Skeptics Guide #980

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #980 April 17th 2024 Segment #1. What’s the Word Anhedonia Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – New Scams https://wwhttps://www.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165448073/voice-clones-ai-scams-ftcw.npr.org/2023/03/22/1165448073/voice-clones-ai-scams-ftc News Item #2 – Reconductoring https://theness.com/neurologicablog/reconductoring-our-electrical-grid/ News Item #3 – ISS Space Junk Crashed Through Home https://www.theverge.com/2024/4/16/24131804/nasa-confirms-iss-space-station-junk-crashed-into-florida-home News Item #4 – Zombie Cicadas https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/news/cicadas-zombies-hyper-sexual-sexually-transmitted-fungus-expected-to-emerge-this-year-massospora-cicadina/ News Item #5 – Death by Wellness https://www.abc.net.au/news/2024-04-17/ballarat-clunes-wellness-retreat-drink-death/103730712 Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Drug AI Development Correction 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. Item 1: A new economic study finds that by 2050 the economic loss of climate change will be about 19% of the global economy, or 38 trillion dollars annually, even without further emissions. Item 2: Scientists have bioengineered a cultivar of corn that has orange stalks and leaves, to make weeding easier for robots. Item 3: Paleontologists have formally described the largest marine reptile, an ichthyosaur estimated at 25 meters, about the size of a blue whale. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Actual science is _the_ great accomplishment of mankind. The antidote to ignorance, superstition, religious zealotry, and nonsensical beliefs in general. An eclipse exemplifies, to even the lay-est of laypeople, just how advanced modern science is." John Gruber


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