The Most Distant Black Hole: Casper's Lidz 9
Astronomers have identified the most distant black hole ever observed, known as Casper's Lidz 9, dating back 13.3 billion years to a time when the universe was only half a billion years old. This supermassive black hole, weighing in at approximately 300 million solar masses, raises intriguing questions about its rapid growth in the early universe. The findings, published in the Astrophysical Journal, provide a unique opportunity to study the structure and evolution of galaxies during this enigmatic period, with implications for our understanding of black hole formation.
New Insights into Ancient Martian Water
Recent research suggests that Mars was even wetter than previously believed. A study presented at the Royal Astronomical Society's national meeting examined over 1500 kilometres of ancient riverbeds in the Nochesterra region, indicating that flowing water was widespread during the Noche and Hesperian transition around 3.7 billion years ago. These findings challenge existing theories about Mars's dry history and suggest a more complex and active planet, potentially providing a more hospitable environment for ancient life.
Nuclear Reactors for Moon and Mars Bases
The United States has unveiled plans to develop nuclear reactors to power future bases on the Moon and Mars, with the first plant expected to launch by the end of the decade. This initiative aims to support sustained human presence on these celestial bodies, addressing energy needs that solar power cannot fulfil. The reactors will provide essential electricity for life support, scientific equipment, and resource utilisation, marking a significant step in the ongoing space race.
www.spacetimewithstuartgary.com
✍️ Episode References
Astrophysical Journal
https://iopscience.iop.org/journal/1538-4357
NASA's Artemis Program
https://www.nasa.gov/specials/artemis/
Become a supporter of this podcast: https://www.spreaker.com/podcast/spacetime-space-astronomy--2458531/support.
00:00:00 --> 00:00:02 Stuart Gary: This is space Time Series 28, Episode
00:00:02 --> 00:00:05 96 for broadcast on 11 August
00:00:05 --> 00:00:08 2025. Coming up on Space
00:00:08 --> 00:00:11 A monster at the dawn of Time. New
00:00:11 --> 00:00:14 data suggest Mars was even wetter than scientists
00:00:14 --> 00:00:16 thought. And NASA's plans to put
00:00:16 --> 00:00:19 nuclear reactors on the Moon and Mars.
00:00:20 --> 00:00:22 All that and more coming up on, uh, Space
00:00:22 --> 00:00:23 Time.
00:00:24 --> 00:00:27 Voice Over Guy: Welcome to Space Time with Stuart
00:00:27 --> 00:00:27 Gary
00:00:44 --> 00:00:47 Stuart Gary: Astronomers have detected the most distant black hole ever
00:00:47 --> 00:00:49 seen. This monster from the dawn of time,
00:00:50 --> 00:00:52 catalogued as Casper's Lidz 9,
00:00:52 --> 00:00:55 dates back some 13.3 billion years to
00:00:55 --> 00:00:58 a time when the universe was just half a billion years
00:00:58 --> 00:01:01 old, barely 3% of its current
00:01:01 --> 00:01:03 age. And just as surprising is
00:01:03 --> 00:01:06 the size of this supermassive black hole, which is some
00:01:06 --> 00:01:09 300 million times the mass of our Sun. That
00:01:09 --> 00:01:12 raises questions about how it could have gotten so big
00:01:12 --> 00:01:15 so quickly, so early in the history of the universe.
