Episode #1064

Episode #1064

News Items

• CRISPR Wheat Can Source Its Own Nitrogen
• LLMs and Collective Intelligence
• Origins of Theia
• Holiday Scams
• Hypervelocity White Dwarves

Science or Fiction [ Show Answers ]

• Item #1 Science

  The famous experiment in subliminal advertising in a movie theater, to increase sales of Coke and popcorn, never happened and was entirely fabricated.https://www.bps.org.uk/research-digest/given-warning-we-can-shield-ourselves-subliminal-messages

• Item #2 Science

  A recent analysis finds the number of fake publications in biomedicine was at least 5.8%, with 15% being suspicious, amounting to over 100,000 fake papers published every year. https://royalsociety.org/blog/2025/11/reformation-of-science-publishing/

• Item #3 Fiction

  Researchers find that 40% of published peer-reviewed papers show signs of AI co-authorship, with 10% being fully authored by AI. https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2024/06/26/at-least-10-of-research-may-already-be-co-authored-by-ai

Skeptical Quote of the Week.

‘It is easy to get international agreement in science. Scientists have all the same standards – they are set not by beliefs, but by what works best. Of necessity, there is therefore universal unity. And unity makes for goodwill.” Bernd Heinrich – professor emeritu, biology department, University of Vermont, author of a number of books about nature and biology. Heinrich has made major contributions to the study of insect physiology and behavior, as well as bird behavior. submitted by Terry from American Canyon CA