We Have Concerns

Using a protein found in a squid called the opalescent inshore squid, scientists recently found a way to change the refractive index of human kidney cells to resemble that of their environment. They’re not quite invisible, but they do become nearly completely transparent when those cells are mixed with a salt solution. Jeff and Anthony discuss what transparent skin might be like and whether they would want it. Then, the blood of horseshoe crabs is used to test for bacterial contamination, thus saving countless lives each year during medical procedures. The only trouble is, we have to catch a quarter of a million horseshoe crabs each year to do this, and then we have to drain their blood. Anthony and Jeff discuss the plight of the valuable horseshoe crab, and where they stand on the use of its blood. Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s stories were sent in by Mark Nuhfer https://www.inverse.com/science/transparent-human-cells And https://inhabitat.com/every-year-250000-horseshoe-crabs-donate-their-blue-blood-to-save-humans/ If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

What's the deal with birds... is a question Anthony and Jeff often ponder, but it's also the title of a new study released in the Scientific Journal of Research and Reviews - which sounds like a legitimate journal, but is actually a repository of mostly useless garbage. Turns out, there are a lot of predatory journals muddying the waters of scientific reporting. Anthony and Jeff take a look at this disturbing trend and try to figure out a way through it. Then, it's time to get concerned about flesh eating worms! Yep, the US government is actually creating tens of millions of them each week, and you'll be amazing at why. Jeff and Anthony discuss the screwworm, and how it is being battled at the Panama-Columbia border. Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s stories were sent in by Jachym Lukes https://irispublishers.com/sjrr/pdf/SJRR.MS.ID.000540.pdf And John Jackson: https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2020/05/flesh-eating-worms-disease-containment-america-panama/611026 If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcernsThe Cannonball Run is a simple, and highly illegal, record that despite having no governing body, is infamous within car culture.  To set a Cannonball Run record, you must traditionally start at the Red Ball Garage in Manhattan, then traverse the entire United States of America as fast as possible to finish at the Portofini Inn in Redondo Beach, California.  And now, thanks to open freeways during the COVID19 quarantine, that record has been broken 7 times in 5 weeks.  Anthony and Jeff talk about what it takes to undertake such a feat, and, of course, Burt Reynolds. Then, physicist Stephen Wolfram has published a new paper about a path forward for discovering a fundamental a theory of the universe - and it sounds a lot like a computer program.  Jeff and Anthony work their way through this dense concept and get excited about the possibilities it entails.Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen.Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcernsJeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboniToday’s stories were sent in by Edward Alcantara https://www.whichcar.com.au/news/the-cannonball-run-record-has-been-obliterated  And Geoff Englestein: https://writings.stephenwolfram.com/2020/04/finally-we-may-have-a-path-to-the-fundamental-theory-of-physics-and-its-beautiful/  If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

(Sorry about the slight buzz in Anthony's audio this week. OUR BAD)A team of researchers injected human stem cells into mouse embryos. Just over two weeks later, the team had more mature mouse embryos that contained up to 4% human cells.  These cross-species hybrids, called chimeras, are the first time anyone has been able to create an animal that was made up of as many human cells as these mice. Anthony and Jeff talk about how much human is too human for animals, and whether they'd take a heart from a chimera.  Then, a new study, published  in the journal Integrative Organismal Biology argues that beard hair could collectively diffuse the force of a blow and so may have evolved in response to the need to win male-male battles.  Jeff and Anthony, erstwhile beard growers themselves, discuss the usefulness of a beard in a fight, and whether the science bears out.GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shopHey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen.Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannataAnthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboniToday’s stories were Sent in by Kris Sikes https://bgr.com/2020/05/14/human-mouse-hybrid-chimera/And Mark Nuhfer https://www.livescience.com/beards-protect-face-punches.htmlIf you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/wehaveconcerns

A University of Saskatchewan (USask) research team has uncovered how bats can carry the Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS) coronavirus without getting sick—research that could shed light on how coronaviruses make the jump to humans and other animals.  Anthony and Jeff discuss why is could have been bats all along, and how we can get that menace out of all of our gotham cities.  Then, a 32-year-old marketer took sheltering in place to the next level when he became trapped in a California ghost town he recently purchased. The problem is: there’s no running water and a snowstorm has him trapped.  Jeff and Anthony decide whether they could be in a haunted place for weeks, and what the best price is for a 22 building sized town.  GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shopHey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen.Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcernsJeff on Twitter:http://twitter.com/jeffcannataAnthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboniToday’s stories were https://phys.org/news/2020-05-super-immunity-coronaviruses.htmlAnd https://nypost.com/2020/04/13/man-forced-to-quarantine-in-ghost-town-with-gruesome-past/If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

If we are all inaccurate perception machines, fallible even in our own ability to process and recall events we experienced, then surely our language should represent how unknowable all things are, right?  Enter E-Prime, a version of the English language that eliminates any form of the verb 'to be'.  Jeff and Anthony discuss how valuable or annoying this could be.  Then, most people see splashes of colors and flashes of light on a not-quite-jet-black background when their eyes are closed. It’s a phenomenon called phosphene, and it and it is because our eyes and brains don’t shut off when denied light.  Anthony and Jeff talk about what they see when their eyes are closed, and why it is important.GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcernsGet all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shopHey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen.Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcernsJeff on Twitter:http://twitter.com/jeffcannataAnthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboniToday’s stories were sent in by Stephanie Eberley Tarves https://theswaddle.com/seeing-colors-when-eyes-closed-phosphenes/And Natasha Henriksson https://www.nobeliefs.com/eprime.htm  If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com , post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

