Skeptics Guide #961

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #961 December 6th 2023 Segment #1. Quickie with Bob Ceramic Storage https://www.techradar.com/pro/video-of-ceramic-storage-system-prototype-surfaces-online-10000tb-cartridges-bombarded-with-laser-rays-could-become-mainstream-by-2030-making-slow-hard-drives-and-tapes-obsolete Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Uniting Quantum Gravity https://theness.com/neurologicablog/new-theory-unites-gravity-and-quantum-mechanics/ News Item #2 – X-Prize for Health Span https://www.science.org/content/article/xprize-aging-will-award-101-million-therapies-restore-vigor-elderly News Item #3 – ECT Heals the Brain https://theconversation.com/how-electroconvulsive-therapy-heals-the-brain-new-insights-into-ect-a-stigmatized-yet-highly-effective-treatment-for-depression-217889 News Item #4 – Building New Materials with AI and Robots https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-023-03745-5?utm_medium=Social&utm_campaign=nature&utm_source=Facebook#Echobox=1701275544-1 Segment #3. From Tik Tok Car Runs Without Charging https://www.tiktok.com/@justgeorgeous/video/7306927710733913346 Segment #4. Who’s That Noisy 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. #1) A new study finds that the average volume of speech, called “sonority” is highest in the tropics and lowest in the northwest coast of North America. #2) A new comparative study finds that human newborn brain size is relatively smaller at birth than our primate relatives, representing a relatively shorter gestation and delay in brain development. #3) Researchers find that the electric organ discharge of an electric eel is capable of transferring DNA into zebrafish larvae. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “People can be extremely intelligent, have taken a critical thinking course, and know logic inside and out. Yet they may just become clever debaters, not critical thinkers, because they are unwilling to look at their own biases.” - Carol Wade, cognitive psychologist