Katherine Johnson’s Legacy, The World’s First Living Robots, and Zinc Doesn’t Cure Colds

Learn about the legacy of the trailblazing NASA mathematician Katherine Johnson; how scientists recently built xenobots, the world’s first living robots; and why zinc probably isn’t as good for colds as you think.

Katherine Johnson Is the Human 'Computer' Who Helped Us Go to Space by Ashley Hamer

Hamer, A. Katherine Johnson Is the Human “Computer” Who Helped Us Go to Space. (2016, December 13). Curiosity.com. https://curiosity.com/topics/katherine-johnson-is-the-human-computer-who-helped-us-go-to-space-curiosity/Xenobots: the World’s First Assembled Organisms by Cameron Duke

Team Builds the First Living Robots. (2020, January 13). Uvm.edu. https://www.uvm.edu/uvmnews/news/team-builds-first-living-robotsSimon, M. (2020, January 13). Meet Xenobot, an Eerie New Kind of Programmable Organism. Wired; WIRED. https://www.wired.com/story/xenobot/Kriegman, S., Blackiston, D., Levin, M., & Bongard, J. (2020, January 28). A scalable pipeline for designing reconfigurable organisms. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 117(4), 1853–1859. https://doi.org/10.1073/pnas.1910837117Zinc Probably Isn't as Good for Colds as You Think by Grant Currin

Can zinc zap a cold? (2017). Mayo Clinic. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/common-cold/expert-answers/zinc-for-colds/faq-20057769Zinc lozenges did not shorten the duration of colds. (2020). EurekAlert! https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-01/uoh-zld012820.phpHemilä, H., Haukka, J., Alho, M., Vahtera, J., & Kivimäki, M. (2020). Zinc acetate lozenges for the treatment of the common cold: a randomised controlled trial. BMJ Open, 10(1), e031662. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2019-031662Stark, L. (2009, June 16). Zicam Zinc Nasal Sprays May Damage Sense of Smell, FDA Says. ABC News; ABC News. https://abcnews.go.com/Health/ColdandFluNews/story?id=7853178&page=1Subscribe to Curiosity Daily to learn something new every day with Cody Gough and Ashley Hamer. You can also listen to our podcast as part of your Alexa Flash Briefing; Amazon smart speakers users, click/tap “enable” here: https://curiosity.im/podcast-flash-briefing

Find episode transcript here: https://curiosity-daily-4e53644e.simplecast.com/episodes/katherine-johnsons-legacy-the-worlds-first-living-robots-and-zinc-doesnt-cure-colds

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