Why ASMR Tingles Your Brain, Curly Hair Chemistry & Cuttlefish | FULL EPISODE | S4

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

0:08 Coming up, what's cuter than the sight of a cephalopod?

0:12 Seeing how cuttlefish [music] camouflage, of course.

0:14 Oh, wow.

0:16 Look at her go.

0:17 Then, [music] your curls could benefit from some chemistry.

0:21 Discover how a bioengineer can help your hair.

0:23 Is there something that you can whip up for my hair?

0:25 Yeah, definitely.

0:26 Let's go.

0:27 And [music] Dr.

0:27 Brain knows why ASMR might give you the tingles.

0:31 It starts in your brain.

0:33 And even small science can have a big impact.

0:37 In engineering, [music] I have role models that look like me.

0:41 Get ready to meet the scientists, [music] inventors,

0:44 and heroes who help make our world a better place.

0:48 The future is here.

0:50 The mission unstoppable.

0:56 Oh, hey.

0:57 Did you see me?

0:58 Of course not, because I am a master [music] of disguise.

1:04 But, there are animals out there

1:05 whose camouflage [music] is even more convincing.

1:08 To find out what we can learn from these creatures,

1:10 today we're talking to research [music] biologist Kendra Buresch.

1:15 Deep below the surface of the ocean,

1:18 there are [music] creatures with incredible powers.

1:21 Masters of camouflage, able to instantly change their color and even [music]

1:27 their texture.

1:28 With brains and nervous systems unlike anything on land,

1:32 these creatures are the cephalopods.

1:37 To find out more about these amazing animals,

1:40 I've come to the Marine Biological Laboratory in Woods [music] Hole,

1:43 Massachusetts, to meet research scientist Kendra Buresch.

1:49 I always knew that I wanted to work with animals.

1:51 Um, we used to go and visit my aunt in DC all the time,

1:53 and she would take us to the zoo and uh natural

1:56 history museum and those are probably my fondest memories of being

2:00 a kid and I always wanted to study animal behavior

2:03 and this [music] lab studies behavior with some really cool animals.

2:07 Today I'm visiting Kendra's lab to see some of the experiments

2:11 she's designed to [music] unlock

2:13 the mysteries how cephalopods perceive their environment.

2:17 Like this aquatic arena where Kendra

2:19 and her team study the incredible camouflage

2:22 powers of the cuttlefish [music] by exposing

2:25 them to different natural and unnatural patterns.

2:29 Oh my goodness.

2:31 Wow.

2:33 I don't think I've seen a cuttlefish before.

2:36 They really look kind of elegant, don't they?

2:38 It has this fin that goes all the way around the outside of its body.

2:41 They can hover that way with their fin.

2:43 They can swim that way.

2:44 They also can squirt water through their siphon and jet backwards.

2:47 They have eight arms and then they have two tentacles.

2:50 It can change the color of its skin

2:52 and it can also change the texture of its skin.

2:55 So she could make herself look really smooth

2:57 or she could make herself look really bumpy.

2:59 What we're going to do now is sort of do an example

3:01 of what might happen if we put her on a different [music] pattern type.

3:05 Oh wow.

3:06 Look at her go.

3:08 Oh my gosh.

3:09 She's She immediately changed color.

3:12 Whoa.

3:13 It's an instinct really.

3:14 She's just trying to hide.

3:15 So if I'm a cuttlefish,

3:16 I'm pretty tasty and everything in the ocean [music] wants to eat me.

3:18 I better camouflage myself pretty quickly like that.

3:21 She's putting on a pattern that we call a disruptive body

3:24 pattern which isn't necessarily always used to blend into their background.

3:28 It can be used to break up their body outline

3:31 so that they just don't look like [music] something to eat.

3:34 Kendra also studies the perception of other

3:36 cephalopods like Joey the octopus who

3:39 lives in this cute little teapot and can touch and taste with her arms.

3:45 Octopuses are super curious.

