SGU Episode 865

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SGU Episode 865
February 5th 2022
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 864                      SGU 866
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
Quote of the Week
Officials, educators, media personalities, and opinion makers must do everything they can to educate the public, assuage people’s fears, and show that the pandemic is being handled fairly and rationally. Lives and people's well-being are at stake, for years to come.
Nidhal Guessoum, Algerian astrophysicist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

Quickie with Bob (7:57)

• Scientists Invent Flubber: UMass researchers create new material that can store and release 'enormous' amounts of energy

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Machine Learning and Mental Health (16:32)

• Deploying machine learning to improve mental health

Hardy Tardigrades (30:17)

• Living mysteries: Why teeny-weeny tardigrades are tough as nails

S: Yeah. The potential applications are huge. Of course, whenever you're talking about genetically modifying humans, that's a really high bar in terms of proving safety, but it's theoretically possible. And we may have to do it if we're really going to be a spacefaring race. But we'll see. Alright. Let's go on.

DNA Microfossils (43:29)

• DNA Microfossils and the Woolly Mammoth

S: Have you guys ever heard of DNA microfossils?

J: No.

Belief in the Paranormal and Credibility (54:55)

• Do Stormy Daniels' beliefs in the paranormal make her unfit to testify in lawsuit against her former attorney?

Tesla Robots (1:09:17)

• Can Elon Musk and Tesla really build a humanoid robot in 2022?

Who's That Noisy? (1:18:50)

Answer to previous Noisy:

Tonga volcano eruption

New Noisy (1:21:44)

[_short_vague_description_of_Noisy]

really think about that one

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups (1:23:48)

Email #1: Joe Rogan and Spotify

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_ with_reduced_spacing_for_long_chunks –

Science or Fiction (1:34:36)

Theme: Materials science Item #1: For the first time scientists have been able to create a two-dimensional polymeric material, that is six times stronger than bullet-proof glass, and twice as strong as steel at one-sixth the density. Item #2: MIT engineers have created a biological “duct tape” that can be applied to internal organs, adhering in seconds and lasting for months. Item #3: Scientists have engineered a cultivar of cotton that creates fibers with almost the tensile strength of Kevlar.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Kevlar-strong cotton
Science	Super-strong 2D polymer
Science	Biological “duct tape”

Host	Result
'	win

Rogue	Guess
Evan	Kevlar-strong cotton
Jay	Kevlar-strong cotton
Bob	Biological “duct tape”
Cara	Kevlar-strong cotton

Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:53:56)

Officials, educators, media personalities, and opinion makers must do everything they can to educate the public, assuage people’s fears, and show that the pandemic is being handled fairly and rationally. Lives and people's well-being are at stake, for years to come.
– Nidhal Guessoum, Algerian astrophysicist

Signoff

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

S: Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information, visit us at theskepticsguide.org. Send your questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. And, if you would like to support the show and all the work that we do, go to patreon.com/SkepticsGuide and consider becoming a patron and becoming part of the SGU community. Our listeners and supporters are what make SGU possible.

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Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary