In this deep dive, we uncover the chemical handshake that lets clownfish live safely among venomous sea anemones. We explain how their mucus masks the anemone's sting by keeping levels of the key sugar NU5A (5-N-acetylneuraminic acid) low, how this protective coat is acquired during metamorphosis, and why environmental change threatens this fragile partnership. Along the way we connect the biology to themes of information flow and system resilience — and why tiny molecules can decide big ecol...
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In this deep dive, we uncover the chemical handshake that lets clownfish live safely among venomous sea anemones. We explain how their mucus masks the anemone's sting by keeping levels of the key sugar NU5A (5-N-acetylneuraminic acid) low, how this protective coat is acquired during metamorphosis, and why environmental change threatens this fragile partnership. Along the way we connect the biology to themes of information flow and system resilience — and why tiny molecules can decide big ecol...
World Lines: Tracing Time and Space in Minkowski's Spacetime
Intellectually Curious
5 minutes
5 days ago
World Lines: Tracing Time and Space in Minkowski's Spacetime
A lay-friendly tour of world lines—the four-dimensional paths that track every event in the universe. We explore time-like, light-like, and space-like paths, the light cone that governs causality, the mysterious elsewhere, and why your life is a single unbroken thread through spacetime. Note: This podcast was AI-generated, and sometimes AI can make mistakes. Please double-check any critical information. Sponsored by Embersilk LLC
Intellectually Curious
In this deep dive, we uncover the chemical handshake that lets clownfish live safely among venomous sea anemones. We explain how their mucus masks the anemone's sting by keeping levels of the key sugar NU5A (5-N-acetylneuraminic acid) low, how this protective coat is acquired during metamorphosis, and why environmental change threatens this fragile partnership. Along the way we connect the biology to themes of information flow and system resilience — and why tiny molecules can decide big ecol...
