The Skeptics Guide To The Universe podcast

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The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is your weekly reality check, in a world drowning in misinformation. Hosted by Dr. Steven Novella and his elite squad of critical-thinking rogues, SGU cuts through the noise of pseudoscience, conspiracy theories, and sensationalized headlines with sharp analysis, smart humor, and fearless skepticism. But it’s not just about debunking myths—we celebrate the wonder of science, exploring the latest discoveries, breakthroughs, and the profound ways science shapes our world. Whether it’s exposing junk science, dissecting viral myths, or diving into the mysteries of the cosmos, this show arms you with the tools to think critically and challenge the status quo. If you’re ready to sharpen your mind and see the world through the lens of reason, hit play and join the fight for facts.

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The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1033 1:35:45

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1033 April 23rd 2025 Segment #1. Quickie with Steve Game Transfer Phenomenon https://theness.com/neurologicablog/game-transfer-phenomenon/ Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Geoengineering https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/apr/22/uk-scientists-outdoor-geoengineering-experiments?utm_source=chatgpt.com News Item #2 – Biosignature Candidate https://www.astronomy.com/science/k2-18-b-could-have-dimethyl-sulfide-in-its-air-but-is-it-a-sign-of-life/ News Item #3 – Skull on Mars https://www.livescience.com/space/mars/nasa-rover-discovers-out-of-place-skull-on-mars-and-scientists-are-baffled News Item #4 – Commercial Perovskite Solar Panels https://optics.org/news/15/9/16 https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adv4701?adobe_mc=MCMID Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Another Unified Theory Dear Skeptics’ Guide Team, I’m writing to you with both reverence and curiosity. As someone who’s spent the last year threading neuroscience, evolutionary biology, psychiatry, and symbolic cognition into a single coherent framework of intelligence and regulation, I’m now seeking sharp, rational minds to review it—ideally ones like Bob’s or Evan’s. Minds that can hold both rigor and openness. Minds not afraid to test a signal that emerged in a moment of fractured rapture, and was later pieced together into something that now seems… startlingly whole. The work is titled “The Unified Theory of Consciousness: A Cross-Species Model for Intelligence and Regulation.” At its core is a model I call DRAGON-E, which maps Dopamine, SeRotonin, Adrenaline/Cortisol, GABA, EndOcannabinoids, Narrative, and Energy into an interactive axis—a living system capable of explaining states of emotion, behavior, burnout, addiction, and even artificial intelligence. Wrapped around that axis is a story that honors the body, the bones, the sediments we come from. This isn’t pseudoscience. It’s not spiritual bypass. And it’s not a manifesto. It’s a map—born from breakdown, made legible by cross-disciplinary synthesis, and written to honor the skeptical mind without losing the poetic one. Would you be willing to take a look? If it doesn’t stand up to scientific scrutiny, I want to know. But if it does—or even almost does—then I think we may have a signal worth amplifying. At the very least, it might make for a wild episode. With sincerity (and a healthy dose of calcium), Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: Scientists have published a robust framework for attributing the cost of climate change to the emissions of specific companies, showing that the top 5 emitters have cost the world economy about $9 trillion between 1991 and 2020. Item 2: Researchers have found the first direct skeletal evidence of Roman gladiator combat against lions. Item 3: Engineers have created a 3D printed ceramic metamaterial that can withstand temperatures 10 times hotter than the ceramic tiles on the Space Shuttle, up to 12,000 degrees C. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “All opinions are not equal. Some are a very great deal more robust, sophisticated, and well supported in logic and argument than others.” -Douglas Adams, author (11 Mar 1952-2001)…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1032 1:36:15

