Key Takeaways

• New research suggests that the Earth’s water may have originated from hydrogen chemically bonded to sulfur within the planet’s building blocks, challenging the long-held theory of delivery by comets and asteroids.
• A recent study indicates that carrion crows possess advanced cognitive abilities, including the recognition of geometric properties, surpassing those observed in baboons in similar tests.
• Crows demonstrate an advanced ability to discern geometric properties like length, parallelism, perpendicularity, and symmetry, surpassing primates in similar visual processing tasks.
• Purchasing decisions, such as buying a Tesla, are a form of political speech that can be used to support or oppose an individual or ideology, and this should be considered with open eyes.

Segments

Origin of Earth’s Water (~00:12:11)

• Key Takeaway: New research suggests Earth’s water may have originated from hydrogen within the planet’s building blocks, challenging the long-held theory of delivery by comets and asteroids.
• Summary: Jay Novella discusses theories on the origin of Earth’s water, including comets, asteroids, solar nebula capture, and outgassing. He then delves into a new study from the University of Oxford suggesting that hydrogen, chemically bonded to sulfur in minerals like enstatite chondrites, was a primary source of Earth’s water, formed during the planet’s initial creation.

EPA Emissions Data (~00:21:55)

• Key Takeaway: The Trump administration’s plan to eliminate greenhouse gas reporting requirements for most facilities is a significant setback for climate policy and scientific monitoring.
• Summary: Kara Santa Maria discusses the EPA’s plan to discontinue collecting greenhouse gas emissions data from facilities, a move that would eliminate reporting for 40 out of 41 sectors. The hosts express concern that this lack of data hinders climate policy development and is a dangerous precedent for scientific monitoring, comparing it to unplugging a patient’s vital signs monitor.

Crow Cognition and Evolution (~00:33:37)

• Key Takeaway: Carrion crows demonstrate advanced cognitive abilities in recognizing geometric properties, surpassing primates in similar tests, and new findings suggest eukaryotes may have evolved from within archaea, potentially reducing the three-domain system to two.
• Summary: Evan Bernstein shares a story about crows’ ability to discern geometric shapes, outperforming baboons in similar tests. Bob Novella then discusses new research on Asgard Archaea, which possess complex cytoskeletons and microtubules, suggesting eukaryotes may have evolved from within archaea, potentially merging the three-domain system into two. The discussion also touches on the philosophical question of whether everyone sees colors the same way.

Crow Geometric Abilities (~00:53:15)

• Key Takeaway: Crows possess advanced visual processing capabilities, enabling them to discern complex geometric properties.
• Summary: The discussion details a study where crows were tested on their ability to identify subtle differences in geometric shapes, demonstrating a sophisticated understanding of concepts like length, parallelism, and symmetry, even outperforming primates in similar tasks.

Wire Recorder Identification (~00:57:33)

• Key Takeaway: The ’noisy’ segment was identified as a wire recorder, an early magnetic audio recording technology.
• Summary: The hosts and listeners identify a mysterious sound clip as originating from a wire recorder, discussing its mechanics, historical usage from the late 1800s to the 1950s, and its role in early audio recording.

Tesla Purchase Dilemma (~01:04:10)

• Key Takeaway: Choosing to buy a Tesla involves a political statement due to Elon Musk’s controversial public persona and actions.
• Summary: A listener asks for advice on whether to purchase a Tesla, weighing the car’s technological merits against the ethical considerations of supporting Elon Musk, leading to a discussion on separating art from the artist and the political implications of consumer choices.

Moon Rotation Debate (~01:11:21)

• Key Takeaway: A listener’s belief that the moon does not rotate on its axis is based on a flawed frame of reference.
• Summary: The hosts dissect a listener’s argument against the moon’s axial rotation, explaining the importance of inertial frames of reference in physics and how the moon’s tidal locking results in a consistent face towards Earth, but still involves rotation.

Extinct Genome Sequencing (~01:17:13)

• Key Takeaway: While genomes of several extinct animals like the dodo and blue buck have been sequenced, the giant moa’s genome has not been fully sequenced.
• Summary: The ‘Science or Fiction’ segment presents four extinct animals and asks which one’s nuclear genome has not been fully sequenced, with the giant moa being the fictional item, while the dodo, blue buck, and Denisovans have had their genomes sequenced.