Science Faction Podcast

This episode contains: Ben was torn from his family and their viewing of Spider-man 2 to record this podcast. Was it worth it? 

Geology Rocks: Plato was right, the Earth is made of cubes, on average. Researchers find the average shape for fractured rocks is a cube.  Three dimensional polyhedron shapes, when sliced several times, will average into a cube.  We talk about Plato and Captain Planet as well. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200720112214.htm 

Please, please, please let me get what I want: Breakthrough blood test detects positive covid-19 result in 20 minutes. New method detects positive covid-19 cases using blood samples in about 20 minutes, identifies if one has contracted the virus. We talk about how a test done this quick would revolutionize this pandemic. We also talk about how Ben was mask-shamed, and how we're preaching to the choir with our science talk. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200717101037.htm

Science Fiction: We cover a lot of television. Here's a list: Dark, LOST, Game of Thrones, Doom Patrol, The Boys, Star Trek, For All Mankind, Star Trek Prodigy, Star Trek Lower Decks, Animorphs and Avatar: The Last Airbender. There's more of course, but you'll have to listen to find out. 

This episode contains: We get off to a rough start this episode, we chat about Devon's roof caving in, why the Beatles took so long to join iTunes and sound effect editing. Don't worry, we eventually get to the science. 

All The Lovely People, Where Do They All Come From?: World population likely to shrink after mid-century, forecasting major shifts in global population and economic power. New estimates show the world population peaking in 2064 with 9.7 billion and declining to 8.8 billion by 2100. We talk about what is changing in our world for these numbers to make sense, and how our world will change accordingly. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200715150444.htm

Light at the End of the Tunnel: Experimental COVID-19 vaccine safe, and generates immune response. The investigational vaccine mRNA-1273 was well tolerated and prompted neutralizing antibody activity in healthy adults. We talk about this amazing news and why science is so slow. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/07/200714171338.htm

Science Fiction: We quickly touch upon such topics as breath holding, the houses in Harry Potter, and Candyland before settling on the classic book from our youth, My Teacher is an Alien. Ben is reading it to his son, who loves it. We talk more about Bruce Coville's work before a segue into the newly announced book by Ernest Cline, Ready Player Two. We talk about if a sequel was required and wonder what it could possibly be about. Steven gets us up to speed on the newly announced show Star Wars: The Bad Batch, about a group of specialized clones and what they're up to after the Clone Wars end. Ben has been watching Doom Patrol and Steven asks for a reason to watch, to which he is given many. Steven then talks about The Old Guard, the Netflix movie adapted from the Greg Rucka comic.  It's a good movie. 

This episode contains: Devon is back! He tells us about what he's been up to, including some family drama? Also, we talk about what we did for the 4th and Hamilton. 

This Week In Space: Mysterious 'fast radio bursts' fire rhythmically through the cosmos, study finds. FRB 180916.J0158+65 is firing off rhythmically, in a cycle that repeats every 16 days. We don't know exactly why, but we talk about several theories. 

https://www.space.com/fast-radio-bursts-rhythm-discovery.html

Yet Another Article From Ben About Feces: During brooding, chinstrap and Adélie penguins are reluctant to leave their eggs unguarded in the nest; the penguins will hunker down and let fly a projectile of poo—thereby ensuring both the safety of the eggs and the cleanliness of the nest. We talk about the rectal pressure of the penguins and how much math goes into this kind of science. 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/07/poopy-projectiles-penguins-can-fling-their-feces-over-four-feet-study-finds/

Hornet Redux: We received a few emails from 'friend of the show Matt Dixon' one of which answered Steven's question of whether or not Hornets were useful. He also poses a questions regarding being a Skywalker and balancing a Jedi that was "too light".

Science Fiction: We talk about Jedi being too light and how that may not be possible. Devon watched Palm Springs and we give it a mini review. Ben has been watching Floor Is Lava and playing Hot Lava. Steven talks about The Batman and it's spin-off show that has been announced for HBO Max. Devon talks about the third season of Future Man and gives it high praise. 

This episode contains: We're recording late, for various reason, and Devon can't join us. Everything is hard. 

