Mini-Throughput: Einstein’s Greatest Mistake Edition
Einstein’s greatest mistake may not have been his greatest mistake. It may have been his most spectacular and enduring insight.
Tagged: Astronomy
Thursday Throughput: Aspartame Edition
Aspartame is one of the most studied food additives in the human food supply. FDA scientists do not have safety concerns when aspartame is used under the approved conditions.
Video Throughput: The Wandering Earth
The Chinese blockbuster “The Wandering Earth” which is about … uh … a wandering Earth. Could the Sun actually become dangerous to our survival? Could you really push Earth out of its orbit?
Ripples in the Galaxy
By studying many pulsars all over the sky, you can see those ripples propagate across the galaxy, like measuring a tsunami wave from orbit.
Thursday Throughput: Chat GPT Is Not Your Research Assistant
A running theme with Chat GPT: It has a tendency to very confidently say things that are not true and cite sources that are fictional.
Throughput: Poop Pill Edition
The FDA has approved the first “poop pill” that would transplant bacteria from on person’s digestive system into another.
Thursday Throughput: Vaccines Vs Cancer Edition
On Wednesday, the scientists reported results that defied the long odds. The vaccine provoked an immune response in half of the patients treated
Video Throughput: The Eye of Aldhani and May the Fourth Be With You
I take a look back at Disney+’s spectacular Andor series and the episode The Eye. Would something like the Eye of Aldhani be possible?
The Throughput: RSV Vaccine Edition
Respiratory syncytial virus, better known as RSV, has been one of those murderous viruses we’ve just accepted as a part of life.
Video Throughput: An Astronomer Reacts to Spaceballs
In this video, Dr Michael Siegel reacts to the 1986 sci-fi epic Spaceballs such as ludicrous speed, vacuuming planets, the Swartz, and more!
Throughput: Politicization Edition
When you attempt to merge science and politics, the results is not to scientize the politics but to politicize the science
Thursday Throughput: Masked Astronomer Edition
Lots of evidence that the people telling you masks are useless either have an agenda or don’t know what they’re talking about. Or both.
Video Thoughput: The Science of Contact
Contact digs deep into the weeds on SETI and radio astronomy and I go in with it to see what it got right and what it got wrong.
Throughput: AI Sexbot Edition
Maybe there will come a day when a computer-generated AI Sexbot can pass a sexual Turing Test. But we are a long way away from that.
Video Throughput: Astronomy in Tolkien’s Universe
In this video, I use a scene from the Hobbit as a jumping off point to talk about astronomical calendars, eclipse and how old civilizations knew way more about the universe than we give them credit for.
Throughput: Gas Stoves, Water Drops, And Various Kinds of Hot Air
In the end, I think a case can be made for notifying the public of the potential risk and encouraging better ventilation and/or the use of oils that produce less chemical emissions.
2022: The Year in Science
Just to put it all in one place, so we can appreciate how much happened this year, here are the ten biggest science stories of the year.
Video Throughput: Alien Twin Spin
This week, you get a twin spin: I look at science in the movie Alien and its sequel Aliens. Is the xenomorph possible? Do reactors really explode like that?
Thursday Throughput: Laser Implosion Edition
The running joke is fusion power is always twenty years away. I would say that we are now to the point where fusion power is ten years away.
Video Throughput: Artemis, Launches, and Legos?
In this video, you get a look at my live reaction to the successful launch of Artemis 1. While waiting through the launch delay, I talk about the Lego kits
