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What is in the This Week in Science Podcast?

This Week: Predictions from 2022, Predictions for 2023, Lemurs, Bonobos, Algae Bandaids, Even Older Native Americans, Dino Brains, AI voice mimic, Webb Findings, Memory Drug?, Animal Testing, And Much More Science…

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Disclaimer, Disclaimer, Disclaimer!!!

Que sera, sera.
Whatever will be, will be.
The future’s not ours to see.
Or so the old song claims…

But humans through the ages have attempted it anyway,

To open the box,
Break the seal,
And peek into the mysterious unknown of events yet to happen,
To know the future,
Without waiting around for it to happen.
To take action in the now,
While living in an inevitable futures past.

The future seeing methods have been many,
And much easier than you might think.

Simply flipping cards,
Or noting the positions of stars might do it,
Tossing small objects to see how they land,
Be they bones, stones, runes, or coins.

You might try staring into a fire, or a freshly made cup of tea,
Or a careful appreciation of the flights of birds.
As these can all be read as clearly as,
the coagulation of melted wax in water.

Your own destiny, in case you have not noticed,
is inexplicably pre-scribed.
Within the lines of your palm,
And what a future it is! (no spoilers)

However, humans attempted to see the future in the past,
It must have been encouraging for them.
To peer into our distant present,
And know that one day there would be
This Week in Science

Let’s start with last year’s predictions

Who did the best at predicting the science of last year? What was the wildest prediction to come true? Let us know in the comments!

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And, jump into the 2023 Science predictions…

JUSTIN PREDICTS:

In 2023 the planet will continue to warm, the seas will continue to rise and much like covid, people will continue to ignore that it is happening… except for a handful of island nations that you can only find on maps made before 2024

Despite all evidence to the contrary, it will be discovered that smoking is actually good for you. Creating a major boon for that one company that still makes ashtrays…
Until it is later discovered that the ashtrays do cause cancer… was them all along.

James Webb Space Telescope will discover life on another planet… the infographic of chemical spectrography indicating biological processes will be underwhelming at first, but a later artist rendition of a winged toad will capture the world’s imagination.

More space telescopes will be launched this year… discovering hundreds of interesting targets for the James Webb to get better images of…

2023 will be the year that the fundamental mechanics behind gravity is finally figured out, untangling space from time, challenging the expansion rate of the universe, and upending large portions of the standard model… but only in a quantum computer simulation.

Artificial intelligence will be discovered to already be far superior to most people when it comes to making good dinner table conversations.

A new age reversing/ tissue regeneration therapy will be developed that all but eliminates death from natural causes… the researchers immediately see the ramifications of social, economic, and environmental consequences such a therapy would have on the world and decide to keep it a secret… but a few self-help nutritionists find out and are willing to tell you all about it during late night infomercials… conveniently they have created a powdered milkshake that reproduces the results.

Wandering off the science range…

The 49ers will face the Chiefs in the Superbowl and will win. Making it the first time a rookie quarterback, let alone one picked last in the draft, has ever done so.

Putin will be ousted from power some time this year, likely during the summer.

Elon Musk will announce a new reality show where participants are given a small business to run into the ground. Whoever manages to wreck their business in the most epic way, will become Twitter’s CEO for a year.

BLAIR PREDICTS:

-A new social media platform will gain traction, where you can change up the wallpaper and play music on your profile, and you can pick your top friends… maybe 8 of them??
-3d printed meat will get some market trials and responses will be less than well done.
-Tardigrades will do something weird
-Fully driverless self-driving cars will be active and prevalent in the bay area… and cause problems.
-First AI feature-length film will be released – and there will be too many fingers
-We will cure cancer! Again! …and again…
-CA will experience a drought, despite this storm parade.
-We will learn something new about snot!
-Frogs will once again dominate the animal corner!
-TWIS will do a live show (fingers crossed)!

DR. KIKI PREDICTS:

– Yes, climate change will continue to worsen with continued drought & fires around the world brought on by shifting weather patterns & higher land & ocean temperatures.
– However, we will see continued success in the development of sustainable energy sources, like solar, wind, & geothermal.
– And, new battery technology will begin to improve electric vehicles as a choice for consumers.
– Webb will discover an atmosphere conducive to life on an exoplanet.
– SpaceX’s Starship WILL launch successfully into orbit. And, I have good hopes for Starliner.
– Samples from Asteroid Bennu will return to Earth… and, bring visitors from space along for the ride.
– Artificial Intelligence will be the bane of teachers & librarians, but scientists will use it successfully to identify many new drug targets, design proteins, enhance efficiency, & much more.
– AI will enable us to speak with another of Earth’s animal species.
– With the implosion of Twitter as a reputable platform, scientists & science communicators will continue to spread to new refugia for discussing science, but connecting with the public will become more difficult, influencing the continued growth of distrust in science in the public sphere.
– TWIS listeners will continue to find TWIS a consistent source of optimism & curiosity.

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It’s time for Blair’s Animal Corner!

Captive lemurs wish for a wild gut
The good news is, evidence shows their gut can return to the wild state with time and the right diet

Bonobos are strange when they’re a stranger
And they pay more attention to unfamiliar faces – but why?

Algae bandaids
Incoming!

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What science news does Justin have?

Ever older
Native America

Dino brains 
They were dense!

AI
That can mimic your voice.

Let’s finish strong with science from Dr. Kiki!

Webb Findings
Too many early galaxies & an Earth-sized exoplanet are among the findings this month.

Memory Drug?
Is an asthma drug going to bring back lost memories?

No More Animals?
What will a reduction in animal testing mean for modern medicine?

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Take a blast to the past…

What were we discussing at this time last year? This time last year We discussed Pig Heart Transplant, Older Modern Humans, Dolphin Clitoris, Moon Churn, Moon Chum, Zoo Air, COVID Update, Spider Pants, Dog Language, My Little War Pony, Drug-Laden Invasion, Genetic Fingerprints, Fixing Broken Hearts, And Much More!

This week 10 years ago TWIS we discussed The Top 11 Science Stories of 2012 And Makes Predictions For 2013 And Much More! Take a blast into the past with TWIS!

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