We Have Concerns

A Finnish research team has taken a step towards the future of food by developing a method for producing food from electricity. If scaling it up proves to be successful, it could be a tool in the fight against world hunger and climate change. Anthony, Jeff, and special guest Justin Johnson discuss how this might change the world by changing their lunch.

Scientists have figured out why the women’s restroom line is always longer than the men’s. And while the reasons may not surprise you, the solutions just might. They certainly give Anthony and Jeff some ideas. Can we solve the bathrooms problems for all?

The first known attempt at creating genetically modified human embryos in the United States has been carried out by a team of researchers in Portland, Oregon. The effort, led by Shoukhrat Mitalipov of Oregon Health and Science University, involved changing the DNA of a large number of one-cell embryos with the gene-editing technique CRISPR. Anthony and Jeff discuss designer babies, and what this might mean for the future.

A new article in Wired considers all of the dangers associated with performing surgery in space. NASA has never had to do it, but has thought about it a lot. And now Jeff and Anthony will think about it a lot, too. That may not be a good thing.

A “blueish mass” of 17 contact lenses has been discovered in the eye of a patient who was scheduled for cataract surgery. The 67-year-old patient was unaware that the contact lenses were missing, and later told surgeons that she thought her discomfort was due to dry eye and old age. Anthony and Jeff marvel at the ability to even get to that point, and wonder about the circumstances that led to the discovery.

People with Williams syndrome, a rare genetic condition, can’t stop hugging people, have no fear of strangers, and love everyone equally. And it may be that this same syndrome is the reason your dog loves you, too. Jeff and Anthony discuss the condition, and the moral ramifications of breeding it into man's best friend.

According to an MIT study published in The Journal of Human Resources, second-born children are more likely to grow up to become criminals. Anthony and Jeff discuss birth order and whether they believe it leads to a life of crime.

Researchers from China successfully teleported a photon from Earth to a satellite 500 km away. The work is an essential step towards establishing a global-scale quantum internet. Anthony and Jeff discuss how this "teleportation" works, and decide whether it is really something worth getting excited over.

After a flood, thousands of homeless fire ants pile on top of one another to build bizarro towers with their own bodies — probably as temporary shelters. All the complex construction project needs is for each individual ant to follow a few simple rules, new research says. And, if wriggling ant towers weren’t nightmarish enough, this discovery could help engineer robot swarms that are even better at cooperating. Jeff and Anthony marvel at how this works, and imagine the robots it will spawn.

A new study may shed light on why teenagers sleep late while grandparents are often up at the crack of dawn. Fifty years ago, psychologist Frederick Snyder proposed that animals who live in groups stay vigilant during sleep, by having some stay awake while others rest. However, no one had tested this sentinel hypothesis in humans until now. Jeff and Anthony discuss the findings and test the theory in their own lives.

Built in 1937 and distributed in London to members of the Chelsea Baby Club, the baby cage was meant for big-city apartments without yards, and would allow small children to receive fresh air and sunlight. It would be suspended from the side of the building, several stories up, and would still have sufficient room to play with toys. Jeff and Anthony discuss this insane invention, and wonder why it didn't catch on.

Scientists are about to change what a kilogram is. The weights and measures committee will establish a global value for Planck's constant and then will draft a resolution to redefine kilogram based on this constant. Why? Anthony and Jeff investigate, and the answer might surprise you.

Scientists have taken another step toward being able to edit out bad memories while leaving good ones intact — something that could one day be used to treat people suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or anxiety disorders linked to painful memories. Anthony, Jeff, and special guest Vernon Shaw discuss what they would use this technology for, and whether it would be a good thing or not.

Would your dog eat you if you died? Such in the question posed by The National Geographic in a new article. Anthony, as a dog owner himself, has to face the question as he and Jeff get the facts on when and how this might happen.

A rare allergy that causes people to have a terrible reaction to eating red meat is being spread in North America by ticks. Anthony and his vegan cabal are very pleased, but Jeff doesn't quite know how to handle this info.