Brain Freeze, Satellites & Sea Dragons | FULL EPISODE | S4

0:03 Hi, I'm Miranda [music] Cosgrove and this is Mission Unstoppable.

0:08 Coming up, [music] can satellites in space help

0:11 me figure out where I left my keys?

0:13 Probably not, but they can help predict the future of [music] life on Earth.

0:17 We can start to understand how our ecosystems are changing.

0:21 Then, can ice cream [music] actually freeze your brain?

0:25 Dr.

0:25 Brain has the scoop.

0:26 It isn't actually your brain freezing that [music]

0:29 causes pain with an ice cream headache.

0:31 And these oceang dwelling superstars are in need of protection.

0:35 See how [music] one woman is working to save the sea dragons and seahorses.

0:39 It's my hope that people will see how amazing these [music] fish are.

0:44 Then technology has made everything easier from navigating the world

0:48 to sharing dance moves to creating incredible [music] landscapes.

0:53 Get ready to meet the scientists, inventors,

0:55 [music] and heroes who help make our world a better place.

0:59 The future is here.

1:01 The mission unstoppable.

1:07 Wildfires have a reputation for being, [music] well, wild.

1:11 But with science, we can track where they might be headed next.

1:15 Not me [music] personally, but science people like Dr.

1:19 Melanie Vanderhook.

1:22 The first man-made satellite was launched into space over 60 years ago.

1:26 Its mission was to study black holes, find [music] galaxies far,

1:30 far away, and maybe even discover alien life.

1:34 But did you know satellites can also [music] tell

1:36 us all about this great blue marble we call home?

1:41 As climate [music] change and extreme weather impact our planet,

1:44 we are relying more and more on satellites

1:46 [music] to help us see the big picture.

1:48 And there's one scientist who has these satellites on speed dial.

1:52 Meet Dr.

1:52 [music] Melanie Vanderhook.

1:55 I think I became interested in STEM [music] when I was quite young.

1:59 Just in that I really enjoyed being in nature and walking through nature.

2:03 [music] I've always loved animals, but I also had a high school science

2:08 teacher that just made science really interesting [music]

2:10 and fun and hands-on and gave me

2:14 the confidence to go into [music] science in college.

2:18 Melanie discovered she could help protect the homes

2:20 of the animals she [music] loves by studying their ecosystems using,

2:24 you guessed it, satellite imagery.

2:26 And today, I'm visiting her at the United

2:28 States [music] Geological Survey to get a closer look.

2:32 So, you're a research geographer.

2:33 Tell me all about it.

2:34 I am.

2:35 I'm [music] a research geographer for the US Geological Survey.

2:38 I use data from satellites to study extreme events like droughts,

2:43 floods, [music] and wildfires.

2:46 Melanie explains that satellites measure how light

2:48 reflects off objects on the Earth's surface.

2:50 [music] This is called reflectance.

2:53 Snow, trees, and water all have different levels [music] of reflectance.

2:57 Satellites collect this information in layers or bands.

3:01 There's what our eyes can see, which is red, green, and blue spectral bands.

3:05 But they're also [music] picking up information our eyes can't see,

3:09 like infrared wavelengths.

3:10 Taken all together, this gives us a whole bunch of information about our world.

3:14 Would you [music] like to take a closer look at what we do?

3:17 Yeah, for sure.

3:19 You might think you need some kind of special

3:21 NASA level control center to communicate with [music] space,

3:24 but as I'm about to learn, all you really need is a laptop.

3:28 So, I've got two images [music] from Sentinel 2, which is a satellite.

3:33 These are both from southwestern [music] Mexico.

3:37 Oh, I was going to say it looks like the moon.

3:39 Never mind.

3:41 Melanie shows me a [music] satellite image

3:42 of a site where several wildfires occurred in 2019.

3:46 The areas where vegetation burned are

3:48 [music] dark because they reflect less light.

3:51 These are the parts that appear red when

3:53 the image is classified using the spectral bands.

3:56 By using satellite data collected over [music] the last 10 years,

3:59 Melanie can see where the trees are growing back and where they're not.

4:02 So, I can see in [music] this part where the fire has already burned,

4:05 but how's that going to help us in the future?

4:07 So we can use burned area data sets, start to look at postfire [music] recovery

4:13 and trends and start to understand how our ecosystems

4:17 [music] are changing in response to fire and how

4:20 that will continue to change with climate change.

4:23 Because [music] climate change impacts water levels,

4:26 Melanie shows an example of how satellite data [music] was used in Montana

4:29 to help restore water to streams that were too low for the fish and farmers.

4:34 Conservationists [music] mimicked beavers and built dams

4:37 to reconnect streams with the flood planes.

4:40 Melanie [music] and her team used a series of satellite images

4:42 taken over time to help measure the impact of their work.

