Is there any evidence-based reason cannibalism shouldn’t make a comeback? It’s a question that really should come with a warning label, but we couldn’t resist digging into it properly this week.

We’ve got researchers running the numbers on human-eating, rats in MRI “snuggle sacks” while tripping on mescaline, ants living their best fake-queen lives thanks to a tapeworm, and an eel story that is both medically relevant and spiritually scarring.

We also take a quick detour into the delicate art of scanning animal brains without turning the whole experiment into a panic response, plus a reminder that humans have always been weird about big animals (including the time people could literally walk into a whale’s mouth, until they ruined it for everyone).

So that’s the week: cannibalism analysed like a spreadsheet problem, parasites cosplaying queens, and a cautionary tale that should permanently retire “DIY constipation remedies” as a concept. Stay curious, stay critical, and for the love of all that is holy, keep the eels in the water.

 

CHAPTER MARKERS

00:00 Introduction

00:28 Should We Be Cannibals?

02:43 Math Model Approach

04:11 Disease Chain Risks

05:42 Kuru And Prions

07:19 Limits And Social Payoffs

08:34 Anthropic: Rare Books AI Scanning

10:53 Destroying Books To Digitise

14:59 Mescaline Rats In MRI

20:52 Rats Head Posts Training

22:36 Other Species Training

24:57 Malm Blue Whale Exhibit

30:10 Cordyceps Ant Zombies

31:01 Tapeworm Queen Ants

34:58 Orcas Fear Pilot Whales

35:46 Eel Medical Oddity

 

SOURCES:
https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/tech-innovatie/10604219/tweedehandsboekverkopers-slaan-alarm-ai-bedrijven-kopen-obscure-boeken-op-om-te-versnipperen
https://esawebb.org/
https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.09460
https://www.sciencealert.com/thermodynamics
https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-footage-shows-how-eels-escape-death-after-being-swallowed
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2024.110401
https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6060(03)00076-X
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmoid_colon
https://www.sciencealert.com/why-you-dont-faint-every-time-you-stand-even-though-you-should
https://www.sciencealert.com/harmful-bacteria-can-trigger-pain-in-your-gut-and-now-we-know-how
https://bsky.app/profile/jordantyranny.bsky.social/post/3mrsiprbgac2k
https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/33/gronberg_magnusson.php
https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter


https://www.sciencealert.com/mathematics-reveals-why-human-cannibalism-keeps-reappearing


https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9017993/


https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hallucinogenic-compound-found-in-cacti-may-rewire-the-brains-sensory-filter


https://www.sciencealert.com/a-wild-parasite-makes-ants-live-longer-and-tricks-others-into-worshipping-them-scientists-finally-know-how

Is there any evidence-based reason cannibalism shouldn&rsquo;t make a comeback? It&rsquo;s a question that really should come with a warning label, but we couldn&rsquo;t resist digging into it properly this week.
We&rsquo;ve got researchers running the numbers on human-eating, rats in MRI &ldquo;snuggle sacks&rdquo; while tripping on mescaline, ants living their best fake-queen lives thanks to a tapeworm, and an eel story that is both medically relevant and spiritually scarring.
We also take a quick detour into the delicate art of scanning animal brains without turning the whole experiment into a panic response, plus a reminder that humans have always been weird about big animals (including the time people could literally walk into a whale&rsquo;s mouth, until they ruined it for everyone).
So that&rsquo;s the week: cannibalism analysed like a spreadsheet problem, parasites cosplaying queens, and a cautionary tale that should permanently retire &ldquo;DIY constipation remedies&rdquo; as a concept. Stay curious, stay critical, and for the love of all that is holy, keep the eels in the water.
&nbsp;
CHAPTER MARKERS
00:00 Introduction
00:28 Should We Be Cannibals?
02:43 Math Model Approach
04:11 Disease Chain Risks
05:42 Kuru And Prions
07:19 Limits And Social Payoffs
08:34 Anthropic: Rare Books AI Scanning
10:53 Destroying Books To Digitise
14:59 Mescaline Rats In MRI
20:52 Rats Head Posts Training
22:36 Other Species Training
24:57 Malm Blue Whale Exhibit
30:10 Cordyceps Ant Zombies
31:01 Tapeworm Queen Ants
34:58 Orcas Fear Pilot Whales
35:46 Eel Medical Oddity
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
<ul>
<li>https://www.bnr.nl/nieuws/tech-innovatie/10604219/tweedehandsboekverkopers-slaan-alarm-ai-bedrijven-kopen-obscure-boeken-op-om-te-versnipperen</li>
<li>https://esawebb.org/</li>
<li>https://doi.org/10.48550/arXiv.2607.09460</li>
<li>https://www.sciencealert.com/thermodynamics</li>
<li>https://www.sciencealert.com/amazing-footage-shows-how-eels-escape-death-after-being-swallowed</li>
<li>https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijscr.2024.110401</li>
<li>https://doi.org/10.1016/S0039-6060(03)00076-X</li>
<li>https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sigmoid_colon</li>
<li>https://www.sciencealert.com/why-you-dont-faint-every-time-you-stand-even-though-you-should</li>
<li>https://www.sciencealert.com/harmful-bacteria-can-trigger-pain-in-your-gut-and-now-we-know-how</li>
<li>https://bsky.app/profile/jordantyranny.bsky.social/post/3mrsiprbgac2k</li>
<li>https://www.cabinetmagazine.org/issues/33/gronberg_magnusson.php</li>
<li><a href="https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter">https://www.404media.co/ai-companies-are-buying-tons-of-old-books-because-theyre-free-of-ai-slop/?ref=daily-stories-newsletter</a></li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/mathematics-reveals-why-human-cannibalism-keeps-reappearing">https://www.sciencealert.com/mathematics-reveals-why-human-cannibalism-keeps-reappearing</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9017993/">https://pmc.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/articles/PMC9017993/</a>
</li>
<li>
<a href="https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hallucinogenic-compound-found-in-cacti-may-rewire-the-brains-sensory-filter">https://www.sciencealert.com/a-hallucinogenic-compound-found-in-cacti-may-rewire-the-brains-sensory-filter</a>
</li>
<li>
https://www.sciencealert.com/a-wild-parasite-makes-ants-live-longer-and-tricks-others-into-worshipping-them-scientists-finally-know-how
</li>
</ul>

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Bizarre science history from academics with beers