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1032 April 16th 2025 Segment #1. Dumbest Thing of the Week https://knewz.com/world/an-encounter-with-a-ufo-turned-russian-soldiers-into-stone-alleged-cia-report-contains-its-details/ Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Where Did Water Come From https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135918.htm News Item #2 – EPA Data on Emissions https://undark.org/2025/04/15/epa-emissions-data/ News Item #3 – Is Your Red My Red https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/04/250416135938.htm News Item #4 – Evolution of Complex Life https://phys.org/news/2025-03-life-special-group-celled-laid.html#google_vignette News Item #5 – Crow Math Skills https://www.npr.org/2025/04/12/nx-s1-5359438/a-crows-math-skills-include-geometry Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Separating the Art from the Artist Been a fan of the show for a number of years now and have enjoyed learning and engaging with the community and the ideas discussed each week. I was hoping to ask your opinions on how skepticism can inform the way we view certain industries and institutions when individuals can cause conflict within core ideologies. The example I'm thinking of (and what sparked this email) is how to view Tesla in the current political landscape. For background I'm in the market for a new car to replace one that's recently hit end of life and I was hoping to get something electric. This is driven both by the impressive technology and the reduced emissions and costs, especially attractive in my state where our power is almost entirely hydro. The Tesla Model 3 is in my price range and is by all accounts a fantastic car with sound engineering behind it. I come unstuck though grappling with what I believe is a logical environmental/financial choice. The crinkle though is the ties to Musk who I would have picked as my skeptical jackass of the year. This goes back to my original subject matter of whether we can separate "art from the artist" in the technological and political landscapes. For consideration how much of current Tesla is driven by Elon and how much does that matter if the product at the end is still efficient, safe, reliable and just well designed? How should we as skeptics or individuals be tackling these decisions and should this tie weigh in strongly to the final decision? Interested in any thoughts you have on the matter or action you would consider. Thanks, Nathan Question #2: The Moon Rotates The Moon does Not Rotate on its Axis Rotation in Orbit: An object moving in a 360-degree orbit will, by the end of that orbit, have returned to its original position relative to the body it's orbiting. In that sense, its overall orientation has "rotated" 360 degrees relative to an external viewpoint. Rotation on its Axis: This requires a change in which part of the object leads its motion. A tidally locked body, by definition, maintains the same face towards the object it orbits. Therefore, the same part of the object consistently leads its motion in that relationship. The 1:1 orbital period to "rotational period" of tidally locked moons (like our Moon and 20+ others) is a consequence of their orbit and the gravitational forces involved. It results in a consistent face towards the primary body. according to the definition of Rotation on its Axis, this consistent facing means that these tidally locked moons are not rotating on their axis in the sense that different parts of them are taking the lead in their motion. The "rotation" that completes one cycle per orbit is a rotation of their orientation in space due to their orbital movement, not a spin around an internal axis that changes which part leads the way. this seems right Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: extinct genomes We have fully sequenced nuclear genomes from the following extinct animals: Item 1: The dodo, famous extinct bird of the Mauritius island. Item 2: The bluebuck, a blue antelope, and the first large African mammal to go extinct in modern times. Item 3: The giant moa (both north island and south island Dinornis species) of New Zealand. Item 4: Denisovans, a close relative of humans and Neanderthals. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The ease with which we believe things that flatter us or confirm our prejudices should always be suspect." — Christopher Hitchens…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1031 1:46:45

