Simon and Rach consider listener suggestions for human body improvements. This week, adjustable digestive tracts, floral farts, and retractable testicles.

In the news

Elon Musk’s baby: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-52557291

Ocean warming: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2242786-a-japanese-nuclear-power-plant-created-a-habitat-for-tropical-fish/

Golden tongue: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-52683468

Wound healing blue-green algae: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2243352-wound-healing-patch-of-blue-green-algae-mends-skin-quickly/

Listener suggestions

@TraceyH100 - retractable breasts and testicles

@KJames_IntBio - a pause button for the digestive tract

@sheencr - floral farts

Check out…

In mice twitter account: https://twitter.com/justsaysinmice

Kangaroos penis and testicles the other way round: https://grist.org/animals/kangaroo-genitals-are-weirder-than-you-ever-thought-possible-2/

Face lice with no anuses: https://www.livescience.com/65533-your-face-mites-never-poop.html

Miracle berry: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Synsepalum_dulcificum

Clare Jonas’s blog article: https://www.thatthinkingfeeling.co.uk/blog/smell-language-difficult-to-describe

Does it fart?: https://amzn.to/2TkflxU

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S2E12: Level Up Human is a podcast on a mission to redesign the human body.

Simon and Rach chat to biologist and science YouTuber Sally Le Page and science communicator James Piercy.

We discuss periods, expanding skulls and a rebooted ear.

In the news 

Female female aggression in fruit flies: https://bit.ly/LUHfruitflies

The new kilogram: physicsworld.com/a/new-definition-of-the-kilogram-comes-into-force/

Robots powered by the spines of rats: https://bit.ly/LUHRatSpines

The pitches 

Sally wants selective ovulation, James wants a skull flap. There’s a suggestion from the audience for One Massive Ear and Simon is borrowing from the opossums which could hold the key to saving snakebite victims.

Mentioned this episode

Dragons’ Den: https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b006vq92

Lesbian lizard colonies: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/New_Mexico_whiptail

Parthenogenesis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Parthenogenesis

Decompressive craniectomy: https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/319755

Fontanelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fontanelle

Barn owl hearing: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8SI73-Ka51E

Opossum’s natural immunity to snake venom: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/news/2015/03/150323-opossums-snakes-snakebites-venom-health-world-science/

Stay In for Towel Day: https://www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/events/stay-in-for-towel-day-2020/

Support us

If you're enjoying the podcast, you can support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leveluphuman

Leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285

…or join our newsletter: http://www.leveluphuman.com/keep-in-touch

With thanks to the Physiological Society.

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Simon and Rach consider regeneration. Humans are pretty rubbish at it. Some lizards, newts and salamanders are INCREDIBLE at it. How do we get it, and would we really want to?

Check out…

The Shining: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0081505/

THAT tweet: https://twitter.com/elonmusk/status/1256239815256797184

Bee sniffing tech: https://phys.org/news/2010-03-bee-sniffing-technology-dangerous-vapors.html

FaceTime some Japanese eels: https://www.businessinsider.com/video-call-eels-tokyo-aquarium-so-they-dont-forget-people-2020-5?r=US&IR=T

Zoo animals are lonely in lockdown: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-52493750

T1000 – Liquid Metal: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u8h8d2XLWKY

Teratoma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Teratoma

Planarian worm: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Planarian

Combination of master and mistress is: Mastress. No, I don’t have a link for that.

Support us

It would make Rach so happy if you would support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leveluphuman

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S2E11: Level Up Human is a podcast on a mission to redesign the human body.

This week, Simon and Rach chat to naturalist and broadcaster Steve Backshall and visual perception scientist Kate Storrs.

We discuss enhanced vision, limb regeneration, gecko hands, super kidneys and re-breathing.

Extended show notes including edited transcripts are available here.

In the news 

Kate is tickled and baffled by a news story about Microsoft

Steve's news story is entitled, 'Venomous Frogs use Heads as Weapons.'

Rach's levelled up human is Bertolt Meyer, who has hacked his prosthetic hand to hook it up to his synth.

The pitches 

Steve wants to borrow the abilities of the Iberian sharp-ribbed newt, a type of salamander which can regenerate limbs and organs.

Kate thinks the human body should be able to see the polarisation of light

Plus pitches from our audience and Mother Nature herself 🌱

Mentioned this episode

Microsoft's new patent: https://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/a32318654/microsoft-brainwaves-mine-cryptocurrency

Venomous frogs use heads as weapons: https://www.researchgate.net/publication/280753150_Venomous_Frogs_Use_Heads_as_Weapons

Bertolt Meyer: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qSKBtEBRWi4

'Scuba-diving' lizard, Anolis aquaticus: https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2019-03/bu-lc032019.php

Steve's Home Schooling (9.30am, Wednesdays): https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCm-URP49TgSgyIU1rgh2m7A/videos

The Mirror Trap: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/the-mirror-trap-online-tickets-104125171190

Stay In for Towel Day: https://www.savetherhino.org/get-involved/events/stay-in-for-towel-day-2020/

Support us

If you're enjoying the podcast, you can support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leveluphuman

Leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285

…or join our newsletter: http://www.leveluphuman.com/keep-in-touch

With thanks to the Physiological Society.

