Skeptics Guide #995

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #995 August 1st 2024 Segment #1. Special Segment Olympic Controversy Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Progeria Treatment https://www.nytimes.com/2024/07/24/health/progeria-dna-base-editing.html News Item #2 – Solid State Battery https://interestingengineering.com/energy/samsungs-ev-battery-600-mile-charge-in-9-mins News Item #3 – The Cass Review chrome-extension://efaidnbmnnnibpcajpcglclefindmkaj/https://law.yale.edu/sites/default/files/documents/integrity-project_cass-response.pdf News Item #4 – Mammoth DNA https://www.yahoo.com/news/scientists-reconstructed-52-000-old-123000545.html Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Bacterial Flagella I'm a long time listener and fan of the SGU. I came across this video about the "electric motor" that propels the flagella of bacteria. The structure of this rotating "motor" made of proteins was amazing to me. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VPSm9gJkPxU The video provides a detailed explanation but unfortunately concludes by hinting at the idea of intelligent design and irreducible complexity. Could you provide a better explanation of the evolution of such a structure rather than just saying it's God's work. Cheers, Dave. 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. Theme: Olympics Item 1: The first modern Olympic games in 1896 involved only 14 nations, with only 241 male and 64 female athletes. Item 2: The ancient Olympic games were banned in 393 AD by the Roman Emperor because they were considered pagan and conflicted with Christian values. Item 3: The 1908 Olympic games featured pistol dueling in which competitors fired wax bullets at each other. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "Scientists think that just regurgitating science is going to cut it. It's not going to cut it. You have to realize people are bringing their backgrounds, their experiences, their personal encounters, their fears, their hopes, their dreams, all of those things. Unless we factor those things in, we're going to fail and we'll just continue to get trampled by the misinformation space." - Jessica Steier


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