Brain Matters: Why are some words more memorable than others? Our brains recall the words 'pig', 'tank' and 'door' more often than others, including 'cat', 'street' and 'stair'. Researchers started with epilepsy patients and ended up at a Christmas Party to figure out how our brains organize words. It's quite the journey.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629120204.htm

No Control, No Surprise: A new single sign-on algorithm that provides superior privacy has been developed; it does not disclose the user's identity and sensitive personal information to the service provider. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200629124054.htm

Science Fiction: A Fallout series has been announced by Amazon, lead by the creators of WestWorld. Steven is very excited. We watched the Apple TV trailer for Foundation. Steven is tentatively excited. The CBS All Access show Star Trek: Lower Decks has a release date and both Ben and Steven are on board, it looks fun. Ben and his son have been playing the Apple Arcade game Sneaky Sasquatch and having a blast. Steven brings up an article about how Qui-Gon Jinn should be considered a Skywalker. 

https://screenrant.com/star-wars-qui-gon-jinn-skywalker-jedi-how/

This episode contains: We talk about how quarantine continues to affect us and our lives. Steven is having a tough time with his kids and Ben is having a better time with work.

Why don't we replace more body parts with jello?: The first cartilage-mimicking gel that's strong enough for knees has been developed. Cartilage provides a combination of cushiony-yet-strong that hydrogels haven't been able to match, until now. New hydrogel consists of stretchy spaghetti-like strands, rigid and basketlike strands, and a meshwork of cellulose fibers.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200626114755.htm

Bee Cool: Asian Hornets are appearing in the UK. They are a great threat to the honey bee population as they can eat thousands of them per day. We talk about the differences between Asian Hornets and Asian Giant Hornets. Thank you to @Kenobidarth for these articles! 

https://www.belfastlive.co.uk/news/belfast-news/bee-killing-asian-hornet-warning-18413762

https://www.walesonline.co.uk/news/uk-news/what-you-see-bee-killing-16901249

Science Fiction: Ben received the Tales From the Loop book and gives us the run-down. Some of the book reminds Steven of a book he read in 1997: Footprints of Thunder. Ben (and his son) played 'A Short Hike' on PC and highly recommends it. Steven continues to play The Last of Us Part 2 and it still very taken with it. Slight spoilers for the beginning of the game. Steven has been reading the 2015 book Star Wars: Aftermath and talks a bit about it. Ben has seen the pilot for Doom Patrol and says it's really good. 

This episode contains: Ben has been quarantined for 100 days. We talk about Juneteenth and how to be anti-racist.

This Week in Space: New light has been shed on existing intelligent life across the galaxy. A new study calculates there could be more than 30 intelligent civilizations throughout our Galaxy. We talk about both the Fermi Paradox and the Drake equation. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200615092753.htm 

Biological Imperative: Hookworm trial offers new hope to MS patients. Parasitic worms could offer a new treatment for the autoimmune disease multiple sclerosis. We talk about the study, which dealt with hookworms applied with plaster to the arms. Also, something about the T cells. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200618150223.htm 

Science Fiction: Steven watched Infinity Train on HBO Max and talks about the concept and bits about the first three episodes. Ben has watched a few episodes of Space Force and talks about how deeply uncomfortable it is. Steven is finally watching Community and talks about the Dan Harmon Story Circle. Ben gives a PSA about Voice Control on your iOS device. Steven has just started The Last of Us Part 2 and give his impressions. Ben has continued with reading Milk Run and gives additional impressions.

Last Words: We used to say 'I was stuck in traffic' and now we say 'I have connection issues'.

This episode contains: Working hard and hardly working. We both survived anther week in this madness. 

Brain Matters: Tiny, magnetically powered neural stimulators have been developed. Using a 'magnetoelectric' power source, these neural stimulators are now a viable option for clinical grade implants. Steven talks a lot about battery miniaturization and how it applies to developing science. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200608132537.htm 

Here's Looking at you, Kid:  World's first spherical artificial eye has 3D retina. An electrochemical eye has been developed and we couldn't be more over the moon. The talk devolves into a 'what if' scenario and whether or not we would choose to replace our poorly functional eyes with artificial ones. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/06/200610102726.htm

Science Fiction: Steven does a mini review of Genndy Tartakovsky's Primal. Ben explains Infinity Train and it's core concepts. We do a quick dive into the Playstation 5 news and The Last of Us Part 2. We do a final (we promise) talk about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Ben has been reading Milk Run from Nathan Lowell and Steven attempts to explain the behemoth that the board game Gloomhaven is. 