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Episode summary

Simon and Rachel take a detailed look at flight. Why can’t we fly, how could we achieve it, and wouldn't it be exhausting?

An edited transcript is available here.

Mentioned this episode

Alan Rickman as the Sheriff of Nottingham in Robin Hood Prince of Thieves, the most attractive man in the world, according to Simon: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZhCCu-2gbw

Starlink: https://www.starlink.com/

Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Hitchhiker%27s_Guide_to_the_Galaxy

The incredible, gliding Hoatzin – the Johnny Rotten of the bird world: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=87_shPJxdns

Barotrauma: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Barotrauma

Pentadactyl limb: https://www.encyclopedia.com/science/dictionaries-thesauruses-pictures-and-press-releases/pentadactyl-limb

Support us

If you're enjoying the podcast, you can support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leveluphuman 

Leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285 

…or join our newsletter: http://www.leveluphuman.com/keep-in-touch

Follow us

Twitter: twitter.com/leveluphuman 

Facebook: facebook.com/leveluphuman 

Instagram: instagram.com/leveluphuman 

Support this show http://supporter.acast.com/leveluphuman.

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Simon and Rachel recap Episode 10 of Series 2, where we chatted with immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank and microbiologist Dr. Chloe James. Plus Simon has good news for Eurovision fans.

We dive deeper into what RNA is, how to train bacteriophages, and how we know humans are still evolving.

An edited transcript is available here.

Mentioned this episode

2001: A Space Odyssey: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/2001:_A_Space_Odyssey_(film)

Patrick Moore’s Gamesmaster: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JCuPX_tmOOo

Ribonucleic acid (RNA): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/RNA 

Messenger RNA: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/messenger-rna

Transfer RNA: https://www.genome.gov/genetics-glossary/Transfer-RNA

Are we evolving to survive Alzheimers?: https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/health-news/alzheimers-asthma-high-cholesterol-eradicated-natural-selection-plos-biology-research-a7932566.html

Thunderdome (featuring Tina Turner): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0HeZrI5Giw4

Cytokine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cytokine

Cytokine storm: https://www.newscientist.com/term/cytokine-storm/

The AI Eurovision Song Contest: https://www.vprobroadcast.com/titles/ai-songcontest.html

Boris: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Boris_(band)

Support us

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Rachel and Simon are locked down in London. Joining them from Liverpool and Manchester are microbiologist Dr. Chloe James and immunologist Professor Sheena Cruickshank.

A full transcript is available here.

Episode summary

We discuss if it’s possible for scientists to work from home, cytokine storms and a brand new 'magic' toilet.

Our panellists this week make pitches for command over our internal armies of bacteria phages and reprogramming our immune cells.

The audience want self-scratching backs and bodies we can repair ourselves.

Which will make it onto the shortlist? Which pitch will win? Listen to find out!

Mentioned this episode

NHS Covid-19 advice: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Quantitative PCR machine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Quantitative_PCR_instrument

Magic toilet: https://www.theguardian.com/society/2020/apr/06/magic-toilet-could-monitor-users-health-say-researchers

Bacteria found in gut might help boost physical performance: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/jun/24/bacteria-found-in-gut-could-help-boost-physical-performance

Withnail and I: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Withnail_and_I

How stress causes gray hair: https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/01/200122135313.htm

Barbara Woodhouse “I took to dog training when I had to give up cows”: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ic5fe7M_Sys

Cytokine storm: https://www.newscientist.com/term/cytokine-storm/

Support us

If you're enjoying the podcast, you can support us on Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/leveluphuman

Or leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285

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In the last of our Barbican centre recordings from November 2019, Simon and Rachel are souping up the homo sapien once again. Our guest experts are professor of experimental psychopathology from the university of Birkbeck, Naz Derakshan, and Hephzi Tagoe, a skin specialist from Queen Mary, University of London.

Episode summary

We discuss resilience as well as the impacts of skin conditions on psychological health and wellbeing. Rach has news of an ant with a six legged gallop.

In our pitches for human body redesign, Naz wants a boost to resilience and Hephzi pitches snake skin.

The audience want gecko hands, improved brain plasticity and there’s a pitch from Simon stolen from C. Elegans.

Which will make it onto the shortlist? Which pitch will win? Listen to find out!

