The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

The Skeptics Guide #1077 - Feb 28 2026

February 28, 2026

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  • The Swindler's List segment in this episode of The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe warned listeners about numerous tax fraud scams, emphasizing that the IRS will never initiate contact via text, email, or phone call requesting sensitive information. 
  • The new universal respiratory vaccine discussed is a nasal spray that activates the innate immune system for months of heightened protection, representing a different approach than traditional adaptive immunity vaccines, but raising concerns about potential autoimmunity. 
  • The SAGO report on COVID-19 origins concluded that while the evidence strongly favors a zoonotic spillover event, conclusive proof against a lab leak remains elusive due to a lack of access to complete, non-redacted data from relevant sources. 
  • Fast reactors could utilize over 90% of the energy in spent nuclear fuel, potentially powering the country for decades using the current stockpile, while accelerator-driven systems offer a subcritical, inherently safer method for fuel reduction. 
  • Expert bird watchers exhibit denser gray matter in brain regions associated with visual processing, attention, and memory, demonstrating neuroplasticity linked to specialized perceptual learning. 
  • The first intentional inoculation (variolation for smallpox in China) predated the first formal vaccination by Edward Jenner by over 700 years, and 50% of global vaccine doses are estimated to be wasted annually due to breaks in the cold chain refrigeration. 

