Skeptics Guide #1046

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #1046 July 23rd 2025 Segment #1. What’s the Word Fossil Words Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – New Supermaterial https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2025/07/250721223831.htm News Item #2 – Avi Loeb and the Alien Hypothesis https://theness.com/neurologicablog/avi-loeb-and-the-alien-technology-hypothesis/ News Item #3 – Belly Fat Jab https://newatlas.com/disease/obesity/worlds-first-targeted-fat-destroyer/ News Item #4 – Hormone Therapy https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/21/health/antidepressants-ssri-pregnancy-fda.html AND https://www.nytimes.com/2025/07/17/health/hormone-therapy-menopause-fda.html News Item #5 – Death by Haunted Doll https://nypost.com/2025/07/15/us-news/paranormal-investigator-dan-rivera-dies-on-annabelle-haunted-doll-tour/?utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=nypost&utm_source=twitter Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. 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. Theme: Malta Item 1: Despite being a small island nation notoriously cramped for space, Malta has one of the highest cars per capita in the world, and the highest in the EU. Item 2: Malta contains among the oldest freestanding structures in the world, megalithic temples older than the Pyramids at Giza and Stonehenge. Item 3: The national bird of Malta is the peregrine falcon, with a large breeding population on the main island. Segment #5. Skeptical Quote of the Week “Ignorance is the most delightful science in the world because it is acquired without labour or pains and keeps the mind from melancholy.” - Giordano Bruno