Skeptics Guide #928

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #928 April 18th 2023 Segment #1. News Items News Item #1 – Starship Almost Launch News Item #2 – Information in Ancient Meteorites https://www.sciencealert.com/humans-are-erasing-billions-of-years-of-data-from-ancient-meteorites News Item#3 – Lunar Cycle and Suicide https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/the-lunar-cycle-and-suicide/ News Item #4 – Sharper MRI Scans https://today.duke.edu/2023/04/brain-images-just-got-64-million-times-sharper News Item #5 – Mummies and Taxes https://www.zmescience.com/science/news-science/could-these-old-mummies-in-mexico-be-spreading-fungal-infection-due-to-an-old-tax-rule/ Segment #2. Who’s That Noisy Segment #3. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1 Hydrogen Energy Storage Hey there! Long time listener, first time submitting. I’d love to hear your thoughts on this fuel-cell-system (https://www.homepowersolutions.de/produkt/) where you take your excess solar-Power from your roof in summer and turn it into hydrogen. In Winter you reverse the process and generate electricity from the hydrogen. The system also includes a Batterie storage for short term and even feeds the heat generated by the fuel-cell into your heating unit. It’s not a prototype. This company already built and installed hundreds of these systems in old and new buildings. Making many of them non-reliant on the grid. I’m really curious about your thoughts! You’re doing an amazing job with your podcast and as an Anaesthesiologist I have to thank you especially for your work in the times of Covid! Best wishes and Keep up the good work. Stephan from Bad Neuenahr-Ahrweiler (Germany) 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: Mushrooms #1) Fungi breath in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, just like animals. #2) Mushroom spores are made of the toughest biological substance known, sporopollenin. #3) Witches Butter (Tremella mesenterica) is one of the most poisonous mushrooms in the world, a single gram being sufficient to kill a large adult human, although it is easily mistaken for edible varieties. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week "The denial or distortion of history is an assault on truth and understanding. Comprehension and memory of the past are crucial to how we understand ourselves, our society, and our goals for the future. Intentionally denying or distorting the historical record threatens communal understanding of how to safeguard democracy and individual rights." Holocaust Memorial Museum (April 18 is recognized in Israel as Holocaust Remembrance Day)


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