Its finals week and Caleb and Steve are finally done with their grading for the semester. The guys talk about what they have going on for the last week of the semester. Steve's plan for the spring is to study for the MCAT and he talks a little about his study plans. Caleb has a prelim coming up so he plans to study up on snow ecology.

Next, they begin talking about how working in the lab helps you understand research papers easier. Steve tells Caleb about some of the papers he's been reading and critiques some of their experimental methods. Steve also explains a fascinating technique known as a skinned muscle fiber experiment. They also discuss the importance of being skeptical when reading papers. Steve talks about a paper he is reading that is full of mistakes.

Steve then tells about his current struggles in the lab with his neuromuscular transmission recordings. He has been having long and frustrating days but he hopes that he can be a good example of the necessity of perseverance in science.

Caleb rounds up the episode by talking about his new mathematical modeling endeavors. Then he introduced the Gaia hypothesis, which is an interesting take on how the life on Earth works in harmony to maintain the conditions necessary for life on Earth. In its early days, it was controversial but has been much more widely accepted lately. It was proposed by James Lovelock when he was working for NASA.