Skeptics Guide #943

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #943 August 3rd 2023 Segment #1. What’s the Word Mereology Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Glass-Coated DNA https://interestingengineering.com/innovation/glass-coated-dna-stronger-but-lower-density-than-steel News Item #2 – Why Heat is Deadly https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/why-extreme-heat-is-so-deadly/ News Item #3 – Australian Psychics https://9now.nine.com.au/a-current-affair/psychic-cael-odonnell-melbourne/3685b599-e4e4-4aa7-9873-2b293a8953b8 News Item #4 – Speech Deepfakes https://phys.org/news/2023-08-speech-deepfakes-frequently-people.html Segment #3. Special Segment Electric Vehicles Segment #4. Quickie with Bob https://phys.org/news/2023-08-heaviest-animal-ancient-whale-peruvian.html Segment #5. Who’s That Noisy Segment #6. 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: Volcanoes #1) About 30% of the world’s population live under potential threat from volcanic activity. #2) The Pacific Ring of Fire contains 75% of the world’s volcanoes, and is the location of 90% of all earthquakes. #3) The largest recorded volcanic eruption was Mount Tambora in Indonesia, which killed about 100,000 people, and rated a 7/8 on the Volcanic Explosivity Index. Segment #7. Skeptical Quote of the Week "In so far as a scientific statement speaks about reality, it must be falsifiable; and in so far as it is not falsifiable, it does not speak about reality." - Karl Popper


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