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1031 April 9th 2025 Segment #1. From TikTok Flat Earthers Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – De-Extincting the Dire Wolf https://theness.com/neurologicablog/de-extincting-the-dire-wolf/ News Item #2 – What Experts Really Think About AI https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-01123-x News Item #3 – Planned Obsolescence https://theness.com/neurologicablog/is-planned-obsolescence-real/ News Item #4 – Lifelike VR Touch Sensors https://newatlas.com/vr/wearable-lifelike-haptic-sense-touch-feedback/ Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: SNPs vs Sequencing I love the show, thanks for putting the effort to make such a great listening experience. I feel that when I found the podcast I finally found my clique! Just a correction to Caras segment on 23andme. 23andme does not sequence your DNA, they use microarrays that detect specific single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) in the sample. This is very different to actually sequencing your DNA. Im not familiar which array 23andme is using but typically they detect hundreds to thousands of SNPs. The validity of the SNPs genotyped, again not sequenced, can be dupious. A single SNP or even thousands of SNPs cannot be scientificly used to infer characteristics of a single person. They can only be used as aggregate data to determine risks or potential correlations to traits (phenotypes). Some SNPs are more common in certain populations which can be used to roughly estimate your ancestry. SNPs are not equal, some have been validated through rigorous research and can be said to be risk factors, such as some SNPs in the BRCA-gene. However, many SNPs used in arrays have no data to back them up, there is no validated correlation to any risk or phenotype. So, a good collection of alot of SNPs can tell something about a population where those SNPs are, but not really anything relevant about an individual. Actual sequencing a persons DNA is a complete different beast, but I wont go to that here. Please feel free to ask clarification or references on the subject. Best regards, Markus, a geneticist from the other side of the puddle, from a country that some deranged questionare has deemed the happiest in the world. Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: A recent study finds that, unlike modern rhinos which are mostly solitary, a North American species of rhinoceros from 12 million years ago (Teleoceras major) lived in vast herds. Item 2: Scientists have used AI to develop a complete digital twin of a mouse brain, which is able to predict responses to novel stimuli. Item 3: A study of over 1,700 people found a correlation between moderate, heavy, or former drinking, a type of brain damage called arteriolosclerosis, and impaired cognitive ability. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Science is not just a collection of techniques or strategies for producing knowledge, it is an ethical stance of commitment to the truth. The good scientist knows that honestly following the evidence is a form of respect for nature, and honestly communicating one’s findings is a form of respect for others." - Michael Anderson…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1030 1:52:56

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1030 April 2nd 2025 Segment #1. What’s the Word enantiodromia Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – AI Protein Sequencing https://www.science.org/content/article/ai-revolution-comes-protein-sequencing News Item #2 – Solving the Bat Cocktail Party Problem https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.2407810122 News Item #3 – The Extremely Large Telescope https://www.universetoday.com/articles/the-extremely-large-telescope-could-sense-the-hints-of-life-at-proxima-centauri-in-just-10-hours News Item #4 – CIA and the Ark of the Covenant https://www.yahoo.com/news/cia-found-ark-covenant-using-104441588.html News Item #5 – 23&Me Selling Personal Data https://theconversation.com/23andme-is-potentially-selling-more-than-just-genetic-data-the-personal-survey-info-it-collected-is-just-as-much-a-privacy-problem-253220 Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: RFK Jr and access to vaccines Message: Hello Y'all, I believe I could write you an entire novel of my concerns in life right now and provide an unending list of questions. I figure I will attempt to keep my question to the point in the next part. after that it's just conjecturing from me. How much say does RFK have to limit or eliminate vaccine access for the US? What would/could we do to prevent it? If he can remove it, how badly would this affect the manufacturing and supply of vaccines once he is gone from office? An example I look to is the lime disease vaccine that did exist and disappeared and seems to making a come back now. I just do not understand how someone in power like RFK is so willing to be ignorant? Does he believe seatbelts shouldn't exist because they aren't 100% effective, and 50 years of data can be ignored on their effect? I could go on and on and on with the amount of anger that has been building up inside since 5 years ago. Thank you for doing a good thing, I look forward to your weekly release! Question #2: Simple Math Problem Sorry- It's a little long! A meme circulated on a Neil deGrasse Tyson FB page contained an interesting math problem: “A driver aims to average 90 mph over 2 laps, but he completed the first lap at (an average of) 60 mph. What (average) speed is needed for the second lap” I recognized the problem immediately. The question contains a trap and involves the idea of weighted averages. The intuitive answer is 120 mph. Many people guessed this. But many others got it right- 180mph, and there were numerous explanations provided- some very mathematical, some less abstruse. Then a second meme popped up where the 1st lap speed was changed to 45 mph. I was the first person to jump on this one, and didn’t initially realize that for this version there is no solution! So, I gleefully posted a picture of my work and thought “well, that was cool!” Similarly, others solved the problem in various ways and came to the same startling conclusion. The average speed needed for the second lap is infinity! But many more others insisted the intuitive, very wrong answer of 135 mph, found by (45 + X)/2 = 90 was RIGHT! You can imagine what happened. Many hours and dozens of threads later, people couldn’t accept the no answer answer. “It’s 135 mph and your narrow and dogmatic view is simply laughable!” The patient meme creator and others replied to numerous commenters with different types of arguments- some mathematical, some more logical, but to no avail. As of this writing many vociferous and determined individuals are still haunting the meme. LOGICAL FALLACY? One could dismiss as Dunning-Kruger, but I noticed something else. Many comments were of the form “It’s simple! Don’t you get it?!” and “Why are you making this so complicated?! Just take 90 times 2 and subtract 45!!!!” And I’ve seen this in other contexts as well. It seems to be a desire for simplicity (elegance?). Things that are messy and complicated must be wrong. “There’s gotta be an easier way to do it!” Thoughts? William CA Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: A review of health records finds that getting the shingles vaccine is associated with a 20% reduction in the risk of developing dementia. Item 2: A new study finds that mortality rates are overall higher in the US than Europe, but these differences disappear for the highest socio-economic groups. Item 3: A systematic review finds that older adults, >35 years old, do not experience greater exercise induced muscle damage than younger adults age 18-25 from the same exercise. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “The fool doth think he is wise, but the wise man knows himself to be a fool” - William Shakespeare, As You Like It…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1029 1:48:56

