Skeptics Guide #958

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #958 November 15th 2023 Segment #1. Swindler’s List Romance Scam Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Whole Eye Transplant https://sciencebasedmedicine.org/first-whole-eye-transplant/ News Item #2 – Hottest Year on Record https://www.sciencenews.org/article/last-12-months-hottest-record-climate News Item #3 – Neutron Thickness https://phys.org/news/2023-11-heavy-ion-collisions-lhc-scientists-thickness.html News Item #4 – Hydrogen Deposit in France https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2023/09/white-hydrogen-deposit-france/ News Item #5 – Trust In Science Declining https://www.pewresearch.org/science/2023/11/14/americans-trust-in-scientists-positive-views-of-science-continue-to-decline/ Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Questions and E-mails Question #1: Oldest Photo I am a longtime fan of the show and never hesitate to recommend it to friends, family and anyone else who even expresses a vague interest in listening to podcasts. Thank you so much for your dedication to science communication and helping us all avoid the traps of unscientific thinking. That said, Science or Fiction this week contained some pretty egregious misinformation. You stated that Niécpe took his famed 1826 photo out of his window while visiting his brother Claude in London. I am not sure where you got this information, because the photo in question is litterally entitled "View from the Window at Le Gras" ("Point de vue du Gras" in French). Le Gras is an estate in the village of Saint-Loup-de Varennes, France where Niécpe had his laboratory. The photo is not a cityscape, but rather a few parts of some estate outbuildings and the surrounding rural countryside. The photo has never been in the Royal Photographic Collection, as stated in your piece. In fact, since 1963, it has primarily been on display at the Harry Ransom Center in Austin, Texas, Thanks again for all that you do. I look forward to every episode. Sincerely, Beth Kolb Jacob Saint-André-de-Boege, France 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. #1) Researchers have discovered the first “vampire” virus, a parasitic virus that attaches to the “neck” of another virus in order to enter a host cell and take over the reproductive machinery. #2) A new study finds that Google DeepMind’s machine learning weather prediction model can outperform existing models for 10 day weather prediction, 90% of the time in under one minute. #3) Scientists present a new fossil of a flying feathered dinosaur, avioptera, which dates to 185 million years ago, 20 million years older than the group (paraves) which is believed to have given rise to modern birds. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "True science teaches, above all, to doubt and to be ignorant." Miguel de Unamuno (loosely translated to english):