4:46 If you're on the [music] ground, you might look around and say,

4:49 "Well, this area looks better to us,

4:51 but we can only see this [music] much of it." But with your help,

4:54 you can really see the entire extent of the whole area they were working on.

4:58 [music] Exactly.

4:59 Thank you so much for today.

5:00 This is super interesting and the work you're

5:03 doing is really important and truly global in scale.

5:05 [music] Um, I just have one favor.

5:07 Can you show me where my car is cuz

5:09 I think my meter might be running a little low.

5:12 Can you just zoom in really quick?

5:13 I don't think we're going to be able to do that.

5:15 Thanks so much.

5:16 Thanks so [music] much.

5:22 This next story is about [music] ice cream headaches.

5:25 And you'd think that would be a good excuse

5:27 for the host of the show to get some ice cream, right?

5:29 Like just a few scoops [music] of cookie dough to sell the segment.

5:32 Just a little treat.

5:34 Anyway, here's Dr.

5:36 Brink.

5:37 Really?

5:37 Not even a half a scoop?

5:40 Don't you hate it when you're enjoying a lovely ice cream cone

5:43 or a very cold drink and then

5:45 suddenly [snorts] it's been a palatine ganglionalgia?

5:50 Hi, I'm Dr.

5:51 Brain.

5:52 Okay, I mean my real name is Crystal Dworth,

5:54 but I have a PhD in neuroscience, so it's just easier to call me Dr.

5:57 Brain.

5:58 So, I'm Dr.

6:00 Brain.

6:01 Spopalatine ganglion neuralgia is what scientists

6:04 call brain freeze or ice cream headache.

6:07 It's that horrible but short-lived pain in our head

6:10 that can be brought on by eating very cold foods.

6:13 When a large part of our mouth and throat cools [music] down quickly,

6:16 the drop in temperature triggers a group

6:18 of nerves above the pallet called the spenopalatine ganglen.

6:21 And the nerves in this ganglen send signals that result in a sharp headache.

6:25 And this ganglen [music] is deep in there about there.

6:30 Your whole head's kind of [music] freaky looking from this angle, right?

6:33 Ganglen is a name scientists give [music] to a collection of nerve cell bodies.

6:37 There's many different ganglia in your body.

6:39 a whole ganglia gang [music] if you will like the dorsal

6:43 root ganglia which is a collection of sensory nerve cells

6:45 in your spinal cord or the basil ganglia that contains [music]

6:48 the nerve cells important for motor control deep in your brain.

6:53 The one responsible for brain freeze [music] the fenopalatine ganglen

6:57 is one of the largest collections of neurons outside the brain.

7:00 The nerves here send signals to the lacrimal gland which forms tears

7:04 the nasal mucosa inside our nose and they control local blood flow.

7:09 It isn't actually your brain [music] freezing

7:11 that causes pain with an ice cream headache.

7:15 When the spenopalatine [music] ganglen detects the drop in temperature,

7:18 it jumps into action to protect the brain

7:20 from an oncoming freeze [music] by constricting blood vessels,

7:23 reducing blood flow, and activating the trigeminal nerve.

7:26 [music] The trigeminal nerve is responsible

7:28 for conveying sensory information like pain,

7:31 [music] touch, and temperature sensations to the brain,

7:34 and that causes headaches.

7:36 A cold induced headache usually lasts a few seconds to a few minutes.

7:40 And interestingly, if you're one of the unlucky

7:43 people who experiences migraine [music] headaches,

7:46 you're not only more likely to experience brain freeze,

7:49 but it might also be more intense.

7:51 Tough break.

7:53 Try pressing your tongue to the roof of your mouth to heat things back up.

7:57 Your tongue will transfer heat to the sinuses behind your nose,

8:00 warm [music] the nerve bundles, and allow the blood vessels to relax.

8:04 Or you can try eating or drinking [music] something

8:06 at a warmer temperature to achieve the same result.

8:09 So remember, ice cream, you scream, we all scream for ice cream,

8:14 especially if you're experiencing a brain freeze.

8:17 [music] Sometimes fish kind of look like a normal land animal,

8:25 [music] and it's important we keep the ocean weird like that.

8:28 That's why we sent Nabil to meet a woman

8:30 who's working to save seahorses and sea dragons.

8:35 You know the phrase, [music] there's plenty of fish in the sea.

8:37 Well, it's actually not true.

8:39 We actually need way more fish in the sea.

8:42 Well, here at Birch Aquarium in San Diego,

8:44 scientists are actually trying to help by studying

8:46 and protecting endangered fish like [music] seahorses and sea dragons.

8:50 Let's go find out more.

8:52 And our guide to this underwater realm where horses

8:55 and dragons roam is marine biology queen and associate

8:59 curator Leslie Matsushig whose job is to make sure

9:03 that all [music] the animals are happy and healthy.

