About

Learn about how a mutation that evolved to protect us against malaria actually makes us more prone to other diseases; and why astronauts are using old sailing technology (sextants) to navigate through space. Plus: a special update from Cody! A mutation that makes us prone to autoimmune diseases evolved to protect us from malaria by Cameron Duke Khan, N., de Manuel, M., Peyregne, S., Do, R., Prufer, K., Marques-Bonet, T., Varki, N., Gagneux, P., & Varki, A. (2020). Multiple Genomic Events Altering Hominin SIGLEC Biology and Innate Immunity Predated the Common Ancestor of Humans and Archaic Hominins. Genome Biology and Evolution, 12(7), 1040–1050. https://doi.org/10.1093/gbe/evaa125 McRae, M. (n.d.). Humans Might Be So Sickly Because We Evolved to Avoid a Single Devastating Disease. ScienceAlert. Retrieved August 13, 2020, from https://www.sciencealert.com/we-evolved-a-way-to-beat-a-deadly-infection-but-it-made-us-vulnerable-to-other-diseases Varki, A. (2008). Sialic acids in human health and disease. Trends in Molecular Medicine, 14(8), 351–360. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.molmed.2008.06.002 Astronauts Are Using Old Sailing Technology in Space by Elizabeth Howell Holt, G. N., Wood, B. Sextant Navigation on the International Space Station: A Human Space Exploration Demo. (February 2019). NASA Technical Reports Server (NTRS). NASA.gov. https://ntrs.nasa.gov/citations/20190001296 International Space Station Cupola Observational Module. (2011). NASA. https://www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/station/structure/elements/cupola.html Apollo 13 Accident. (2016). Nasa.gov. https://nssdc.gsfc.nasa.gov/planetary/lunar/ap13acc.html Subscribe 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://www.amazon.com/Curiosity-com-Curiosity-Daily-from/dp/B07CP17DJY