Episode #820
News Items
Question #1: Dark Matter Debunked?
- it’s the second message I’m sending you tonight, so sorry for the spamming, but I believe this article is quite juicy: https://link.springer.com/article/10.1140/epjc/s10052-021-08967-3 Basically the author is claiming to have debunked dark matter (!!) by factoring in general relativity to calculate the rotation curve of galaxies – something apparently no one has bothered doing before? (!!) Anyway, it seems to me very unlikely that a lone researcher can run some calculations and suddenly debunk I don’t know how many decades of dark matter theories. Maybe something interesting to talk about during the show. I promise I won’t send you any other messages for at least a couple of galactic years. Take care and thanks for your awesome work Cheers, Max
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
A new analysis supports the conclusion that the largest flightless birds to ever exist, the Australian Dromornithids, were most closely related to chickens. https://www.mdpi.com/1424-2818/13/3/124
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Item #2
Science
An evaluation of college students during the pandemic found that while mood generally decreased during the lockdown, introverts experienced an increase in mood. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0248895
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Item #3
Fiction
A new study finds evidence that the supercontinent cycle started about 4 billion years ago, and has gone through six full cycles. https://news.curtin.edu.au/media-releases/curtin-research-finds-first-clues-to-start-of-earths-supercontinent-cycle/
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
‘How weak our brains are, and how quickly they are terrified and led into error by a small incomprehensible fact. Instead of saying simply: ‘I do not understand because I do not know the cause,’ we immediately imagine terrible mysteries and supernatural powers.’ - Guy De Maupassant