00:01:16 --> 00:01:18 The findings reported in the Astrophysical Journal
00:01:19 --> 00:01:21 pushes back the boundaries of what current technology can
00:01:21 --> 00:01:24 detect, and it also provides a unique opportunity
00:01:24 --> 00:01:27 to study the structure and evolution of this
00:01:27 --> 00:01:29 enigmatic period of the cosmos. One of the
00:01:29 --> 00:01:32 study's authors, Steve Finkelstein from the University of
00:01:32 --> 00:01:35 Texas at Austin, says it's about as far back as you can
00:01:35 --> 00:01:38 practically go. He says while astronomers
00:01:38 --> 00:01:41 have found a few more distinct candidates, they're yet to find
00:01:41 --> 00:01:43 the very distinct spectroscopic signatures usually
00:01:43 --> 00:01:46 associated with a black hole. With
00:01:46 --> 00:01:49 spectroscopy, astronomers can split light into
00:01:49 --> 00:01:52 its many component wavelengths, allowing them to study
00:01:52 --> 00:01:55 an object's characteristics. To identify
00:01:55 --> 00:01:57 black holes, they first search for evidence of fast
00:01:57 --> 00:02:00 moving gas see as it circles around the
00:02:00 --> 00:02:03 accretion disc of a black hole. Light from the gas moving
00:02:03 --> 00:02:06 away from our point of view is stretched into the redder
00:02:06 --> 00:02:09 wavelengths, while at the same time the gas on
00:02:09 --> 00:02:12 the other side of the disc, which appears to be moving towards our
00:02:12 --> 00:02:15 point of view, appears to be compressed, making it bluer in
00:02:15 --> 00:02:17 wavelength. Finkelstein and colleagues used
00:02:17 --> 00:02:20 data from the Webb Space Telescope's caspers that's
00:02:20 --> 00:02:23 Candles Area Prism Epoch of Reionisation
00:02:23 --> 00:02:25 Survey Programme. Launched back in
00:02:25 --> 00:02:28 2021, the Webb Space Telescope provides the
00:02:28 --> 00:02:31 most far reaching views of space ever achieved,
00:02:31 --> 00:02:34 and Casper provides observations at its very
00:02:34 --> 00:02:37 outermost edge. Initially seen simply
00:02:37 --> 00:02:40 as an interesting speck in the program's imagery, Casper's
00:02:40 --> 00:02:42 Lodz 9 turned out to be part of a new
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 class of galaxies, which astronomers refer to
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 simply as little red dots. Present
00:02:48 --> 00:02:50 only during the first 1.5 billion years of the
00:02:50 --> 00:02:53 universe's existence, these galaxies are very
00:02:53 --> 00:02:56 compact, red and unexpectedly bright.
00:02:56 --> 00:02:59 Finkelstein says the discovery of little red dots was
00:02:59 --> 00:03:02 A major surprise from the early Webb data. That's because
00:03:02 --> 00:03:05 they look nothing like galaxies seen with the Hubble Space
00:03:05 --> 00:03:08 Telescope, Webb's visible light optical equivalent.
00:03:09 --> 00:03:12 So astronomers are now in the process figuring out exactly
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 what they are and how they came to be. And
00:03:15 --> 00:03:17 Casper's lid Z9 may well help
00:03:17 --> 00:03:20 astronomers do that. For one, this
00:03:20 --> 00:03:23 galaxy adds to mounting evidence that supermassive
00:03:23 --> 00:03:26 black holes are the source of the unexpected brightness
00:03:26 --> 00:03:29 in little red dots. Uh, usually
00:03:29 --> 00:03:32 that sort of brightness would indicate an abundance of stars in
00:03:32 --> 00:03:34 the galaxy. The thing is that little red dots exist
00:03:34 --> 00:03:37 at a time when such large numbers of stars is highly
00:03:37 --> 00:03:40 unlikely. On the other hand, feeding black holes
00:03:40 --> 00:03:43 also shine brightly. That's because they
00:03:43 --> 00:03:46 compress and heat the materials they're consuming, creating
00:03:46 --> 00:03:49 tremendous amounts of light and energy. So
00:03:49 --> 00:03:52 by confirming the existence of a supermassive black hole
00:03:52 --> 00:03:55 in Casper's LRDZ 9, astronomers have found a
00:03:55 --> 00:03:57 striking example of this connection in little red dots.
00:03:58 --> 00:04:01 The newfound galaxy and its central supermassive black
00:04:01 --> 00:04:04 hole may also help to answer what causes the distinct red
00:04:04 --> 00:04:07 colour in little red dots. That may be thanks
00:04:07 --> 00:04:09 to a thick cloud of gas surrounding the black hole,
00:04:09 --> 00:04:12 skewing its light into redder wavelengths as it passes
00:04:12 --> 00:04:15 through. At around 300 million solar
00:04:15 --> 00:04:18 masses, this black hole equates around half the mass of
00:04:18 --> 00:04:19 all the stars in the host galaxy.
