Skeptics Guide #985

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #985 May 22nd 2024 Segment #1. What’s the Word Zooxanthellae Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Blue Origin Update https://www.blueorigin.com/news/ns-25-mission-updates https://www.space.com/blue-origin-ns-25-space-tourism-mission News Item #2 – Human Predator https://phys.org/news/2024-05-australian-humans-planet-predator.html News Item #3 – Escaped GMOs https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0295489 News Item #4 – Solar Storm https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-strongest-solar-storm-in-20-years-did-little-damage-but-worse-space/ News Item #5 – Crypto Astrology https://www.wired.com/story/crypto-astrologers-predictions/ Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: AI Follow Up Segment #5. Science or Fiction Each week our host will come up with three science news items or facts, two genuine, one fictitious. He will challenge our panel of skeptics to sniff out the fake – and you can play along.d Theme: Armor Item 1: The oldest example of plate armor dates back to Europe 3,500 years ago, and has been demonstrated with modern testing to have been fully functional. Item 2: Although surprisingly maneuverable, at their peak a European full suit of armor weighed about 200 pounds, so that knights would require a hoist to assist them onto horseback. Item 3: Graphene-based body armor has been shown to have twice the stopping power as Kevlar, and 10 times that of steel. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week It’s Tough to Make Predictions, Especially About the Future Yogi Berra