Paper Boys

What happened to the mice of Universe 25? (Bonus episode)

2020-05-21T00:00:00+00:00

What happens when you give a scientist, obsessed with biblical death, near unlimited control over a utopian city of mice? Well…a lot of death, it turns out. In the 1960’s and 70’s, Dr. John Calhoun created what should have been a perfect mouse city - unlimited food, shelter, and water with no predators or inclement weather. Then he let nature run its course. Within a few years, the city was in ruins. Listen in as we dive into the research paper detailing exactly what happened to the mice in Universe 25, from meteoric rise to tragic demise.

Check out Dr. Calhoun’s article here and an Atlas Obscura article here.

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Is solar reflective pavement the cure for hot cities?

2020-05-14T00:00:00+00:00

As urban environments grow and natural vegetation gets replaced with concrete and asphalt, “Urban Heat Islands” develop, where urbanized areas retain much more heat than surrounding rural areas. The increased heat in densely populated areas can pose significant problems to both comfort and, more importantly, people’s health. The City of Los Angeles is investigating new measures to reduce the heat island effect by making their asphalt more reflective–but how effective is this measure in reducing air temps? Join us this week as we dive into new research evaluating the success of this bright new technology.

Check out the article here and the LA Times article here.

Photo credit: buildings.com

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What’s inside a Martian meteorite?

2020-05-07T00:00:00+00:00

Returning rock samples from planets and asteroids can provide new insights into how the solar system, the universe, and life formed. But how much can we learn from meteorite samples that fell to the ground here on Earth? It turns out, quite a bit! Join us this week as we explore a new paper about a 4 billion-year-old rock from Mars that landed in Antarctica.

Check out the Nature article here and the Vice News article here.

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Is eating sugar a gut instinct?

2020-04-30T00:00:00+00:00

Sugar cravings are intense. The feeling goes beyond a desire for sweets, like it’s driven by some primitive programming originating ideep in our nervous system–and frankly, artificial sweeteners just don’t cut it. Join us this week as we dive into new research that investigates the origins of animals’ love for sugar.

Check out the Nature article here, a video here and the Science Daily article here.

Also check out this NPR article to learn why you should view mice studies with a critical eye.

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What happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment? (Bonus episode)

2020-04-23T00:00:00+00:00

The Stanford Prison Experiment is one of the most well-known research endeavors of the 20th century. A group of psychologists had undergraduate students play “guard” or “prisoner” in a fake prison, just to see what would happen. Let’s just say it didn’t go well - the experiment was cancelled after just 6 days and 5 students being dismissed for extreme emotional trauma. What led to these conditions? Were the researchers to blame for things going wrong, or is it just human nature? What can we infer about ourselves from such a powerful experiment? Join us for our Bonus Episode as we dive into the most disturbing read yet on the Paper Boys bonus episodes.

Check out the original article here, a video here and a recent Microsoft Research paper mimicing Milgram’s experiment here.

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Did Oumuamua come from a destroyed planet?

2020-04-16T00:00:00+00:00

Oumuamua is an interstellar object that passed through our solar system in late 2017. It originally made the news thanks to several scientists suggesting its odd shape might be explained if it were a spaceship. New research on Oumuamua presents a much more tractable–and still extremely fascinating–explanation though. Join us this week as we dive into this new paper on the search for Oumuamua’s origin.

Check out the journal article here and the Vice News article here.

The sweet simulation video can be found here and is open access.

Photo Credit: Authors of the paper, Y. Zhang and D.N.C. Lin.

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Does traffic spread like a virus?

2020-04-09T00:00:00+00:00

If you watch traffic accumulate during rush hour, the congestion seems to spread virally to nearby streets. New research sought to apply the susceptible-infected-recovered (SIR) modeling that is usually used in epidemiology to study the spread of traffic during rush hour. Join James and Charlie this week as they talk about this new paradigm for traffic and bemoan the fact that there is no vaccine for traffic in sight.

Check out the journal article here and the IFL Science article here.

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Why is Uranus losing its atmosphere?

2020-04-02T00:00:00+00:00

Voyager 2 launched in 1977 and in 1986 made our first–and so far only–visit to the outer planet Uranus. Now, over 34 years later, we are still learning new things from the mission, including how Uranus’ magnetic field interacts with the solar wind. Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into new discoveries about our distant neighbor in the solar system.

Check out the journal article here and the NY Times article here.

Photo Credit: NASA’s Voyager 2

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Why do water balloons pop?

2020-03-26T00:00:00+00:00

Any kid can intuitively understand how much you need to fill a water balloon to effectively drench someone. But it turns out that predicting this quantitatively with physics is much more challenging! Join us James and Charlie this week for a look into an experimental physics paper that analyzed precisely when a water balloon (or any liquid-filled) balloon might pop.

Check out the journal article here and the Science Daily article here.

Links to the videos are here, here, and here.

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How can we suppress COVID-19?

2020-03-19T00:00:00+00:00

The coronavirus, COVID-19, has been spreading around the world since it was first detected in December 2019. Since then, drastic measures have been taken in communities around the world to limit its spread. Recent research from Imperial College London looked at how different suppression techniques such as social distancing and isolation could affect the spread, and, critically, the number available of hospital beds. Join us this week as Charlie and James dive into the different epidemiological models and their predictions.

Check out the article here and the BBC article here.

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Paper Boys

What happened to the mice of Universe 25? (Bonus episode)

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Is solar reflective pavement the cure for hot cities?

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What’s inside a Martian meteorite?

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Is eating sugar a gut instinct?

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What happened in the Stanford Prison Experiment? (Bonus episode)

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Did Oumuamua come from a destroyed planet?

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Does traffic spread like a virus?

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Why is Uranus losing its atmosphere?

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Why do water balloons pop?

You might also like these episodes!

How can we suppress COVID-19?

You might also like these episodes!