Skeptics Guide #901

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #901 October 13th 2022 Segment #1. Quickie with Bob Supertanker Sails https://newatlas.com/marine/new-aden-supertanker-sails/ Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Neurons Play Pong https://neurosciencenews.com/organoid-pong-21625/ News Item #2 – Smelling in VR https://eandt.theiet.org/content/articles/2022/10/olfactometer-brings-smells-to-vr-worlds-for-wine-sniffing-game/ News Item #3 – Technosignatures and Biosignatures https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/another-possible-technosignature-falls/ https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/nitrous-oxide-as-a-biosignature/ News Item #4 – TWA 800 Lawsuit https://lawstreetmedia.com/news/citing-new-evidence-surviving-family-members-sue-feds-raytheon-and-lockheed-martin-over-1996-twa-crash/ News Item #5 – DART Mission Success https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/darts-smashing-success-shows-humanity-can-divert-asteroids1/ 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. #1) A review of COVID-19 related preprints that were later published in peer-reviewed journals finds that 50% were substantially altered, including changes to effect sizes, the data used, and statistical significance. #2) Scientists have developed a simple, rapid and effective method for making tissue optically transparent, including entire organs. #3) In a comprehensive meta-analysis, researchers find that women have advantages over men in phonemic fluency, verbal memory, and verbal recognition, and that this advantage is stable over 50 years of research and over a participant’s lifetime. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "We have learned in recent years that the techniques of misinformation and misdirection have become so refined that, even in an open society, a cleverly directed flood of misinformation can overwhelm the truth, even though the truth is out there, uncensored, quietly available to anyone who can find it." Daniel Dennett


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