3:47 They explore their environment with their arms and [music] they're tasting

3:50 and touching everything and kind of trying to figure out what everything is.

3:54 Ooh, she changed colors right there.

3:56 Yeah, so she can do the same thing that the cuddles can do.

3:59 Woah, look at that pattern.

4:01 That's a really cool pattern.

4:03 They have like 150 to 250 suckers on each arm.

4:06 They have over 500 million neurons.

4:09 2/3 of them are in their arms.

4:11 They actually have a ring of neurons

4:13 that goes around to their whole crown of arms.

4:15 So, there's a ganglia associated, which is like a fancy way of saying a nerve,

4:21 at the top of each one of their arms.

4:24 Those arms can actually communicate with each

4:26 other without going to the central brain.

4:28 [music] Arm one out here knows what arm three is doing back here.

4:32 Oh, so they can multitask and do eight different things at the same time.

4:35 But, they can also do more than one thing with one arm at the same time.

4:38 It's pretty impressive.

4:40 Thanks so much, Kendra, for teaching me all about cephalopods.

4:42 They really are the superheroes of the sea.

4:45 They are pretty amazing animals.

4:47 Bye, Joey.

4:53 Hair.

4:54 It keeps our head warm,

4:55 gives it a place to use shampoo, [music] and clogs our drains.

4:59 And thanks to science, we understand [music] it more than ever.

5:03 We sent Nabeel to find out how bioengineering can help us care for our hair.

5:09 Everyone's hair [music] is different.

5:10 Some people have dark, bouncy curls.

5:13 Others find it blonde, and still others, a thick and commanding dark chestnut.

5:17 [music] Check it out.

5:21 That probably would look better if I had longer hair.

5:24 But, regardless, the products we use for a healthy

5:27 head of hair have some clever chemistry.

5:30 [music] Thanks to scientists like bioengineer Serena Karim.

5:33 I've always been someone who's wanted to know everything about

5:37 every single little [music] thing and how every single system works.

5:40 I use biology, I use chemistry, I use mathematics,

5:43 [music] I use engineering because I'm making hair

5:47 care products which is a lot of chemistry, especially organic chemistry.

5:52 By combining her love of all these sciences,

5:54 Serena designs new ways [music] to help the human body,

5:58 specifically the hair part.

6:00 At her company, she creates [music] custom hair

6:03 products through careful analysis of every client's unique hair.

6:08 Have you always been a big fan of hair?

6:09 How how did you get into this field?

6:11 So, I went to a boarding school when I

6:12 was young and at the boarding school they didn't really

6:15 know how to take care of my hair and even

6:17 brought me to a salon to cut off my hair.

6:20 [music] Luckily, the hair stylist was really nice and she didn't cut my hair,

6:23 but she did show me a bunch of different products and how to apply

6:26 products to my hair so I can learn how to take care of my hair.

6:28 And [music] since then, I've been on a search for a perfect

6:30 product until I created my business Follicue.

6:32 It's almost like your superhero origin story.

6:35 Exactly.

6:36 What are you working on right now?

6:37 I'm actually taking a look at one of my client's hair.

6:39 Do you [music] want to see?

6:40 Yeah, I would love to.

6:41 The hair has three layers, the cuticle, the cortex, and the medulla.

6:44 [music] When you're bleaching your hair,

6:46 you have to open up the hair cuticle to get

6:48 to the cortex because that's where pigment is stored.

6:52 [music]

6:51 That can damage the hair cuticle.

6:53 So, whenever the cuticle is raised to that extent,

6:55 the hair [music] is left vulnerable.

6:57 And then, what is the medulla?

6:59 So, the medulla is where a lot

7:01 of the protein [music] structures are for the hair.

7:03 Keratin fibers affect your hair's shape and structure.

7:07 So, what other things are you looking for when you study [music] hair?

7:09 The same type of damage shows for heat and maybe the hair thickness.

7:14 So, if you have a thinner [music] diameter,

7:15 that means that you should use lighter you have a thicker diameter,

7:18 your hair can handle heavier products.

7:20 Is it possible to take a piece of my hair,

7:22 examine it under the microscope, and maybe make me a custom hair formula?

7:26 Yeah, of course.

7:28 Do what you got to do, but be careful.

7:31 It's my livelihood over here.

7:35 You do have some signs of damage which is really normal.

7:38 So, based on what we saw here,

7:40 is there something that you can whip up for my hair?

7:42 Yeah, definitely.

7:42 Let's go.

7:43 Serena is making me a hair mask and the process is broken up into three phases.

7:48 Phase A starts with weighing the water.

7:51 Anytime there's like [music] beakers or scales involved,

7:53 I feel super super super sciency.

7:55 This formulation is very [music] precise.

7:59 You are literally putting singular drops back in to get to the exact amount.

8:03 That's how precise you need to be.

8:04 Yes, exactly.

8:06 She also adds an emulsifier and a polyquat

8:09 before warming up the mixture in this little bath.

8:13 In phase B, we add avocado and jojoba oil.

8:17 This is the most I've ever focused.

8:20 [laughter] Well, what jojoba oil does is [music] helps protect

8:22 the hair and helps seals it and moisturize the hair.

8:25 And the avocado oil has strengthening

8:27 properties because [music] of the fatty acids.

8:30 Next up, keratin and wheat protein.

8:33 Protein helps fill in the gaps in the cuticle.

8:36 With our oils and proteins done, we retrieve our warmed water ingredients.

8:41 We know it's ready because the emulsifier starts to expand a little bit.

8:45 Now, we physically combine them with the stir.

8:49 My little science blender.

8:51 With our water ingredients blended, we [music] add in the oils and the proteins.

8:57 Now, we're ready for the C phase.

9:00 We start with the fragrance that we want and then [music] add a preservative

9:03 to ensure that the product will be safe to use for a long time to come.

9:08 How am I supposed to actually use this product?

9:10 After you shampoo once a week,

9:12 [music] it's more of a treatment rather than a everyday use product.

9:16 Now, all that's left is transferring the product over to this cute little jar.

9:22 Well, Serena, thank you so much for my custom hair

9:24 mask and thank you for teaching me so much about hair.

9:27 [music] If you're ever in need of any um hair models for your men's line,

9:31 I've [music] been told by an expert that I have pretty good hair.

9:34 I'll definitely I'll it.

9:35 Cool.

9:36 [laughter] Take care.

9:38 Bye.

9:41 ASMR is supposed to be relaxing, and I have no idea why.

9:47 But, I bet it's probably because of [music] something going on up here.

9:50 Dr.

9:50 Brain is here to explain.

9:53 Whispering, crinkling, scratching, tapping.

9:58 For some people, these sounds cause tingling sensations

10:01 [music] and a feeling of well-being, almost euphoria.

10:05 This is called ASMR, and although you feel ASMR in your body,

10:09 it starts in your brain.

10:12 Hi, I'm Dr.

10:13 Brain.

10:14 Okay, my real name is Crystal Dilworth, but I have a PhD in neuroscience,

10:17 so it's just easier to call me Dr.

10:19 Brain.

10:20 So, I'm Dr.

10:22 Brain.

10:23 Autonomous sensory meridian response, [music] or ASMR,

10:27 is often described as a pleasant prickling

10:30 or tingling sensation around your head, neck, and spine.

10:34 ASMR can be triggered by soft sounds,

10:36 like gentle whispering or the whoosh of a comb rushing through hair,

10:41 or by crisp repetitive sounds, like clicking or tapping.

10:45 Some people even [music] experience ASMR from the sound of chewing.

10:52 The unexpected shivers that result from these sensory

10:55 stimuli can help with relaxation and sleep,

10:58 [music] improve our mood, and even reduce our heart rate.

11:02 And we have yet to determine the [music] exact mechanism for these experiences,

11:06 but we do know is that when we experience ASMR sensations,

11:10 regions of our brain's limbic system are activated,

11:13 which mediates pleasure, reward, [music] and emotion.