There are more than 2,000 active satellites orbiting Earth. At the end of their useful lives, some will continue circling as "zombie" satellites — neither alive nor quite dead. Steve Tilley, an amateur radio operator living in Canada, has a passion for hunting them down.  Jeff and Anthony discuss his discoveries and whether he deserves the title of Badass.  Then, tales of people being killed by meteorite impacts date back to biblical times. But few deaths, if any, have been documented. Now, Turkish researchers have uncovered the earliest evidence that a meteorite killed one man and paralyzed another when it slammed into a hilltop in what is now Iraq in August 1888.  Anthony and Jeff talk about the odds of that happening, and their own irrational fears.GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcernsGet all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shopHey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen.Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcernsJeff on Twitter:http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboniToday’s stories were sent in by McCall Melanie https://www.npr.org/2020/04/24/843493304/long-lost-u-s-military-satellite-found-by-amateur-radio-operator?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_term=nprnews&utm_campaign=npr&utm_medium=social&fbclid=IwAR2tcj5Ln4dTycmXRh2OPicdfDPB2eMm4_ENN7ZNARCNcTWs6OwU50M3aVwAnd Mark Nuhfer https://www.sciencemag.org/news/2020/04/archivists-uncover-earliest-evidence-person-being-killed-meteorite?fbclid=IwAR0M3F8dAPbEdAx1ZzydowWxOXDMCkffMm2IrHun9odawnYselNRDMXb768If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Grouphttps://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/or leave it on the subreddit:http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

Screens, social media, and the internet... it's destroying the minds of young people, right? Well, a new study aims to answer that very question by comparing kid behavior from 2010 to kid behavior in 1998. Anthony and Jeff discuss the results, and whether the worry is more about the parents than the children. And it isn't often an entire new field of science is invented, but Leda Kobziar of the University of Idaho did just that. Jeff and Anthony learn about pyroaerobiology, and how it might revolutionize our understanding of the world. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s stories were https://news.osu.edu/tech-not-hurting-social-skills-of-kids-these-days/ and, sent in by Cecilia Rehn, https://www.popularmechanics.com/science/environment/a30246543/pyroaerobiology-smoke-signals-interview/?fbclid=IwAR2FqILiJEP39WKoFQuEEtvaDChDy9bYeEs_MNLUzXkuPag5scz4zz2pc9E If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns

Birds. No one likes them. But how can they balance like they do, perched on wires and branches? It turns out scientists have only recently discovered an avian lumbrosacral organ - literally a second balancing mechanism, in the lower spine of birds. Anthony and Jeff try to make sense of this new discovery and sort through their distrust of birds. And it turns out an entire country of readers has been reading a wildly different version of Bram Stoker's Dracula. The Icelandic translation has only recently been discovered to be divergent from the original in major ways. Jeff and Anthony look into how that could have happened and try to decide if it is cool or diabolical. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s stories were https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2020.04.01.020982v1 and, sent in by, Tristan Hornsey-Pennell, https://medium.com/@toothpickings/youve-been-reading-the-wrong-dracula-a4446551d1d2 If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns MAILING ADDRESS: World Crime League, Inc. 1920 Hillhurst Ave #425 Los Angeles, CA 90027

Biologists at Tufts University, Douglas Blackiston and Michael Levin have created all programmable organisms called xenobots — golems dreamed in silicon and then written into flesh. The implications of their existence could spill from artificial-intelligence research to fundamental questions in biology and ethics. Jeff and Anthony discuss how these new entities came to be and what they could mean for the future. And new footage has revealed a trailing ribbon of conjoined tentacled clones sweeping the ocean off the coast of Australia. Known in some regions as the "long stringy stingy thingy", siphonophores blur the line between organ and organism. They somehow manage to be both at once. Anthony and Jeff decide if these is one creature and a series of connected ones, and how they contribute to our understanding of the bizarre ecosystem of the deep. GET BONUS EPISODES, VIDEO HANGOUTS AND MORE. VISIT: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Get all your sweet We Have Concerns merch by swinging by http://wehaveconcerns.com/shop Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to rate/review it on whatever service you use to listen. Here’s the iTunes link: http://bit.ly/wehaveconcerns And here’s the Stitcher link: http://bit.ly/stitcherwhconcerns Jeff on Twitter: http://twitter.com/jeffcannata Anthony on Twitter: http://twitter.com/acarboni Today’s stories were sent in by Geoff Englestein: https://www.nytimes.com/2020/04/03/science/xenobots-robots-frogs-xenopus.html?referringSource=articleShare and Mark Nuhfer: https://www.sciencealert.com/researchers-filmed-the-longest-known-stringy-stingy-thingy-floating-in-the-ocean?fbclid=IwAR0If_SxjEgCr7v-DpqxV9QnUNxCLj0vjy7b6HpfVvAL8LN0RR1qexNicsk If you’ve seen a story you think belongs on the show, send it to wehaveconcernsshow@gmail.com, post in on our Facebook Group https://www.facebook.com/groups/WeHaveConcerns/ or leave it on the subreddit: http://reddit.com/r/wehaveconcerns