Headphones that lip read, mouse-rat chimeras, soap-based TV screens and a robot with feelings. With a list like that it must be weird science.

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://metro.co.uk/2022/08/01/smart-glasses-allow-deaf-people-to-see-conversations-with-subtitles-17106685/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2332193-experimental-earphone-can-hear-commands-user-is-silently-mouthing/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2332016-mice-produce-rat-sperm-with-technique-that-could-help-conservation/

https://www.newscientist.com/section/news/page/3/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2332216-home-screening-test-for-oral-or-throat-cancer-has-90-per-cent-accuracy/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/aug/08/whatsapp-opens-door-silent-exits-annoying-groups-privacy

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Is a smart city a place where digital technology tracks your every move and creates a de facto surveillance state? Or is it simply a place where we use the best of human technology and innovation to create liveable urban spaces? 

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.technologyreview.com/2022/06/29/1054005/toronto-kill-the-smart-city/?utm_source=substack&utm_medium=email

https://www.surfacemag.com/articles/toronto-quayside-smart-cities/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25533950-700-why-spending-time-near-water-gives-us-a-powerful-mental-health-boost/

Photo by Brandon Wong on Unsplash

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Are digital distractions destroying our brains? Are we too detached to remember? Could an Adam Sandler movie have been deeply profound? The disturbing development of digital amnesia. 

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Freda Liu

Produced by BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.theguardian.com/global/2022/jul/03/is-your-smartphone-ruining-your-memory-the-rise-of-digital-amenesia

https://www.iium.edu.my/v2/is-your-smartphone-ruining-your-memory-a-special-report-on-the-rise-of-digital-amnesia/

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An AI that creates ghost images from our subconscious, a shotgun-wielding man in hot pants, penguins with accents, and photosynthesis in the dark. That’s some very weird science. 

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Freda Liu

Produced by BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://gizmodo.com/elon-musk-twitter-sec-bots-lawsuit-1849183376

https://www.vice.com/en/article/93ayp7/delta-dental-insurance-silent-on-bizarre-video-of-man-in-hot-pants-with-a-shotgun-declaring-independence-from-delta-dental

https://www.nytimes.com/article/nasa-webb-telescope-images-galaxies.html

https://www.sciencefocus.com/space/whats-so-special-about-james-webb-space-telescope-images/

https://www.jwst.nasa.gov/content/about/faqs/whoIsJamesWebb.html

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2328323-penguins-adapt-their-accents-to-sound-more-like-their-friends/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2328245-robot-that-can-perceive-its-body-has-self-awareness-claim-researchers/

https://www.iflscience.com/artificial-photosynthesis-can-now-happen-without-light-64363

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On this episode of Weird Science, a missing Crypto Queen, why we like people who smell like us, fasting for your nerves, and a crime-predicting AI. Most importantly, find out why you shouldn’t drink coffee while shopping. 

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.sciencetimes.com/articles/38309/20220621/want-avoid-impulse-buying-coffee-drink-caffeine-before-shopping-expert.htm

https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/00222429221109247

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2325559-youre-more-likely-to-become-friends-with-someone-who-smells-like-you/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg24933240-700-the-hidden-rules-that-determine-which-friendships-matter-to-us/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2326530-intermittent-fasting-linked-to-better-gut-and-liver-function-in-mice/

https://www.iflscience.com/does-intermittent-fasting-hold-the-key-to-nerve-regeneration-64267

https://gizmodo.com/national-fecal-sample-bank-health-c-diff-1849130190

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2326879-zika-or-dengue-infections-make-you-more-appealing-to-mosquitoes/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2166597-catching-malaria-makes-you-smell-more-attractive-to-mosquitoes/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2326129-artificially-intelligent-robot-perpetuates-racist-and-sexist-prejudice/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2326297-ai-predicts-crime-a-week-in-advance-with-90-per-cent-accuracy/

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jul/01/fbi-offers-100000-reward-for-help-finding-onecoin-cryptoqueen-ruja-ignatova

Photo by Markus Spiske on 

Is Uber taking us for a ride? The e-hailing company is the latest subject of a whistleblowing data drop. And, the company that didn’t seek a sale is suing the man who doesn’t want to buy it. The strange saga of Elon Musk and Twitter. 

