Skeptics Guide #944

The Skeptics Guide To The Universe

The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe Skepticast #944 August 10th 2023 Segment #1. Special Report 5-10 Years – Loch Ness Segment #2. News Items News Item #1 – Depression Does Not Cause Cancer https://neurosciencenews.com/depression-anxiety-cancer-23769/ News Item #2 – Hidden Undersea World https://www.livescience.com/animals/hidden-underworld-filled-with-never-before-seen-creatures-discovered-beneath-the-seafloor News Item #3 – AI vs Robo Calls https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2023/08/230809130405.htm News Item #4 – Cement Supercapacitor https://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/using-cement-for-energy-storage/ Segment #3. Who’s That Noisy Segment #4. Your Question and E-mails Question #1: More EV Feedback Question #2: RFK Jr on Tik Tok RFK is going to eliminate "chronic disease" by finding the cause(s) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ag1EHzfJrIY 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. Theme: Oldest #1) The oldest extant branch of life is the ctenophores, which go back 700 million years. #2) Polypodiophyta, a type of fern, is the oldest extant plant genus at 380 million years. #3) The record for the slowest evolving vertebrate goes to the elephant shark (Callorhinchus milii) which has changed little in 450 million years. Segment #6. Skeptical Quote of the Week "It is hard to tell which is worse; the wide diffusion of things that are not true, or the suppression of things that are true." ~ Harriet Martineau