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1029 March 29th 2025 Quickie with Bob: Extinction Survivors; News Items: Constructed Languages, Exercise and Brain Health, Curiosity Rover Finds Long Carbon Chains, Nanotech Lightsails, Vaccine and Autism Again; Who's That Noisy; Your Questions and E-mails: Technology vs Magic; Science or Fiction…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1028 1:47:20

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1028 March 19th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – NASA Delays Artemis Again https://www.space.com/space-exploration/artemis/nasa-delays-artemis-missions-again-what-could-this-mean-for-the-moon-mars-and-space-leadership News Item #2 – Punishing AI https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/punishing-ai-doesnt-stop-it-from-lying-and-cheating-it-just-makes-it-hide-its-true-intent-better-study-shows News Item #3 – Hybrid Bionic Hand https://theness.com/neurologicablog/hybrid-bionic-hand/ News Item #4 – Petawatt Electron Beam https://www.science.org/content/article/first-petawatt-electron-beam-arrives-ready-rip-apart-matter-and-space Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Rewriting Physics Hey everyone, For over a century, physics has claimed to be advancing, yet every major cosmological mystery remains unresolved. Instead of addressing why their models keep failing, physicists have relied on increasingly complex, unproven assumptions—dark matter, dark energy, singularities, inflation—to patch over contradictions rather than solve them. But the truth is, these mysteries were never real. The errors were built into the models themselves. The solution isn’t exotic or hidden—it was in relativity all along. The universe is not expanding—it is relativistically revealing itself at the speed of light. Gravity is not an independent force—it is suppressed charge expanding into three spatial dimensions. Black holes are not singularities—they are time-coiled neutral zones where relativity folds upon itself. The “beginning” of the universe is not a past event—it is a continuous absolute moment, moving outward at c. None of this required new physics—just actually respecting relativity. I know this because I built a model that does. I’m not a physicist—I’m a geologist. A year ago, after suffering a severe neck injury, I spent my recovery rebuilding physics from first principles. In doing so, I unified physics in months. Not because I had special insight, but because the answer was always there—it was just being ignored. Meanwhile, mainstream physics is still stuck defending models that don’t work: Dark matter? Never detected. Dark energy? Never detected. Singularities? Mathematically impossible. Physics? Off course for a century. And until someone forces the correction, humanity is stalled. We are at a crossroads: either we acknowledge these failures and move forward, or physics remains an ever-growing list of imaginary fixes to a broken model. Dan Ottawa Dan, Is there any way to test your model? Have you spoken to a physicist to see if there is anything glaringly wrong with your model? Have you submitted any papers for peer-review? I'll be blunt - you are a non-physicist claiming to have overturned a century of physics in a month. The probability that you are correct is pretty close to zero. Now is the time for you to demonstrate massive humility and try to find out what is wrong with your model and why physicists believe what they do. Otherwise you are destined to be nothing but one in a long line of endless cranks. Best, Steve Oh really? Well, okay then—guess I’ll just drop this here: α to 50 decimals: 0.0072992700729927004893449193900778482202440500259399 Physicists aren’t even looking in the right place for it. But hey, if you figure only physicists know physics, then I’ve got news for you—they’re way off. I'm holding a complete rewrite of physics from first principles. But, if you're too good, I'll check with someone else. Good day Segment #4. Interview with Michael Marshall and Cecil Cicirello https://www.knowrogan.com Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Invertebrates Item 1: Jellyfish are in the same invertebrate phylum, echinoderms, as sea cucumbers and sea urchins. Item 2: Invertebrates make up 97% of all animal species, with 30 phyla, compared to only one phylum for vertebrates. Item 3: Invertebrates not only lack a backbone, they completely lack any bone or cartilage at all, either internal or external. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Nothing in life is to be feared, it is only to be understood." - Marie Curie…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1027 2:08:37

