Sorry about the truncated episode! This version is fixed! Do you wanna crawl under the house and hide like a dog when you're sick? You're not alone. I mean, you're alone, you're under the house like a dog. But you're not alone in the FEELING. A recent study published in Cell discusses why we have this instinct, and it's not just because we're grumpy. Spolier: it is also not because we're dogs.

Links to today's story: https://news.mit.edu/2025/too-sick-socialize-how-brain-immune-system-promote-staying-in-bed-1209

 

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Two stories this week, both involving horses. In the first, a recent study of unearthed bones in Britan reveals that horses were much smaller in medieval times than they are today. Then, the world of polo is dominated by horses that have been cloned. Is that ethical? Jeff and Anthony discuss both stories to get a bit more info about the evolving ecology of earth's most rideable animal. 

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Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social
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Links to today's stories: 

https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/medieval-warhorses-were-actually-the-size-of-ponies-180979389/

https://knowablemagazine.org/content/article/technology/2026/cloned-polo-horses

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A Reddit-style social network called Moltbook lets AI agents post, comment, upvote, and create subcommunities without human intervention. Anthony and Jeff take a look at this bizarre experiment to suss out why anyone would want this to happen and what it could mean for the future.

LInk to the story: https://arstechnica.com/information-technology/2026/01/ai-agents-now-have-their-own-reddit-style-social-network-and-its-getting-weird-fast/

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We've all spent the last couple years being worried about microplastics- but maybe we shouldn't be. More experts have reviewed the original study that freaked us all out, and they say it's full of errors. Today's story: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jan/13/microplastics-human-body-doubt Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social Anthony on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/acarboni.bsky.social

It's about time you considered the lowly sea urchin. It's about time you considered their thoughts and feelings, especially since we have just found out they've got thoughts and feelings.

Story: https://www.sciencealert.com/shock-discovery-reveals-sea-urchins-are-basically-all-brain

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Can one six-sided cube seamlessly pass through another of equal size? The answer may surprise you. And the quest to discover convex polyhedrons that don't behave that way is even wilder. After more than three centuries, a geometry problem that originated with a royal bet has been solved, and Jeff and Anthony lay it all out for you.

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According to the Oxford English Dictionary, the word 'recent' is defined as “having happened or started only a short time ago.” And yet, in the world of scientific publishing, it may be one of the most imprecise terms ever used. Jeff and Anthony take a look at a 'recent' study that aims to quantify exactly what is meant by the term. How is Billy Joel involved? You'll have to listen to find out.

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Link to today's story: https://www.bmj.com/content/391/bmj-2025-086941

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Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns

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While the research is still early, it looks like AI chatbots can push people who are already at risk into psychotic and delusional episodes. Jeff and Anthony delve into this early research and what AI companies and mental health experts think of it.

Story links:

https://osf.io/preprints/psyarxiv/discover

https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-03020-9

https://www.psychologytoday.com/us/blog/psych-unseen/202507/can-ai-chatbots-worsen-psychosis-and-cause-delusions

https://www.wsj.com/tech/ai/ai-chatbot-psychosis-link-1abf9d57

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An experienced hiker had to be saved by National Parks Search and Rescue last month after getting stuck in quicksand. This made us go "Wait, quicksand? Like, quicksand is a thing?" So here are all the details on the rescue, how quicksand works, how common it really is, and what to do if you get stuck in it.

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Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social
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Links: 

https://apnews.com/article/quicksand-arches-national-park-rescue-hiker-cb1a4c2e35a86bd67c003d1f875120db

https://www.reddit.com/r/CampingandHiking/comments/1pgxvt5/quicksand_trapped_me_on_the_hayduke_in_arches_np/

https://www.livescience.com/33350-how-quicksand-works.html

https://www.nature.com/articles/437635a

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Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social
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Osteo-odonto-keratoprosthesis, or “tooth-in-eye” surgery, is a real thing, returning vision to patients with severe corneal blindness. Jeff and Anthony explain the astounding process of using a tooth to repair an eye, and the wild road to discovering that it actually works.

LInk to the story: https://www.today.com/health/men-s-health/tooth-in-eye-surgery-restores-vision-rcna230395

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New research conducted by psychologists in Milan shows that if Batman show up, we immediately become more altruistic and considerate. Jeff and Anthony dig into this heroic study, and discuss how it might be applied to making the world a better place.

LInk to the story: https://phys.org/news/2025-11-batman-effect-mere-sight-superhero.html

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Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social
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Support the show and get bonus episodes, videos, Discord community access and more! http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns

Jeff on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/jeffcannata.bsky.social
Anthony on Blue Sky: https://bsky.app/profile/acarboni.bsky.social