Episode #971

Episode #971

News Items

• Flow Batteries
• Green Roofs
• LEGO MRI Scanner
• The Circular Collider
• Mayo Clinic and Reiki

Who's That Noisy

• Answer to last week: Voice enhancement

Science or Fiction [ Show Answers ]

• Item #1 Science

  A recent study shows that older adults are more vulnerable to first impressions of trustworthiness even in the face of contradictory evidence. https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-023-50500-x

• Item #2 Fiction

  A machine learning analysis correlating road features with accident frequency finds that the most predictive variable for high crash risk is the presence of distracting billboards and other advertisements. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/03611981231217497

• Item #3 Science

  Researchers find that short and simple corrective statements on social media help readers identify false information. https://www.nature.com/articles/s44271-024-00057-w

Skeptical Quote of the Week.

‘Starving brains can hallucinate, but even well-fed minds can convince themselves they can feel something which simply isn’t there.’ – Jonathan Jarry, science communicator, McGill University Office for Science and Society