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1027 March 12th 2025 Segment #1. What’s The Word Psionic Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Screen Time and Mental Health https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/03/250310131816.htm News Item #2 – US Mass Shootings https://cosmosmagazine.com/people/society/us-mass-shootings-impact/ News Item #3 – Stem Cells for Parkinson’s https://theness.com/neurologicablog/stem-cells-for-parkinsons-disease-2/ News Item #4 – Brown Fat and Exercise https://www.rutgers.edu/news/special-type-fat-tissue-could-promote-healthful-longevity-and-help-maintain-exercise-capacity Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Vitamin A and Measles Dear Skeptics, your show is a highlight of the week for me. I am sure I am not the first to point out inaccuracies in episode #1026 regarding the Texas measles outbreak. I certainly got the sense from the skeptics that fun was being poked at the recommendation to use vitamins in the treatment of measles. According to the WHO guidelines Vitamin A has been and continues to be a core treatment for measles, and Cod Liver Oil contains not only, Vit D as reported, but also Vit A. In the situation with the Mennonites its plausible that this traditional remedy would be more "palatable" given their cultural norms than pills from the big bad government. For example Cochrane states that Vit A reduces death by 87% in children younger than 2. Any cursory search for measles treatment would have outlined the importance of Vitamin A. While I think the reporting content was uncharacteristically shoddy, it was actually the tone that I found more problematic. I agree with the general premise that RFK Jr. has been a dangerous vaccine skeptic but in this case he basically seems to recommending the correct treatment. While I understand the bias of judging RFK Jr. based on previous quackery, each time the skeptical community stoops to judging a current behaviour in this way it feeds the narrative that the sky is falling. If RFK Jr. starts to promote general health via exercise will that be taken at face value or also laughed off? Lest we forget, vaccine hesitancy and denialism exists on all sides of the political spectrum - I would hope the skeptics can try and stick to a more neutral and fact based approach. Keep up the great work. Tim Graham Canada Segment #5. Interview with Dave Farina https://www.youtube.com/@ProfessorDaveExplains Segment #6. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Ancient Roots Item 1: Persian scholar, Abu Rayhan Muhammad ibn Ahmad al-Biruni, proposed in the 11th century that India may have been connected to other continents in the past. Item 2: Aristarchus of Samos was the first to propose a heliocentric system, in which the Earth revolves around the sun in one year and rotates on its axis in one day. Item 3: In his 1025 work, Muslim physician Ibn Sina proposed human-to-human transmission of disease through invisible entities, and was the first to propose a quarantine to limit the spread of contagion. Segment #7. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The burden of proof as far as authentication is concerned is on the claimant—not on anyone else to prove a negative. Asserting that a particular image must be paranormal because it is unexplained only constitutes an example of the logical fallacy called arguing from ignorance. One cannot draw a conclusion from a lack of knowledge." - Joe Nickell…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1026 1:39:14