11:16 Brains that experience the chills of ASMR

11:19 may also just be wired a little differently.

11:23 [music] When parts of the brain that we need

11:24 for action switch off and our mind starts to wander,

11:27 other regions of the brain switch on.

11:30 Scientists found that the ASMR brains

11:32 [music] have less conductivity in the parts

11:35 of the brain that are expected to be on [music] at rest.

11:38 But, the ASMR brains at rest had more connections

11:43 [music] between the primary somatosensory cortex that processes touch,

11:47 temperature, and pain, and the regions in the limbic system

11:50 [music] related to emotion and reward responses.

11:54 And this could explain why, with the right trigger,

11:57 individuals with ASMR [music] experience auditory emotional associations

12:02 that are different than those in the general population.

12:05 Many more studies will be needed before we

12:07 know exactly how and why those prickles happen.

12:10 But, the effects of ASMR have been

12:12 verified and validated using scientific [music] study,

12:15 and we know that leaning into ASMR sensations can help calm anxiety, [music]

12:20 settle heart rate, improve sleep, and lift your mood.

12:23 So, if you have one of those special ASMR brains, relax and enjoy the benefits.

12:29 Until next time.

12:30 Bye.

12:35 There's no me in science, but there is an I.

12:39 We're not a language show, so I don't really know what that means.

12:41 Anyway, here's our next guest.

12:44 This show has always been about inspiring [music]

12:47 young women to change the world through science,

12:50 technology, engineering, [music] and math.

12:53 If there's one thing we know, girls are good for STEM,

12:56 and [music] STEM is good for girls.

12:58 The organization that coined that phrase and proves it every day is our sponsor,

13:03 TechBridge [music] Girls.

13:04 Its aim is to re-engineer STEM education

13:07 by providing educators with the curriculum and training

13:09 they need to help girls of [music]

13:11 color from marginalized communities pursue STEM careers.

13:14 A philosophy that guides educators like Julissa Escobar,

13:17 [music] who helps thousands of kids and teens in California's Silicon Valley.

13:22 STEM is good for girls because they're going to bring a new a new perspective,

13:26 a new idea, a new way around things,

13:28 and I think getting as many heads or as many

13:32 opinions on that as possible is the most important thing.

13:34 One of [music] the many students Julissa has helped is Alize Serrana Aguilera,

13:39 who wasn't always a fan of STEM.

13:40 [music] What made me like science and engineering was Julissa because when

13:44 she explained it to me in a way that I could understand,

13:48 I really got the hang of it cuz [music]

13:50 she cared to do experiments and building creative things,

13:56 it just it [music] got really exciting.

13:58 To further the sense of belonging in the world of STEM,

14:01 today [music] Julissa is showing Alize that although

14:04 Latinas only represent 2% [music] of STEM jobs, they are out there, like STEM

14:09 superstar and process engineer Erica Gabriel Hanson,

14:13 who helps create cutting-edge [music] computer

14:15 chip technology at our sponsor Applied Materials.

14:18 Can you name anything that you use in your daily life that has chips in it?

14:22 My phone, my laptop.

14:24 Yes, exactly.

14:24 [laughter] And what about you?

14:26 My watch, my TV, I mean, I think even my house.

14:30 Practically everything that we use on a daily basis uses chips.

14:34 It helps [music] enable business, it helps enable the medical industry.

14:37 All these incredible things are things that [music] we make possible.

14:41 What's a process engineer?

14:42 Kind of a mixture between a chemical engineer and a mechanical engineer.

14:46 So, I work a lot with different chemistries,

14:49 and we kind of change those to modify materials.

14:52 So, a lot of times I'm working on adjusting different hardware

14:55 that can change the the outputs that we want on our processes.

15:00 So, we have an example of a pattern wafer here.

15:03 The process of making a chip is basically adding a bunch of materials,

15:07 removing materials, modifying materials, and inspecting materials.

