://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/apr/21/no-link-between-mmr-and-autism-major-study-concludes https://www.cdc.gov/vaccines/hcp/patient-ed/conversations/downloads/vacsafe-thimerosal-color-office.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3757918/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2528717/ https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33774181 http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/3513365.stm https://www.ovg.ox.ac.uk/news/herd-immunity-how-does-it-work https://annals.org/aim/article-abstract/2727726/measles-mumps-rubella-vaccination-autism-nationwide-cohort-study https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/?term=vaccines+dangerous https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24814559 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28806013 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30753348 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/30139653 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28774498 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/26240325 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-33774181 http://www.scirp.org/(S(i43dyn45teexjx455qlt3d2q))/reference/ReferencesPapers.aspx?ReferenceID=124952 https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Robert_Bednarczyk/publication/329322472_Development_of_a_US_trust_measure_to_assess_and_monitor_parental_confidence_in_the_vaccine_system/links/5c59ad5c45851582c3cff694/Development-of-a-US-trust-measure-to-assess-and-monitor-parental-confidence-in-the-vaccine-system.pdf https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4836621/ https://www.ninds.nih.gov/Disorders/Patient-Caregiver-Education/Fact-Sheets/Autism-Spectrum-Disorder-Fact-Sheet https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/m/pubmed/22801435/ Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

When you fall off a horse the only thing you can do is get back on, and when a crowbar flies through your brain you just get up and walk away.  Phineas Gage accidentally blew a hole in his brain and, not only did he survive, he just went back to his normal life! References & Further Reading: https://www.smithsonianmag.com/history/phineas-gage-neurosciences-most-famous-patient-11390067/ https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=aw0zbyQVCEc https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=yXbAMHzYGJ0 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC1114479/ https://www.britannica.com/biography/Phineas-Gage Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

What’s worse, the cold vacuum of space or a Russian forest during winter?  Two Cosmonauts found out the answer to that question the hard way when they crash landed in the woods after the first space walk in history. They had to contend against wolves, bears, and the most useless rescuers imaginable. Tune in to find out the story of the lost cosmonauts! References and Further Reading http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/7355912.stm http://archive.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/04/20/russian_spacecraft_lands_way_off_course/ https://mobile.reuters.com/article/amp/idUSL2362874120080423 https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.seeker.com/amphtml/cosmonauts-faced-cold-snow-after-dicey-landing-1767335720.html https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7mUO1TDr7fQ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VmXdWLWMTkg Hall, Rex; Shayler, David J. (2001). The rocket men : Vostok & Voskhod, the first Soviet manned spaceflights. Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

It's our HALF-y Birthday! To celebrate 6 months of Sci Guys, Jamp has taken over the podcast (oh no), and he brings tales from the Alnwick Poison Garden. References & Further Reading http://rhs.org.uk http://www.thepoisongarden.co.uk/ https://aboutforensics.co.uk/georgi-markov/ Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth

CONTENT WARNING: Mistreatment of children In this episode, The Sci Guys educate Josh about an infamous 1920’s study involving a rat, a Santa mask, and terrorising a small child.  References and Further Reading https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25068585 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/25197838 https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/28125246 https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn26307-baby-used-in-notorious-fear-experiment-is-lost-no-more/ https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/BF03395082 https://psychclassics.yorku.ca/Watson/emotion.htm https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1207/s15328023top0401_12?journalCode=htop20 Support us on Patreon: patreon.com/SciGuys Watch us on YouTube: youtube.com/SciGuys Follow the Sci Guys @notcorry / @jampkin / @lukecutforth