Segments

Hosts Introduction and Weather Chat
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(00:00:03)
  • Key Takeaway: The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe episode #1077 was recorded on Thursday, February 26th, 2026.
  • Summary: The episode opened with the introduction of hosts Stephen Novella, Bob Novella, Kara Santa Maria, Jay Novella, and Evan Bernstein. The hosts briefly discussed recent extreme winter weather, including significant snow days for Jay’s children. The conversation highlighted that schools are currently abandoning online teaching options for snow days.
Tax Fraud Swindler’s List
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(00:04:26)
  • Key Takeaway: Tax scams utilize AI-boosted synthetic voices and phishing texts claiming refund issues, and filers must avoid falsifying W-2 wages to prevent severe penalties, including jail time for willful fraud.
  • Summary: Jay Novella initiated the Swindler’s List segment focusing on tax fraud, detailing scams involving fake IRS links requesting Social Security numbers and bank details. Evan Bernstein clarified that willful tax fraud, such as claiming false W-2 wages to trigger a refund, carries the harshest penalties. A critical warning was issued that the IRS never contacts individuals via text, email, or phone call requesting information; all such contact should be treated as highly suspicious.
Universal Respiratory Vaccine News
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(00:17:06)
  • Key Takeaway: A promising new respiratory vaccine approach activates the innate immune system, providing months of broad protection, unlike traditional vaccines which stimulate the specific, memory-based adaptive immune system.
  • Summary: The news item detailed a mouse study on a nasal spray vaccine that targets the innate immune system, causing resident immune cells in the lungs to remain active for months, offering broad protection against respiratory pathogens. This differs from standard vaccines which rely on adaptive immunity to target specific antigens and create memory cells. While this approach could be a powerful tool during early pandemic stages, prolonged innate activation carries risks, such as potentially triggering autoimmune conditions like psoriasis.
COVID-19 Origins Investigation Update
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(00:33:37)
  • Key Takeaway: The SAGO report found strong epidemiological evidence supporting a zoonotic spillover event near the Wuhan market, but could not definitively rule out a lab leak due to incomplete access to necessary raw data.
  • Summary: Kara Santa Maria reported on the WHO’s SAGO group assessment of SARS-CoV-2 origins, noting that three of the 27 experts dissented from including the lab leak hypothesis due to a perceived lack of data. The investigation analyzed four hypotheses, concluding that the engineered virus theory was highly unlikely due to the virus’s mosaic genome structure. While the evidence strongly points to a spillover event, the inability to review all data prevents the scientific community from conclusively closing the door on an accidental lab-related incident.
Nuclear Waste Transmutation Research
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(00:51:25)
  • Key Takeaway: ARPA-E is funding research using particle accelerators to transmute spent nuclear fuel via subcritical spallation reactions, potentially reducing its hazardous life from hundreds of thousands of years to a few hundred years while generating electricity.
  • Summary: Bob Novella detailed a Department of Energy project using particle accelerators to bombard heavy metals like mercury, creating neutrons that induce fission in spent nuclear fuel. This process, called spallation, converts long-lived, highly radioactive isotopes into shorter-lived ones, significantly reducing the required long-term storage time. Because this process is subcritical, it is inherently safer than conventional fast reactors, which operate under criticality and carry risks of runaway reactions.
Spent Fuel Reactor Efficiency
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(00:59:05)
  • Key Takeaway: Fast reactors can utilize over 90% of the energy in uranium from spent nuclear fuel, compared to 5% in legacy reactors.
  • Summary: Fast reactors, though more complex, can use over 90% of the energy in spent nuclear fuel, potentially powering the country for 30 years on the current stockpile. Traditional reactors only use about 5% of the available energy. Reprocessing spent fuel is a current, though more expensive, alternative to reduce waste.
Accelerator Safety and Practicality
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(01:00:24)
  • Key Takeaway: Accelerator-driven systems for nuclear waste are subcritical, meaning runaway reactions cannot occur, but their commercial viability depends on achieving practical efficiency.
  • Summary: Accelerator-driven systems are inherently safer because shutting down the particle accelerator immediately stops the reaction, preventing runaway events. The current research focus is determining if this technology can be made efficient enough to be practical for commercial use. This technology offers another pathway to reduce spent nuclear fuel.
Birder Identity and Hobby Benefits
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(01:03:31)
  • Key Takeaway: Birdwatching is a low-threshold hobby that significantly increases attention to detail and provides lessons in categorization and evolution.
  • Summary: Birdwatcher and birder are interchangeable terms, and the entry point for the hobby is simply looking at birds, existing on a wide continuum of engagement. The hobby enhances attention to detail by forcing notice of subtle features like pale eye rings or beak-to-body ratios. It also offers learning opportunities regarding categorization, variation within species, and evolution.
Birding and Cognitive Structure
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(01:06:18)
  • Key Takeaway: Expert bird watchers show denser gray matter in visual processing and attention regions, aligning with structural changes due to learning (neuroplasticity).
  • Summary: A study comparing experienced birders to novices found denser gray matter in brain areas linked to visual processing, attention, and working memory in the experts. These regions also showed increased functional activity during bird identification tasks, suggesting expertise physically modifies the brain. While confounding factors like general time in nature exist, the findings support that focused learning drives structural change.
Who’s That Noisy Reveal
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(01:14:41)
  • Key Takeaway: The annoying sound was identified as a high-end five-axis dental milling machine used for fabricating crowns and implants.
  • Summary: Despite several creative guesses, the noisy sound was revealed to be the Densplay Serona In Lab MCX5, a machine used in professional dental labs. This device fabricates restorations like crowns and bridges from digital designs using materials such as zirconia and ceramics. The machine is considered miraculous for its capabilities but produces an unpleasant sound.
Starting a Skeptical Group Advice
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(01:19:01)
  • Key Takeaway: Starting a local skeptical group is easiest by forming a low-commitment meetup group, focusing on pacing oneself to avoid burnout.
  • Summary: The easiest entry point for starting a local skeptical organization is forming a meetup group that gathers monthly in a public space to discuss topics. Organizers should avoid overwhelming themselves initially, as high initial enthusiasm often leads to burnout within a year or two. The effort level can be scaled up later if desired, perhaps by inviting speakers.
Science or Fiction: Vaccine Facts
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(01:21:32)
  • Key Takeaway: Vaccines sold in the U.S. do not contain human fetal cells, but some viruses are grown in historic human fetal cell lines, and 50% of global vaccine doses are wasted due to cold chain failures.
  • Summary: The fiction item was that no U.S. vaccines are made using human fetal cells; the truth is that while the final products lack fetal cells, some viruses are cultured in cell lines originally derived from human fetuses. The WHO estimates 50% of vaccine doses are wasted annually due to spoilage from breaks in the required 2 to 8 C cold chain. The first intentional inoculation, variolation for smallpox in China, occurred around the year 1000, predating Jenner’s vaccination by over 700 years.