Skeptics Guide #1009

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1009 November 6th 2024 Cameos by Brian Wecht and George Hrab Segment #1. Quickie with Bob Scientists identify chemical properties of superheavy elements moscovium and nihonium https://phys.org/news/2024-11-scientists-chemical-properties-superheavy-elements.html Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – BioGenome Project https://www.science.org/content/article/once-thought-fantasy-effort-sequence-dna-millions-species-gains-momentum News Item #2 – Ancient Solar Magnetic Field https://agupubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1029/2024AV001396 News Item #3 – MAHA https://www.nytimes.com/2024/11/04/us/politics/trump-rfk-health-fluoride-vaccines-aca.html News Item #4 – Miranda May Have Life https://www.earth.com/news/miranda-uranus-moon-may-have-hidden-ocean-possibly-extraterrestrial-life/ News Item #5 – Club 27 Myth https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-myth-that-musicians-die-at-27-shows-how-superstitions-are-made/ Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Interview with Brian Cox https://briancoxlive.co.uk/ With special guest, Brian Wecht 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. Item 1: New research finds that higher penetration of weather dependent renewable energy sources (wind and solar) on the grid does not increase vulnerability to blackouts and reduces their severity when they occur. Item 2: A recent study finds that coyotes are thriving in North America, and in fact direct hunting by humans results in larger populations. Item 3: A population based cohort study of preterm infants finds no significant economic or educational effects lasting into adulthood. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week “When you get in a tight place and everything goes against you till it seems as though you could not hold on a minute longer, never give up then, for that is just the time and the place the tide will turn.” –Harriet Beecher Stowe (1811-1896), American abolitionist and author