Skeptics Guide #796

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #796 October 7th, 2020 Segment #1. COVID-19 Update https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/osteopathic-medicine-what-is-it/ Segment #2. Scott Lilienfeld http://news.emory.edu/stories/2020/10/er_scott_lilienfeld_legacy/campus.html Segment #3. News Items Nobel Prizes News Item #1 – Nobel Prize in Medicine https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/medicine/2020/summary/ News Item #2 – Nobel Prize in Physics https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/physics/2020/summary/ News Item #3 – Nobel Prize in Chemistry https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/chemistry/2020/summary/ News Item #4 – Circuit Creates Unlimited Power https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/10/201002091029.htm News Item #5 – Ouija Board Hysteria https://metro.co.uk/2020/10/03/ghost-hunter-horrified-that-poundland-is-selling-ouija-boards-for-halloween-13366104/amp/ Segment #4: Who’s That Noisy Segment #5: Your Questions and E-mails Question #1: Corrections German Alphabet long-time fan and native German speaker here. I wanted to comment on something Evan said in Episode 795's 'Science or Fiction' segment, when discussing the item about letter redundancy in the English alphabet. Evan mentions somewhere that there are only 25 letters in the German alphabet - that's not true! We pretty much have the same 26 letter alphabet that the English language has. If at all, we have three more letters; The 'Umlaute', which are basically variations of a,o and u by putting two dots on top of them: ä,ö, & ü. This changes the way they are pronounced, but in school I remember learning about there being 26 letters only. Surely it's not 25, however. Cheers from Germany and stay healthy, Aaron Coal Power Plants Two episodes ago, Jay spoke about coal plans being able to turn own with a flick of a switch. This is not the case. They have to heat up steam to a superheated state which is used in a heat exchange system. It can take hours, if not days, for a coal plan to go from cold iron to being operational. I was on an old navy ship which used oil fired boilers and it would take us hours to bring up steam. Richard, Virginia Segment #6. 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. #1) An extensive review of fossil evidence finds that when North and South America became connected by a land bridge, migrations of mammals occurred in both directions, but South American species experienced a much higher extinction rate. #2) A study of nursing home residents finds that tuned lighting (brighter hallway lighting during the day and dimmer at night) resulted in a halving of nighttime sleep disturbance events over traditional static lighting. #3) A new study finds that dog brains have a similar response to faces as do humans and other primates. Segment #7. Skeptical Quote of the Week “In any 'big science' enterprise, like planetary exploration, where you must work in big teams of similarly driven people, it is important also to know how to work alongside others even when they may be your fiercest competitors.” - Carolyn Porco