9:07 Growing up in Hawaii, I really enjoyed being at the ocean.

9:11 And I love to explore tide poles and that curiosity

9:16 back then I think led me to what I'm doing now.

9:20 And what Leslie Matsushig is doing now

9:22 [music] is working as the associate curator,

9:25 making sure all the animals are happy and healthy.

9:29 Hey Leslie, how's it going?

9:30 Hey Nil,

9:31 good to meet you.

9:32 Nice to meet you, too.

9:34 Wow, this is amazing.

9:36 So, tell me about the conservation work you do with sea dragons and seahorses.

9:41 What we're trying to do here is to mainly

9:44 educate people about what sea dragons are and what

9:47 seahorses are and that they are an animal that is

9:51 in our coastal habitats that are currently being threatened.

9:55 It's my hope that people will see sea dragons and seahorses and see

9:59 how amazing these fish are and that they will understand the amazing

10:04 diversity that our oceans hold and that they will come to love

10:07 our ocean and care for it and want to take care of it.

10:11 So, what makes seahorses and sea dragons so amazing?

10:14 Well, believe it or not, they're actually fish who belong to the same family.

10:19 Although these colorful cousins may seem different,

10:22 like how seahorses have a curled tail to anchor themselves,

10:25 while their longer snouted friends mostly

10:27 drift along looking [music] like floating seaweed,

10:30 they also share things in common, like having a head that looks like a horse,

10:34 bony plates that act as armor against predators,

10:38 and the males being the ones who incubate and carry their eggs.

10:42 Leslie tells me their goal is to replicate a habitat here at the aquarium

10:47 similar to what the animals would find out [music] in the wild, including food.

10:52 But it's not quite as simple as going to the drive-thru,

10:55 as she shows me in the plankton cultures area.

10:58 So, sea dragons, are they picky eaters?

11:00 Would a sea dragon eat a French fry, a turkey leg?

11:04 I wish they would.

11:05 No, they are very picky eaters.

11:08 So picky that Leslie and her team make a basic

11:11 food chain to produce the nutritious diet for their aquatic creatures.

11:15 Starting with phytolankton or tiny plant cells that float in the ocean.

11:20 They feed that to zuoplankton or animal

11:23 plankton which they then feed to mess shrimp.

11:26 And finally they feed the mic shrimp to the sea dragons.

11:31 That's a lot of work to make food for one animal in your aquarium.

11:37 It's a lot of work, but it's really

11:38 important because they thrive with having enriched food.

11:42 Only the best for our sea dragon.

11:44 And another thing, too, is if they don't get the, you know,

11:47 enough nutrition, they may not be able to breed.

11:49 And that's what we want.

11:50 We want the adults to be healthy, breed, and produce babies.

11:54 So, do you ever stand outside the sea dragon tank

11:57 and watch the animals as if it's a soap opera?

11:59 And you like Jack is trying to swim with Christine,

12:01 but Christine's not about it.

12:03 I do.

12:04 I do keep track of who I see courting with each other

12:07 and every once in a while you'll see one kind of cut in.

12:10 Oh no.

12:10 So there is some some sea dragon soap operas going on in in the I love that.

12:16 Thank you Leslie for teaching me about these amazing

12:19 creatures and congrats on getting them to fall in love.

12:22 Speaking of which, do you actually have any tips for humans?

12:25 Um should I like start eating krill?

12:28 Should I get into kelp dance lessons?

12:30 What should I do?

12:31 Well, unless you want to live under the water, I really can't help you there.

12:35 Okay.

12:35 Well, it was worth a shot.

12:36 Well, thank you so much.

12:37 Thank you.

12:42 Land is normally fine on its own,

12:44 but [music] sometimes you need to give it a good scaping.

12:47 That's why today we're talking to Donna [music] Vignyaki Zik,

12:50 who's bringing cuttingedge technology to her landscaping business.

12:55 To [music] navigate the world, some people use their moral compass.

12:59 But me, I use GPS.

13:01 I mean, it's available in everything from [music] my car to my phone.

13:05 It's even in my lawn mower.

13:07 That's right.

13:08 Who knew lawn care [music] could be so cutting edge?

13:11 I guess landscaping professionals and business

13:14 owners [music] like Donna Vyaki Zik.

13:17 I went to school for telecommunications,

13:20 [music] but math and science is something I always had an affinity for.

13:23 I think technology is [music] really, really important.

13:27 To learn more about the role of tech in her industry,

13:30 Donna has come [music] to a trade

13:31 show featuring booths from hundreds of organizations.

13:35 Our sponsor, the Turk Mut Foundation,

13:37 is passionate about educating [music] the industry

13:39 with an eye towards the future.

