Episode #824
News Items
- Space Update
- Nuclear Fallout
- Viral Vector Gene Therapy
- Predicting the Next Pandemic
- FRBs and the Expansion of the Universe
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: siren
Question #1: Why is North Up?
- Hi beautiful people, I have what I think is a simple question – perhaps not. Why do we always draw the earth with Antarctica at “the bottom” and say Iceland at the top? Who decided we should look at our planet – and other planets this way? It seems to me it doesn’t matter which way we look at it given there is no reference point. Why not have Antarctica at the top? Cheers! Greg
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
Researchers have demonstrated that they can identify individual 3D printers by their “thermotag” (subtle differences in the objects they print) with 92% accuracy. https://ieeexplore.ieee.org/document/9385084
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Item #2
Fiction
A new study finds that listening to rhythmic music prior to sleep has an adverse effect on sleep onset and quality. https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2021-04/ags-dlt042121.php
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Item #3
Science
Geneticists have identified 267 genes unique to Homo sapiens, and not found in Neanderthals or chimpanzees, that confer adaptability to emotional responsiveness, self-control, and self-awareness.https://www.tuni.fi/en/news/creativity-led-survival-homo-sapiens-new-genetic-study-shows?navref=curated–grid
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
‘The duty of the man who investigates the writings of scientists, if learning the truth is his goal, is to make himself an enemy of all that he reads, and… attack it from every side. He should also suspect himself as he performs his critical examination of it, so that he may avoid falling into either prejudice or leniency.’ Spoken by the incredible 11-century Arab scientist, Ibn al-Haytham.