Not all of us can cozy up by the fire to brave the winter weather. Curiosity.com's Ashley Hamer joins Cheddar to answer how insects survive the cold and more of your burning winter questions. She says bugs adopt a variety of tactics, from flying south, to hibernating, to suicide.
Did you know you can tell the temperature by listening to a cricket's chirps? Hamer discusses the mathematical formula that determines how cold it is based on the speed of the insect's vocal intervals.She explains when you can use this method, and why it'd ever be useful.
Finally, we ask Hamer why people get sick when the seasons change. Climate fluctuation can cause the body to react in unexpected ways, like coming down with a common cold or the flu. The podcast host also tells us why sound carries farther when it's cold outside.
Doctors in Taiwan made a surprising discovery when a 64-year-old female patient complained of a clicking and rustling sound in her ear, which turned out to be a spider.
Many DNA tests on the market offer a glimpse into what makes your individual character, including who your ancestors are and some can even analyze your risk for developing certain diseases. Cheddar News spoke with Sam Beeler, chief strategy officer with Nebula Genomics; Eleanor Griffith, a certified genetic counselor; and Dr. Neil Iyengar, a medical oncologist with Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center about the process involved in checking DNA and its effectiveness.