Mentioned this episode

Building Resilience in Breast Cancer (BRIC) centre: http://briccentre.bbk.ac.uk

The fastest ant in the world: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/16/fastest-ants-in-world-northern-sahara

Ichthyosis: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ichthyosis

C. Elegans: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Caenorhabditis_elegans

Support us

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Or leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285

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Simon and Rachel report from their respective bunkers during the March 2020 coronavirus pandemic. We take a long hard look at disease. Are humans a particularly diseased species? What can we learn from pandemics and is panic buying inevitable?

Mentioned this episode

NHS advice on coronavirus: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/

Pandemic board game: https://www.zmangames.com/en/games/pandemic/

28 Days Later: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/28_Days_Later

Outbreak: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Outbreak_(film)

Contagion: https://www.imdb.com/title/tt1598778/

Global village: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Global_village

Darwinian medicine: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Evolutionary_medicine

The Tragedy of the Commons: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tragedy_of_the_commons

Syphilis: https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/syphilis/

Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henri_de_Toulouse-Lautrec

Édouard Manet: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%89douard_Manet

Paul Gaugin: https://hyperallergic.com/111730/posthumous-prognosis-for-supposedly-syphilitic-gauguin-via-his-teeth/

Oscar Wilde: https://www.pbs.org/newshour/health/no-oscar-wilde-probably-didnt-die-of-syphilis

Thermal imaging cameras in airports: http://www.nbcnews.com/id/30523865/ns/technology_and_science-tech_and_gadgets/t/how-thermal-imaging-cameras-spot-flu-fevers

Socialised medicine: https://time.com/5794672/health-insurance-deductibles-coronavirus/

Universal Basic Income: https://time.com/5804656/ubi-yang-coronavirus/

Experts are back in fashion: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/mar/15/experts-fashion-covid-19-reality-bites-trump-johnson

Support us

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Simon and Rachel are souping up Homo sapiens once again, live at the Barbican Centre with guest experts: reproductive physiologist Kim Jonas, and cardio-vascular pharmacologist, Michael Preedy. This episode was created with the support of the Physiological Society and the Biochemical Society.

Episode summary

We discuss the weirdest reproductive physiology on the planet, hypersexuality and how stem cells can now be reprogrammed into a new type of cell. In our news section, Rach explains why putting ice on a sprain may not longer be best practice.

Next: pitches from our guest experts, the studio audience and Mother Nature herself.

Michael wants lightening breath. Kim wants improved longevity for ovaries.

The audience want a cure for FOMO and a projector for thoughts. Simon pitches the collagen scales of the Amazonian fish, Arapaima gigas.

Which will make it onto the shortlist? Which pitch will win? Listen, and find out.

Mentioned this episode

Sensing north: https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2017/jan/06/first-humans-sense-where-north-is-cyborg-gadget

The Sims: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Sims

Arapaima gigas: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Arapaima_gigas

Support us

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Or leave us an iTunes review: https://podcasts.apple.com/gb/podcast/level-up-human/id1096637285

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Simon and Rachel are live at the Barbican with marine biologist, writer and documentary maker, Helen Scales and KCL professor of developmental neurobiology, Robert Hindges.

Episode summary

First we look at human enhancements from around the world. Helen brings news of a man with an exo-skeleton allowing him to walk.

Robert tells us about developments in prosthetics which allow users to experience feedback from artificial limbs. And Rach has evidence that thumbs are getting faster.

Next: pitches from our guest experts, the studio audience and Mother Nature herself.

Robert wants a higher flicker frequency in the human eye. Helen suggests we all become extreme free divers with the breath holding abilities of the sperm whale.

The audience want improved cooling systems, reduced urination, lego wrists and multi-sensory anaesthesia. Simon pitches the arsenic resistant qualities of the Mono lake nematodes.

Which will make it onto the shortlist? And which will win? Have a listen to find out.

Mentioned this episode

Robot exo-skeleton: https://www.sciencefocus.com/news/exoskeleton-controlled-by-brain-signals-allows-disabled-man-to-walk/

Prosthetic sensory feedback: https://www.genengnews.com/news/prosthetic-leg-with-neural-sensory-feedback-shows-benefits-for-patients/

Thumbs are getting faster: https://www.theguardian.com/science/2019/oct/02/ready-text-go-typing-speeds-mobiles-rival-keyboard-users

Obama swats fly during CNBC interview: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rbUH_iVjYw

The incredible diving abilities of the sperm whale:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_NpZLhqly8s

The marabou stork which urinates on its legs to cool itself down: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_5NCubQutpE

Arsenic resistant mono lake nematodes: https://gizmodo.com/scientists-find-three-sex-arsenic-resistant-nematode-i-1838497056

Support us

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