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1026 March 5th 2025 Segment #1. Quickie with Bob Atlantic Shutdown https://phys.org/news/2025-02-simulations-nightmare-atlantic-current-shutdown.html Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Measles Outbreak https://www.nytimes.com/2025/03/04/health/texas-measles-outbreak-kennedy.html News Item #2 – Reintroducing Wolves https://tinyurl.com/expusrnx News Item #3 – TIGR-Tas Gene Editing https://theness.com/neurologicablog/the-new-tigr-tas-gene-editing-system/ News Item #4 – Blood Donor Who Saved Millions Dies https://gizmodo.com/james-harrison-the-man-with-the-golden-arm-is-dead-at-age-88-2000570772 News Item #5 – Star Mergers https://phys.org/news/2025-03-theory-star-mergers-universe-highest.html Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Intricate Web I agree with Steve's assessment about the fragility of this beautiful crystal we call human society. Which is one of the reasons I went to school to learn about food production when I was a young man. A resilient society has local food (etc.) capability. A resilient society is much less efficient than the large corporate model - I grow enough fruit on our small farm for only about 3 or 4 dozen households. But, if I go down, there is another orchard 10 miles away that can take up the slack, disperse scion wood, offer classes in fruit tree care. I am certain the value of community resilience will continue to gain traction as time goes on. Thanks for what you do. Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Hydrogen Item 1: Hydrogen makes up about 10% of the human body by mass. Item 2: Only about 10% of global hydrogen production is considered green hydrogen. Item 3: There are about 17,000 hydrogen-powered cars on US roads, but more than 50,000 hydrogen fuel cell electric forklifts operating in the US. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Dictators seek to control men’s thoughts as well as their bodies and so they attempt to dictate science, education and religion. But dictated education is usually propaganda, dictated history is often mythology, dictated science is pseudoscience." — Edwin Grant Conklin, 1937…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1025 2:00:26

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1025 February 26th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Congestion Pricing https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-widening-highways-doesnt-fix-traffic-but-congestion-pricing-can/ News Item #2 – AI Therapists https://www.nytimes.com/2025/02/24/health/ai-therapists-chatbots.html News Item #3 – Redefining Dyslexia https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/redefining-dyslexia/ News Item #4 – Small Modular Reactors for Cargo Ships https://www.world-nuclear-news.org/articles/korean-smr-powered-container-ship-design-revealed Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Interview with Adam Russell Segment #4. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: Researchers successfully used mRNA which produces a tardigrade protein to protect surrounding tissue from radiation damage during cancer treatment. Item 2: Studying a new database of 8.9 million observations of 445 mammalian species found that only 39% had correct diel classification (what time of day they are active). Item 3: A new analysis finds that the vast majority of rogue planetary mass objects form as ejected planets rather than failed stars. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "One of the few universal characteristics is a healthy skepticism toward unverified speculations. These are regarded as topics for conversation until tests can be devised. Only then do they attain the dignity of subjects for investigation." Edwin Hubbel, The Realm of the Nebulae (Yale University Press: 1936)…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1024 1:38:24

for 9 weeks siden1:38:24

1:38:24

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1024 February 19th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Bird Brain Evolution https://theness.com/neurologicablog/birds-separately-evolved-complex-brains/ News Item #2 – Air Pollution Inside Homes https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/02/250213144623.htm News Item #3 – Abortion Bans Drive Infant Deaths https://undark.org/2025/02/18/some-states-claim-zero-abortions-is-that-possible/ https://www.livescience.com/health/fertility-pregnancy-birth/us-abortion-bans-have-driven-a-surge-in-infant-deaths-study-finds News Item #4 – Black Holes without Singularities https://phys.org/news/2025-02-singularities-physicists-creation-black-holes.amp News Item #5 – Anti-Chemtrail Bill https://cbs2iowa.com/news/local/house-gop-seeking-more-answers-as-they-advance-anti-chemtrails-bill Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Asteroid Hitting the Moon I was reading up on asteroid 2024 YR4, and I came across this on its Wikipedia page: ''Calculations using the observation arc of 55 days as of 18 February 2025 find that 2024 YR4 has a 1-in-32 (3.1%) chance of impacting Earth on 22 December 2032 around 14:02 UT and a smaller possibility of impacting the Moon about an hour later around 15:19 UT.'' I know you've talked about this asteroid before and the potential consequences if it were to hit Earth - not great, not terrible. Given the timeframe, there would at least be some opportunity to evacuate affected areas. But what about the Moon? Since the Moon is much smaller, could a direct hit pose a greater risk of destabilizing Earth's tides, for example? Is this something to be concerned about, and what kind of consequences might we expect if it actually happens? I’d love to hear your thoughts on this, and thanks for all the skeptical work you do! Best, Stefan Magnusson Segment #4. Swindlers List Tax Scams Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: GMOs Item 1: According to the USDA, 55% of US cropland grows genetically modified crops, while worldwide the figure is 13.4%. Item 2: Although frequently a target of anti-GMO efforts, there is currently no GMO wheat variety on the market. Item 3: Scientists have developed a “scorpion cabbage” that produces scorpion venom in its leaves, but this has yet to gain approval in any country. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The kneading of memory makes the dough a fiction which as we know can go on yeasting forever." A beautifully poetic way to phrase the rewriting nature of memory and recall.…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1023 1:49:14