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Freda Liu

Produced for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/07/08/technology/elon-musk-twitter.html

https://www.wsj.com/articles/elon-musk-twitter-strange-legal-fight-11657488572

Photo by Alexandra Mirgheș on Unsplash

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Automaker Ford recently announced a direct-to-consumer sales model for its EVs. We look at why the car industry is lagging behind other retail sectors and highlight some of the advances in hybrid retail. 

Episode Sources: 

https://www.nytimes.com/2022/06/21/business/tesla-online-sales-dealerships.html

https://techcrunch.com/2022/06/02/ford-wants-to-sell-evs-online-only-and-at-a-set-price/

https://www.forbes.com/sites/briansolis/2022/02/02/the-future-of-retail-is-hybrid-and-unified-around-end-to-end-connected-experiences/

Photo by Gustavo Spindula on Unsplash

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Neural networks can now create photo-realistic images from simple text inputs. As AI makes inroads into diverse professions, ranging from architecture to accounting, are these entry-level AIs displacing the next generation of white-collar workers?

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2322056-will-ai-text-to-image-generators-put-illustrators-out-of-a-job/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2264022-ai-illustrator-draws-imaginative-pictures-to-go-with-text-captions/

https://www.archdaily.com/982243/algorithms-and-aesthetics-the-future-of-generative-design

https://imagen.research.google

https://arxiv.org/abs/2205.11487

https://www.archdaily.com/982243/algorithms-and-aesthetics-the-future-of-generative-design

https://www.synthesia.io

https://playphrase.me

Photo by Axel Ruffini on Unsplash

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LaMDA, Google’s experimental conversational AI has claimed it is a sentient person. Could Number 5 be Alive? Or is Autocomplete developing new and mystical powers?

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://cajundiscordian.medium.com/is-lamda-sentient-an-interview-ea64d916d917

https://www.newyorker.com/tech/annals-of-technology/what-comes-after-the-turing-test

https://garymarcus.substack.com/p/nonsense-on-stilts?s=r

https://www.economist.com/by-invitation/2022/06/09/artificial-neural-networks-are-making-strides-towards-consciousness-according-to-blaise-aguera-y-arcas

https://www.washingtonpost.com/technology/2022/06/11/google-ai-lamda-blake-lemoine/

https://ai.google/responsibilities/responsible-ai-practices/#:~:text=The%20development%20of%20AI%20is,and%20security%20into%20these%20systems. 

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2022/jun/12/google-engineer-ai-bot-sentient-blake-lemoine

https://www.samharris.org/podcasts/making-sense-episodes/280-the-future-of-artificial-intelligence

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A bionic eye, glaucoma controlling contact lenses, and email writing horses are just some of the alternative health treatments under the Weird Science lens.

Hosted by Matt Armitage & Richard Bradbury

Produced by Richard Bradbury for BFM89.9

Episode Sources: 

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2312754-bionic-eye-that-mimics-how-pupils-respond-to-light-may   

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2317510-oscar-winning-actors-live-longer-than-unsuccessful-nominees/-improve-vision/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2316878-crispr-nanocapsule-limits-growth-of-aggressive-brain-tumours-in-mice/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2317032-artificial-nerve-cells-have-been-made-in-the-lab/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2318862-brain-cells-that-are-linked-to-parkinsons-disease-finally-identified/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2317296-people-over-80-with-overweight-bmi-may-have-lower-mortality-rates/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2319142-irritable-bowel-syndrome-may-be-caused-by-overreacting-gut-cells/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2319586-plan-to-feed-phone-data-of-nhs-mental-health-patients-to-ai-mothballed/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg25433852-200-a-new-weight-loss-drug-could-be-used-to-prevent-obesity-will-it-work/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2320438-nearly-a-third-of-bites-by-malaria-carrying-mosquitoes-are-in-the-day/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2320689-smart-contact-lens-for-glaucoma-could-release-drugs-when-needed/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2320472-robot-can-fly-swim-or-hitch-a-ride-by-sticking-to-other-objects/