This episode contains: We start off this episode talking about the historic SpaceX and NASA launch. We also rail on technology and parents a bit. Also, what's the difference between a rocket and a missile? 

Bee Puns Really Sting: Bumblebees can speed up the flowering of plants. When pollen is in short supply, bumblebees damage plant leaves to accelerates flower production. We talk about their biting strategy and how it can be linked to climate change. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200526134651.htm

Wake up!: We talk about how to make the healthiest coffee, but not really. Turns out that filtered coffee is the "safest" coffee to drink. With a half a million sample size, this study tells us a lot about drinking coffee and death, and perhaps drinking coffee is healthier than not drinking any at all.

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/04/200422214101.htm

Science Fiction: We wrap up our talk about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. There is some spoiler talk and Steven gives his impression about the ending of the book. Ben has some issues with the season finale of Upload. We do more spoiler talk and converse about the nature of seasoned tv and how sometimes a show can radically shift characters to the detriment of the show. Steven talks about the finale of Rick and Morty, non-spoiler since Ben hasn't seen it yet. And it wouldn't be Science Faction if Ben didn't talk about HBO Max. 

This episode contains: This episode is full of anniversaries and sick burns. We also talk about the nonsense that is the 5G blocking USB stick that does ABSOLUTELY NOTHING. We talk about it in depth, more depth than we were anticipating.

https://www.bbc.com/news/technology-52810220

Biological Imperative: Migration patterns reveal an 'Eden' for ancient humans and animals. Researchers have discovered a new migration pattern (or lack of) at Pinnacle Point, a now-submerged region in South Africa. 

https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2020/05/200522140210.htm

Threat Level Brown: Sewage could signal impending burst of COVID-19 cases. Scientists took daily samples of sewage sludge from the East Shore Water Pollution Abatement Facility in New Haven, Connecticut, which serves a population of around 200,000 people. The researchers then measured the total amount of RNA in each sample, as well as the amount of SARS-CoV-2 RNA. This showed that levels of coronavirus rose over that time, peaked, and then decreased. This could be used to warn the public of impending cases of Covid-19. There hasn't been any peer review on this study, so take it with a grain of salt. 

https://arstechnica.com/science/2020/05/pooping-for-public-health-coronavirus-in-sewage-could-warn-of-outbreaks/

Science Fiction: Steven covers the delay of all Star Wars: The High Republic media in the face of the current pandemic. Ben talks about the delay in Picard Season 2 and how it could potentially help the show. Steven has been playing Space Haven on PC and give a mini-review on the space colony builder. Ben has rediscovered the Buffy the Vampire Slayer comics and talks about the continuing seasons. Steven talks more about The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes. Ben and Steven talk about what HBO Max has and how it developed into a streaming platform.

This episode contains: Welcome Devon back to the podcast after his paternity leave...but don't get too excited, he's only back because this is our 300th episode! We talk kids, Simpsons and other importance milestones.

Fracking Gorram Dren: Repeating the “F” word can improve threshold for pain during an ice water challenge. A recent study found that repeating the “F” word during an ice water experiment increased subjects’ tolerance and threshold for pain. However, reciting made-up swear words showed no such pain-reducing effects. We have fun talking about how "fouch" and "twizpipe" sound ridiculous, but we can't stop saying them. 

https://www.psypost.org/2020/05/repeating-the-f-word-can-improve-threshold-for-pain-during-an-ice-water-challenge-56828

Madlibs: We do a fake re-open of the show and rehash some old articles, with a bit of fun. One article was from our 100th episode and one from our 200th episode. 

Science Fiction: Steven watched Yesterday and Joker and gives mini reviews of each. We talk about HBO Max and The Snyder Cut of Justice League. Ben is excited for the announced Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. Steven watched all of Upload and recommends it. Devon has been keeping up with Rick and Morty and we talk about some of the latest episodes. Steven is reading A Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes and is loving it so far. We also talk about Cobb Vanth and why he may be awesome.