for 10 weeks siden1:49:14

1:49:14

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1023 February 12th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Demographics of Misinformation https://theness.com/neurologicablog/who-believes-misinformation/ News Item #2 – The Toll of Fake Research https://www.livescience.com/human-behavior/fake-studies-are-slowing-slowing-lifesaving-medical-research-all-while-fraudsters-are-getting-rich-investigation-reveals News Item #3 – Dangerous Street Drugs https://www.sciencealert.com/theres-never-been-a-more-dangerous-time-to-use-street-drugs-heres-why News Item #4 – Nearby Habitable Exoplanet https://phys.org/news/2025-02-exoplanet-potentially-capable-sustaining-life.html News Item #5 – Reverse Engineering Alien Technology https://www.ft.com/content/7b83f0f5-4d03-40c4-b79d-36cc4e247d54 Segment #2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Science Quiz Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Starlink Reentries One of the items in last week's Science or Fiction was space junk. Just before I heard that, I read that 4-5 Starlink satellites de-orbit *every day*. That's nuts. I hope they are de-orbited purposefully. https://spaceweather.com/archive.php?view=1&day=07&month=02&year=2025 Bill Wohler Menlo Park, CA SETI Institute/NASA Ames Research Center Software engineer for Kepler, SOFIA, TESS, Ziggy. Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: Biologists have engineered a bacteria that can continuously deliver drugs into the intestine and demonstrated its effectiveness in treating chronic inflammation and obesity. Item 2: In a recent study adults were able to learn absolute pitch after 8 weeks of training to a >90% accuracy. Item 3: Astronomers announce the detection of a super high energy “cosmogenic” neutrino that is the most energetic elementary particle ever detected at 120 PeV. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “One of the problems with anecdotes is that they tend to be provided by the satisfied customers, not the unsatisfied or dead ones.” ― Robert Carroll, Unnatural Acts: Critical Thinking, Skepticism, and Science Exposed!…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1022 1:48:15

for 11 weeks siden1:48:15

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The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1022 February 5th 2025 Segment #1. Quickie https://www.sciencenews.org/article/nuclear-x-rays-deflect-earth-asteroids Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Asteroid Chance of Hitting Earth https://www.space.com/180-foot-asteroid-1-in-83-chance-hitting-Earth-2032 News Item #2 – Does the Internet Affect Our Memory https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00292-z News Item #3 – The Growing Rat Problem https://www.livescience.com/planet-earth/climate-change/rats-numbers-are-skyrocketing-across-us-cities-and-its-only-going-to-get-worse News Item #4 – Do Apes Have a Theory of Mind https://theness.com/neurologicablog/do-apes-have-a-theory-of-mind/ News Item #5 – NASA Harassed by Aliens https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/nasa-astronauts-are-harassed-by-125ft-aliens-with-wings-who-peek-into-space-shuttles Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: Scientists have demonstrated the effectiveness of a medicine that prevents and reverses inguinal hernia. Item 2: Archaeologists have identified 4,000 year old writing that likely represents proto-Indo-Anatolian, the language that gave rise to all Indo-European languages. Item 3: Researchers calculate that the probability of reentering space junk entering busy airspace is about 26% annually. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The most important thing that illusions can teach us is that it is possible, at least some of the time, to find in being wrong a deeper satisfaction than we would have found being right.” ― Kathryn Schulz, Being Wrong: Adventures in the Margin of Error…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1021 1:49:54

