SGU Episode 772

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SGU Episode 772
April 25th 2020
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 771                      SGU 773
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
Quote of the Week
Induction, analogy, hypotheses founded upon facts and rectified continually by new observations, a happy tact given by nature and strengthened by numerous comparisons of its indications with experience, such are the principal means for arriving at truth.
Jean-Baptiste Lamarck, French naturalist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

Voiceover: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Science: the Endless Frontier ()

• ScienceAlert: For 75 Years, The US Had an 'Endless Frontier' of Science. Now It's Coming to an End

Bizarre Bacteria ()

• Universe Today: An ocean floor bacteria has been found with a totally bizarre metabolism

UV Light and Covid-19 ()

• BBC News: Can you kill coronavirus with UV light?

Diamond Energy Storage ()

• ScienceDaily: Diamonds shine in energy storage solution

Reproducing Cactus Coral ()

• The Florida Aquarium Makes History Again! (scroll down the website to read the press release)

Who's That Noisy? ()

• Answer to last week’s Noisy: _brief_description_perhaps_with_link_

New Noisy ()

[_short_vague_description_of_Noisy]

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups ()

considering using block quotes for emails read aloud in this segment

Question #1: False Negatives ()

Subject: Should we be worrying about false negatives for Coronavirus testing?

Message: I've been seeing claims on Facebook where people state that COVID19 testing is "30% inaccurate," is just a placebo, and that we should not even bother with it. No citations of course, but I think they are referencing this article: The Conversation: Coronavirus - How accurate are Coronavirus tests? I'd love to hear a more in depth analysis of the subject!
– Kyle Hall, Erie, PA

Science or Fiction ()

Answer	Item
Fiction	Drone delivery
Science	Rain to volcano
Science	Coffee & sensitivity

Host	Result
'

Rogue	Guess

Voiceover: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Item #1: Scientists have concluded that heavy rainfall triggered the Kīlauea volcano eruption in May 2018.
Item #2: A new study finds that drones are more energy efficient than diesel delivery vans in urban settings.
Item #3: Researchers find that drinking coffee (regular or decaffeinated), over the short term, significantly increases sensitivity to sweetness and decreases sensitivity to bitterness.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

Induction, analogy, hypotheses founded upon facts and rectified continually by new observations, a happy tact given by nature and strengthened by numerous comparisons of its indications with experience, such are the principal means for arriving at truth.
– Jean-Baptiste Lamarck (1744-1829), French naturalist

Signoff/Announcements ()

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

S: Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information, visit us at theskepticsguide.org. Send your questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. And, if you would like to support the show and all the work that we do, go to patreon.com/SkepticsGuide and consider becoming a patron and becoming part of the SGU community. Our listeners and supporters are what make SGU possible.

Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary