The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe

The Skeptics Guide #1078 - Mar 7 2026

March 7, 2026

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  • The Artemis program schedule has been adjusted, with Artemis III now serving as a low-Earth orbit testing mission for landers and suits before the lunar landing is rescheduled for Artemis IV in 2028. 
  • The Thatcher Effect illusion demonstrates that the human brain processes faces holistically via the Fusiform Face Area (FFA) when upright, but switches to less efficient featural processing when faces are inverted. 
  • A recent meta-analysis suggests that 99% of coastal hazard assessments have significantly underestimated sea level rise by relying too heavily on the geoid model without sufficient corrections for dynamic ocean factors like currents and tides. 
  • The experiment showing brain cells playing *Doom* is considered an incremental advance in complexity, where the neurons function only as the player controller, not as the entire computing system. 
  • The consensus on glyphosate safety is that while regulatory agencies deem it safe for consumers due to large safety buffers, the primary scientific controversy remains the potential association between high occupational exposure and non-Hodgkin's lymphoma, though recent studies controlling for other pesticides show no signal. 
  • The 'Science or Fiction' segment revealed that chronic infestation with fleas and lice was common in medieval Europe, but the widespread practice of disposing of human waste directly into the streets was an exaggeration, and segmented sleep (first and second sleep) was a common practice until the Industrial Revolution. 

Segments

Artemis Mission Schedule Changes
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(00:00:52)
  • Key Takeaway: Artemis III is reclassified as a low-Earth orbit test mission for landers and suits, pushing the actual lunar landing to Artemis IV in 2028.
  • Summary: A helium flow interruption issue delayed Artemis II to April 2026. Artemis III will now test rendezvous and docking maneuvers between Orion and commercial lunar landers in low-Earth orbit in 2027. The subsequent Artemis IV mission is now scheduled for the lunar landing in 2028.
Quickie: Thatcher Effect Illusion
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(00:06:42)
  • Key Takeaway: The Thatcher Effect occurs because the brain uses configural processing via the FFA to recognize upright faces holistically, which fails when features like eyes and lips are inverted in an otherwise upside-down face.
  • Summary: The illusion, introduced by Peter Thompson in 1980, involves two upside-down faces of Margaret Thatcher where one appears normal until flipped upright, revealing inverted features. When inverted, the brain defaults to less efficient featural processing instead of holistic configural processing. Individuals with prosopagnosia may not experience the illusion because their face recognition module is already impaired.
Growing Food in Lunar Regolith
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(00:11:20)
  • Key Takeaway: Chickpeas can successfully grow and produce normal-sized seeds in lunar regolith simulant mixed with vermicompost, and the associated fungi begin turning the regolith into workable soil.
  • Summary: Scientists are researching using lunar regolith, which lacks microbes and organic matter, to grow food for future astronauts. Researchers mixed lunar simulant with vermicompost (worm-produced fertilizer) and coated chickpea seeds with arbuscular mycorrhizal fungi. The plants survived and produced normal-sized seeds even in mixtures containing up to 75% regolith simulant, and the microbial activity started binding the dust into soil-like clumps.
Underestimated Sea Level Rise Data
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(00:23:18)
  • Key Takeaway: A new study found that 90% of previous coastal hazard assessments underestimated sea level rise because they relied solely on the geoid model, leading to discrepancies up to a meter in regions like Southeast Asia.
  • Summary: The study analyzed 385 papers and found that most used insufficient methodology, often comparing land elevation to the geoid model without accounting for ocean circulation, currents, and tides. This resulted in an average underestimation of 24 to 27 centimeters globally. The greatest discrepancies, sometimes reaching a meter, occurred in the Indian and Pacific Oceans, increasing the urgency for accurate planning.
Critique of Reiki Pain Study
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(00:34:29)
  • Key Takeaway: A study claiming Reiki benefits chronic pain is methodologically flawed because its only statistically significant finding was comparing Reiki to a no-treatment control, not the crucial comparison against the sham treatment (‘Fakey’).
  • Summary: The study compared four groups: Reiki, mindfulness, ‘Fakey’ (sham Reiki), and weightless control. While Reiki showed improvement over the weightless control group (P=0.02), the comparison between actual Reiki and ‘Fakey’ was not statistically significant. The only valid comparison for determining the treatment’s efficacy is against the placebo/sham group, which failed to show a benefit for Reiki over ‘Fakey’.
Neurons Playing Doom Game
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(00:45:16)
  • Key Takeaway: Cortical Labs demonstrated ‘synthetic biological intelligence’ by using 200,000 human neurons on a chip (CL1) to control movement and shooting in the game Free Doom via electrical stimulation and reward-based learning.
  • Summary: The neurons receive visual input converted into electrical stimulation patterns, and their resulting firing patterns are mapped to in-game actions like moving or shooting. The system learns in real-time using a feedback loop where successful actions receive structured stimulation, and mistakes receive random, noisy stimulation that neurons naturally organize to avoid. The neurons act as the player controller, while a silicon computer handles the game rendering and physics.
Brain Cells Playing Doom
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(00:57:54)
  • Key Takeaway: Neurons act only as the player controller, not the entire Doom processing system.
  • Summary: The system running Doom still relies on a silicon computer for rendering and physics updates. The biological neurons are essentially acting as the player controller, navigating the maze and shooting targets. Speakers expressed skepticism about near-term applications, viewing the research primarily as a proof of concept.
Who’s That Noisy Reveal
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(01:05:17)
  • Key Takeaway: The noisy sound belonged to the Edgely wheel, a pseudoscience device.
  • Summary: The sound was identified as an Edgely wheel, a handheld device marketed to help users discover and unleash hidden abilities like telekinesis. The device features a spinning wheel that makes a clicking noise, but it is complete bunk and does not aid in learning psychic powers. Listeners submitted various guesses, including a fishing reel and a laser engraver.
Glyphosate Safety Update
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(01:12:47)
  • Key Takeaway: Regulatory agencies find glyphosate safe for consumers, but the scientific controversy centers on high-exposure worker risk, which is mitigated when controlling for other pesticides.
  • Summary: Regulatory agencies worldwide repeatedly find glyphosate to be of low risk for the general population due to extremely low exposure levels compared to the no observed effect level. The most significant lingering question involves the association between high exposure and non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, though the best epidemiological studies controlling for other pesticides show no signal. The irony is that anti-glyphosate narratives often lead to the use of more toxic alternative herbicides.
Medieval Times Science or Fiction
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(01:24:40)
  • Key Takeaway: Chronic flea and lice infestation was common in medieval Europe, but the movie trope of throwing waste into the streets was an exaggeration.
  • Summary: Chronic infestation with fleas and lice was the norm, partly due to poor hygiene and close proximity to animals, explaining the severity of events like the Black Plague. Disposing of waste directly into the streets was not standard practice; cities often had regulations, and private homes used pits or communal outhouses over rivers. The practice of ‘biphasic sleep’—dividing sleep into first sleep and second sleep with an active period in between—was widespread until the Industrial Revolution enforced a single sleep block.
SGU Announcements and Quote
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(01:39:36)
  • Key Takeaway: Sagan emphasized that scientific progress requires the duality of creativity for hypothesis generation and skepticism for rigorous testing.
  • Summary: The podcast promoted upcoming live shows in Madison, Wisconsin, and conferences in Australia and New Zealand, with ticket information available on the website. A Carl Sagan quote highlighted that the stunning findings of science result from the tension between creativity (generating hypotheses) and skepticism (testing them). Pseudosciences often fail because they stop at the creativity stage without applying skeptical testing.