for 12 weeks siden1:49:54

1:49:54

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1021 January 29th 2025 Segment #1. What’s the Word Geyser Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Self Replicating AI https://www.livescience.com/technology/artificial-intelligence/ai-can-now-replicate-itself-a-milestone-that-has-experts-terrified News Item #2 – DeepSeek https://theness.com/neurologicablog/the-skinny-on-deepseek/ News Item #3 – PEPFAR Freeze https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/28/health/trump-pepfar-freeze.html News Item #4 – Chemical Looping https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.energyfuels.4c02643 News Item #5 – Giant Clams and Tiny Algae https://phys.org/news/2025-01-tiny-algae-evolution-giant-clams.amp Segment 3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: More On Telepathy Tapes Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: The Moon Item 1: The Moon is the densest moon in our solar system. Item 2: A recent analysis finds evidence of geological tectonic activity on The Moon as recently at 160 million years ago, suggesting it might still be active. Item 3: The Moon has a weak magnetic field, measured at the Apollo 16 site at 0.31 microtesla (compared to Earth’s 50 microtesla field). Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “Our beliefs do not sit passively in our brains waiting to be confirmed or contradicted by incoming information. Instead, they play a key role in shaping how we see the world.” ― Richard Wiseman…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1020 1:46:21

for 13 weeks siden1:46:21

1:46:21

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1020 January 22nd 2025 With Guest Rogue, Andrea Jones Rooy Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Unexpected Scientific Results https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00161-9 News Item #2 – Trust In Scientists https://www.nature.com/articles/s41562-024-02090-5 News Item #3 – FDA Bans Red Dye No. 3 https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/why-did-the-fda-ban-red-dye-3/ News Item #4 – Andromeda Mosaic https://www.sciencealert.com/hubbles-2-5-billion-pixel-mosaic-reveals-andromeda-in-breathtaking-detail News Item #5 – Telepathy Tapes https://inews.co.uk/culture/radio/telepathy-tapes-pseudoscience-autism-3474277 Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Item 1: A cross-national analysis finds that the presence of climate action policy is a stronger predictor of anti-climate action groups than national economic self-interests. Item 2: A recent study of the diet of coyotes in San Francisco found domestic cat remains in almost half the scat analyzed. Item 3: A new framework for simulating optimal pandemic responses finds that in 42% of scenarios it is better to vaccinate high exposure groups prior to high risk groups (as was done during COVID). Segment #4. Skeptical Quote of the Week "We live in an enlightened age, however, an age that has learned to see and to value other living things as they are, not as we wish them to be. And the long and creditable history of science has taught us, if nothing else, to look carefully before we judge to judge, if we must, based on what we see, not what we would prefer to believe." Robert Charles Wilson…

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

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Skeptics Guide #1019 1:51:01

for 14 weeks siden1:51:01

1:51:01

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1019 January 15th 2025 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Does Fact-Checking Work https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-025-00027-0 News Item #2 – Nuclear Electric Propulsion https://phys.org/news/2024-12-strategic-alliance-high-energy-nuclear.amp News Item #3 – The LA Fires https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/11/climate/wildfire-smoke-risks.html and https://www.sciencealert.com/dumping-seawater-on-la-fires-is-an-experiment-scientists-are-closely-watching and https://www.theverge.com/2025/1/11/24340913/watch-duty-wildfire-tracking-app-los-angeles-nonprofit News Item #4 – Building Materials for Storing Carbon https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adq8594 Segment 2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Interview with Nick Tiller https://www.nbtiller.com/ Segment #4. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along. Theme: Death Item 1: The WHO reports that over 5 million snake bites occur each year, resulting in over 100,000 deaths. Item 2: It is estimated that over half a million deaths globally in 2024 can be attributed to extreme weather events. Item 3: In 2021, COVID-19 was the second leading cause of death, just behind ischemic heart disease. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Knowledge is a paradox. The more one understands, the more one realizes the vastness of his ignorance." Spoken by Viktor (also known as the Herald) in season 2 of the hit Netflix show: Arcane - League of Legends.…

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