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.
You've probably heard about respiratory viruses like RSV and the flu, but now doctors are saying a new virus is on the rise. Cases of human metapneumovirus, or HMPV, spiked this spring, according to the CDC. The virus causes many of the same symptoms as the flu , including coughing, runny nose, sore throat, and fever.
There's new information about the world's oldest flying reptile, which was discovered in Australia. The giant creature is known as a pterosaur and lived about 107 million years ago.
Food workers who showed up while sick or contagious were linked to about 40% of restaurant food poisoning outbreaks with a known cause between 2017 and 2019, federal health officials said Tuesday.