15:11 Each chip probably has [music] 3,000 steps,

15:15 and then eventually all of those materials and all

15:17 of the processes become a chip [music] like this.

15:19 So, you can see an example here.

15:21 If you drop it, it'll break, but it it's fine with you.

15:26 [laughter] No, no, no.

15:27 You can totally hold it.

15:27 It's totally fine.

15:28 Oh, it's light.

15:29 light.

15:30 Yeah.

15:30 I didn't even know.

15:33 [laughter] The Each of those little squares would be

15:34 an example of a chip that would be cut out,

15:37 packaged, and [music] then eventually put into your phones,

15:40 computers, your microwave.

15:41 And it's crazy to think that there's 60 mi

15:43 [music] of wiring in one of those little chips.

15:46 And we have 11 billion transistors.

15:48 Does the color impact the performance of the chip?

15:50 Yeah, the color that you see here

15:52 doesn't necessarily impact how [music] the chip behaves,

15:55 but it's more of what material you're seeing on the top of it.

15:58 So, I would love to show you an example of one

16:00 of our manufacturing systems that actually does some of the removal process.

16:04 The minuscule scale of chip manufacturing [music] means

16:07 tiny bits of dust are a big deal.

16:10 So, everyone puts on what's called a bunny

16:12 suit before visiting the laboratory clean room.

16:16 Machines here [music] turn silicon into microchips with robots

16:20 and chemical processes designed by engineers like Erica,

16:24 adding and removing materials at atomic levels of precision.

16:28 And maybe one day, TechBridge [music] Girl Alizé.

16:32 We're removing 100 nm of oxide.

16:35 So, to put that in perspective, your red blood cell,

16:39 one red blood cell, is about 10,000 nm.

16:43 So, you're removing 100 nm.

16:45 So, even smaller than that.

16:47 That's how precise we can get with these tools.

16:51 After today, [music] I know that somebody

16:53 like me belongs in engineering or in science.

16:57 [music] I have role models that look like me.

17:00 And knowing that [music] I can make a difference like Erica.

17:06 Thank you for having us.

17:07 This was a really cool experience.

17:08 I never knew your job existed.

17:10 I also want to say like this means so much to me.

17:12 And being able to see this facility with someone

17:14 who looks like us and sounds like us,

17:16 I think it's something you don't see a lot in the STEM world,

17:20 let alone in the engineering world.

17:21 So, knowing that someone like you does it

17:23 is probably the best part about this entire experience.

17:27 I believe that [music] we all support each other and I'm so

17:29 excited to see where us Latinas in STEM go in the future.

17:35 [laughter] Welcome back.

17:40 Before we go, we have one [music] last thing.

17:43 We always have this picture as as younger people

17:45 that a scientist is a man in a white lab coat,

17:49 but the truth is that [music] a scientist can be anyone.

17:51 There are many faces of science.

17:54 Always keep learning and exploring.

17:55 [music] STEM is such a wide field and once

17:57 you find what you do and don't like, keep learning.

18:00 Be okay with taking [music] risks.

18:02 You know, have fun taking risks.

18:04 Don't be afraid to try something because you don't know what it is.

18:08 [music] Seeing Erica be an engineer and she's Latina,

18:10 it really inspired me knowing that somebody like me can be

18:14 an engineer and that [music] it's not really based on culture,

18:18 that you could really do whatever you want, put your mind into [music] it.

18:21 I think representation in STEM is incredibly important.

18:25 All of those different backgrounds bring new experiences

18:28 and new ways of looking [music] at problems.

18:31 That's it for Mission Unstoppable.

18:33 Tune in next week and [music] maybe we'll have an evil scientist for once.

18:37 So far all of our scientists have been [music] good,

18:40 but statistically, it has to happen eventually, right?

18:43 Bye.

19:05 [music] If you're watching this, you must have really liked the video.

19:18 Make sure you follow and subscribe,

19:19 and check out these other videos [music] that are even better.

19:22 No, really.

19:24 I've seen this one over a hundred times.