SGU Episode 990

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SGU Episode 990
June 29th 2024
An illustration of NOAA's GOES-U satellite in orbit above Earth. (Image credit: NOAA)
SGU 989                      SGU 991
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
C: Cara Santa Maria
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Rarely do the advocates of cleanses explain what is meant by toxins. It is one of those nebulous pseudoscientific terms rolled out by people deliberately avoiding the specificity required for a science-based analysis. It's the modern-day equivalent of "evil spirits," vague enough to mean just about anything while retaining the ring of scientific legitimacy.
Timothy Caulfield, Canadian professor
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, SkeptiCal and Skepardy, Murder Chic podcast

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

Quickie with Steve: Simulating Black Holes (3:45)

• [url_from_show_notes _article_title_] 

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

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

GOES-U Satellites (8:10)

• How the GOES-U satellite will change Earth and space weather forecasts forever 

Risks of Cannabis (17:32)

• Cannabis Use Linked to Severe COVID-19 

• Teen Cannabis Use Dramatically Raises Risk of Psychotic Disorders 

Improved Enzymes (32:42)

• Scientists devise algorithm to engineer improved enzymes 

Geopathic Stress (45:52)

• What is geopathic stress – and is it a threat to our health? 

Using AI to Predict Alzheimer's (56:25)

• Prediction of Alzheimer's disease progression within 6 years using speech: A novel approach leveraging language models 

Who's That Noisy? (1:09:46)

Answer to previous Noisy:

Alpaca alarm call

E: It's a plane!

New Noisy (1:12:36)

[Whooshing, chuffing, warbling animal sounds]

E: That's Jay at the meatball-eating contest.

J: That's like my digestion happening after a round of meatballs. (Bob laughs)

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups

Email #2: Processing Grief (1:23:25)

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Science or Fiction (1:29:24)

Theme: Technology news Item #1: Researchers have achieved a new data rate record of 40 petabits (Pb) per second in a standard commercially available optical fiber.*  Item #2: Scientists present a new gene editing system based on transposable elements that is 10 times more efficient than existing systems. Item #3: Engineers have made a thin film organic light harvesting system with 38% efficiency, a technique that can be utilized for photovoltaics. * The National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT) is Japan's primary national research institute for information and communications

Answer	Item
Fiction	40 Pb/s fiber data rate
Science	Gene editing 10x efficiency
Science	Photovoltaics light harvesting

Host	Result
Steve	swept

Rogue	Guess
Jay	40 Pb/s fiber data rate
Bob	40 Pb/s fiber data rate
Evan	40 Pb/s fiber data rate
Cara	40 Pb/s fiber data rate

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

Jay's Response

Bob's Response

Evan's Response

Cara's Response

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:45:57)

Rarely do the advocates of cleanses explain what is meant by toxins. It is one of those nebulous pseudoscientific terms rolled out by people deliberately avoiding the specificity required for a science-based analysis. It's the modern-day equivalent of "evil spirits," vague enough to mean just about anything while retaining the ring of scientific legitimacy.  – Timothy Caulfield (1963-present), Canadian professor of law

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