Episode #783
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: Helicopter on Mars
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
A new genetic analysis confirms that Polynesians made contact with Native Americans before European contact, despite being separated by thousands of miles of open ocean. http://med.stanford.edu/news/all-news/2020/07/polynesians-and-native-americans-made-early-contact.html
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Item #2
Science
Researchers have built a “robot scientist” capable of autonomously carrying out chemical experiments, and using AI to determine what experiments to run, with 1000 times the efficiency of human scientists. https://www.timeshighereducation.com/news/robot-scientist-works-1000-times-faster-human-researchers
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Item #3
Fiction
Scientists have finally been able to produce commercial-level spider silk by genetically engineering hag fish to produce spider silk slime. https://www.chemistryworld.com/news/hagfish-slime-turned-into-ultra-stiff-fibre/3007995.article
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
“I have always strenuously supported the right of every man to his own opinion, however different that opinion might be to mine. He who denies to another this right, makes a slave of himself to his present opinion, because he precludes himself the right of changing it.” ― Thomas Paine, The Age of Reason