Rachel Carlson

Another neuroscientist in the field, Yannick Poitelot, Told us the kind of scans the researchers took makes it hard to say, like, for sure that running caused the change in myelin. But he says that this study was really exciting. It's one of the first to show that human myelin could be used as an energy source. And he thinks it could inspire lots of new work in the field.

Yeah, it was miso. Okay, the paste created from like fermented soybeans or grains. It's used a lot in Japanese cooking. And part of the study is in service of astronaut nutrition. Like how do we make their diets more delicious, more nutritious, more diverse?

Yeah, it was miso. Okay, the paste created from like fermented soybeans or grains. It's used a lot in Japanese cooking. And part of the study is in service of astronaut nutrition. Like how do we make their diets more delicious, more nutritious, more diverse?

Yeah, it was miso. Okay, the paste created from like fermented soybeans or grains. It's used a lot in Japanese cooking. And part of the study is in service of astronaut nutrition. Like how do we make their diets more delicious, more nutritious, more diverse?

So how did this miso make its way into space? Well, Juana, it almost didn't. I spoke to Maggie Koblenz and Josh Evans, who published their study in the journal Ice Science this week. And Josh reminded me that, like most fermented things, have a really strong smell. And this fact almost stopped them from getting the experiment into space.

So how did this miso make its way into space? Well, Juana, it almost didn't. I spoke to Maggie Koblenz and Josh Evans, who published their study in the journal Ice Science this week. And Josh reminded me that, like most fermented things, have a really strong smell. And this fact almost stopped them from getting the experiment into space.

So how did this miso make its way into space? Well, Juana, it almost didn't. I spoke to Maggie Koblenz and Josh Evans, who published their study in the journal Ice Science this week. And Josh reminded me that, like most fermented things, have a really strong smell. And this fact almost stopped them from getting the experiment into space.

Yeah, it did. When it came back to Earth, it tasted nuttier than the miso from the same batch fermented on the ground. Interesting. Why do they think that happened? So they don't know for sure. It could have been like radiation. It could be microgravity. It could be a combination of all of this. But the leading hypothesis is that it was mostly temperature swings inside the space station.

Yeah, it did. When it came back to Earth, it tasted nuttier than the miso from the same batch fermented on the ground. Interesting. Why do they think that happened? So they don't know for sure. It could have been like radiation. It could be microgravity. It could be a combination of all of this. But the leading hypothesis is that it was mostly temperature swings inside the space station.

Yeah, it did. When it came back to Earth, it tasted nuttier than the miso from the same batch fermented on the ground. Interesting. Why do they think that happened? So they don't know for sure. It could have been like radiation. It could be microgravity. It could be a combination of all of this. But the leading hypothesis is that it was mostly temperature swings inside the space station.

Yeah. So this was a big mystery that perplexed researchers for a while. Like basically bats emerge from their caves like around dusk all at once. There can be hundreds, thousands or even millions of bats in a group all funneling out together. And for the most part, they don't crash into each other.

Yeah. So this was a big mystery that perplexed researchers for a while. Like basically bats emerge from their caves like around dusk all at once. There can be hundreds, thousands or even millions of bats in a group all funneling out together. And for the most part, they don't crash into each other.

Yeah. So this was a big mystery that perplexed researchers for a while. Like basically bats emerge from their caves like around dusk all at once. There can be hundreds, thousands or even millions of bats in a group all funneling out together. And for the most part, they don't crash into each other.

Yeah, lead researcher Aya Goldstein said one big innovation was tiny microphones.

Yeah, lead researcher Aya Goldstein said one big innovation was tiny microphones.

Yeah, lead researcher Aya Goldstein said one big innovation was tiny microphones.

ISS scientists used to put microphones in front of the caves to measure the sounds of bats emerging, or they would have like a few bats in captivity. But none of this really got to an individual bat's perspective while in a densely packed group.

ISS scientists used to put microphones in front of the caves to measure the sounds of bats emerging, or they would have like a few bats in captivity. But none of this really got to an individual bat's perspective while in a densely packed group.

ISS scientists used to put microphones in front of the caves to measure the sounds of bats emerging, or they would have like a few bats in captivity. But none of this really got to an individual bat's perspective while in a densely packed group.

So they found that when the bats were like very densely packed, their calls were shorter, higher pitched, lower in volume and more frequent. And all of this essentially allows a bat to hear its own call echoed back instead of disappearing in like the ruckus of other bat sounds.