13:41 One of the misconceptions about landscaping is it's just mowing grass,

13:45 but it [music] requires skills in math and in science, engineering.

13:50 Among the newest tech are autonomous and robotic lawn care [music] tools.

13:54 This is a robotic lawn mower and it's all controlled

13:58 by the app and it goes out on its own.

13:59 It knows exactly what to do and when to mow.

14:03 Robotic mowers can navigate themselves [music] using one

14:05 of a variety of methods by cameras that see

14:08 the space around them or sensors that detect when

14:11 an object like a perimeter wire is in its path.

14:15 And then there's another technology called RTK

14:17 which operates off of a reference station.

14:19 RTK stands for real-time [music] kinematic, which is a specialized form of GPS.

14:25 GPS works when a receiver on Earth, like your car's [music] navigational device,

14:29 picks up radio signals from at least four

14:32 of the 31 dedicated GPS satellites orbiting around Earth.

14:36 The receiver then uses those signals to find where

14:38 you are with an accuracy of 6 to 12 ft.

14:42 RTK works almost the same except it

14:45 involves [music] two receivers on the ground.

14:48 In a robo mower's case,

14:49 one lives inside the mobile mower and one [music] in its static docking station.

14:54 Both receivers take in location information from the GPS satellites,

14:59 then compare that information with each other,

15:01 [music] resulting in a location reading

15:03 that's accurate within a few centimeters.

15:06 Landscapers use GPS in all sorts of ways.

15:09 From mapping and planning their work to surveying potential job sites,

15:14 which is where another high-flying tool [music] can come in handy, a drone.

15:18 We have some experience with drones at our company.

15:21 We use them for marketing.

15:22 You could use them for a lot more things like surveying the properties.

15:26 Drones can survey a location,

15:28 thanks in part to tech known as LAR, which is like a radar,

15:32 except instead of sending out electromagnetic pulses

15:34 to determine an object's location or dimensions, LAR sends out laser beams,

15:39 then measures their reflections to map out an environment.

15:43 LAR images [music] can help create an accurate realworld

15:46 view of a job site in just a few minutes.

15:49 What I learned today about the surveying, it kind of blew my no.

15:53 [music] that is an application that we can use.

15:56 It's just about programming it.

15:58 It is very very important for [music] us to continue to push the edge,

16:02 see what's out there, see what's new, test ourselves,

16:06 because you can't run a successful [music] growing business in a bubble.

16:11 As technology continues to change [music] what's possible,

16:14 keeping up with the newest improvements can be a challenge.

16:17 But it's one [music] that Donna is ready to face head on.

16:22 And now it's time for Oh, wait.

16:25 Let me animate myself.

16:27 Science Minute with Miranda [music] Cosgrove.

16:30 That's me.

16:31 If dragons were real,

16:32 would they actually be able to fly or [music] would they drag on the ground?

16:37 Quick, to the mafeteria.

16:39 For an animal to fly,

16:40 it [music] needs the right combination of weight, wing size, and flight speed.

16:45 Basically, the heavier an animal is,

16:47 the bigger its wings need to be or the faster

16:49 it needs to fly in order to stay [music] airborne.

16:52 So, to determine whether dragons could realistically fly,

16:55 we scoured movies, [music] TV shows,

16:58 and video games to try to figure out those traits

17:00 for as many fire breathers as we could find.

17:03 It was a lot of dragons.

17:05 Here's what we learned.

17:07 Not a single [music] dragon would be able to get off the ground.

17:10 They don't even come particularly close.

17:12 In fact, the average dragon in our database

17:15 would either [music] need to fly 10 times

17:16 faster or have wings 45 times larger if

17:19 they wanted to stay aloft in the real world.

17:21 [music] And frankly, it's probably a good thing dragons aren't realistic.

17:25 Can you imagine the pet food bill?

17:32 Welcome back.

17:33 Before we go, [music] we have one last thing.

17:36 My advice for any young people that want to get into STEM

17:39 is to really take every opportunity you can to learn more about it.

17:43 And that could [music] be taking a class at school

17:45 or getting involved in a club at school or in your community.

17:49 Listen to your inner curiosity.

17:51 Figure out what you're curious about.

17:53 Um, and have the confidence that you [music] can figure

17:56 out the technical and more challenging parts of the job.

17:59 If you get knocked down, you pick [music] yourself back up.

18:04 You try a different method of communicating and you know that you

18:08 have selfworth and [music] wake up the next day and try harder.

18:14 That's it for Mission Unstoppable.

18:16 I'm Miranda Cosgrove or her very convincing doppelganger.

18:20 There's no way to tell.

18:22 Scary [music] to think about.

18:23 Bye.

18:27 [music] [music] Heat.

18:56 Heat.

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19:09 No, [music] really.

19:10 I've seen this one over a hundred times.