00:04:20 --> 00:04:23 And even among supermassive black holes, that's
00:04:23 --> 00:04:26 especially big. Finding such a
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 massive black hole so early on in the universe's history
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 provides astronomers with a valuable opportunity to
00:04:32 --> 00:04:35 study how these objects have developed. See,
00:04:35 --> 00:04:38 the thing is, a black hole present closer to our time
00:04:38 --> 00:04:40 later in the universe's evolution has had a diverse range
00:04:40 --> 00:04:43 of opportunities to grow bigger. Uh, but one
00:04:43 --> 00:04:46 present in the first few hundred million years of the cosmos
00:04:46 --> 00:04:49 hasn't had that sort of time, and that's
00:04:49 --> 00:04:52 a huge mystery. Finkelstein says it
00:04:52 --> 00:04:55 adds to growing evidence that early black holes grew much
00:04:55 --> 00:04:58 faster than we thought possible. Alternatively,
00:04:58 --> 00:05:00 they simply started out more massive than our current
00:05:00 --> 00:05:03 models can predict. It's a fascinating
00:05:03 --> 00:05:06 puzzle. This is space time.
00:05:06 --> 00:05:09 Still to come, new data suggest the Red planet,
00:05:09 --> 00:05:12 Mars was even wetter than scientists thought. And the
00:05:12 --> 00:05:15 United States announces plans to put nuclear reactors
00:05:15 --> 00:05:18 on the Moon and Mars. All that and more still
00:05:18 --> 00:05:20 to come on, uh, space time.
00:05:36 --> 00:05:39 A new study of ancient Martian river systems is
00:05:39 --> 00:05:41 suggesting that the Red Planet was even wetter than
00:05:41 --> 00:05:44 scientists had previously thought. The new
00:05:44 --> 00:05:47 findings presented to the Royal Astronomical Society's national
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 meeting in Durham, are based on a close examination of
00:05:50 --> 00:05:52 more than 1500 kilometres of ancient Martian
00:05:52 --> 00:05:55 riverbeds. The authors looked at fluvial
00:05:55 --> 00:05:58 sinuous ridges, also known as inverted channels,
00:05:58 --> 00:06:01 across Nochesterra, a region in the Martian
00:06:01 --> 00:06:04 southern highlands. These are believed to have formed
00:06:04 --> 00:06:07 as sediments deposited by rivers hardened and was
00:06:07 --> 00:06:09 later exposed as the surrounding material eroded.
00:06:10 --> 00:06:13 Similar ridges have been found across a range of terrains on
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 Mars. Their presence suggests that flowing
00:06:16 --> 00:06:18 water was once widespread in this region, with
00:06:18 --> 00:06:21 precipitation being the most likely source of the water.
00:06:21 --> 00:06:24 The study's lead author, Adam Looskut from the Open University
00:06:25 --> 00:06:28 says the findings indicate that surface water may well have
00:06:28 --> 00:06:30 been stable in Nochester Terra during the Noche and
00:06:30 --> 00:06:33 Hesperian transition. That's a period of
00:06:33 --> 00:06:36 Martian geologic and climatic change around
00:06:36 --> 00:06:39 3.7 billion years ago. Nochis
00:06:39 --> 00:06:42 Terra has not been studied as extensively as other regions of
00:06:42 --> 00:06:44 Mars, in part because it contains very few
00:06:44 --> 00:06:47 valley networks which are branching erosional
00:06:47 --> 00:06:49 features that have traditionally been used to infer
00:06:49 --> 00:06:52 historical rainfall and runoff. The study
00:06:52 --> 00:06:55 instead focuses on fuvial sinuous ridges
00:06:55 --> 00:06:58 as an alternative form of evidence for ancient surface
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 water. Liskut says Nurche's terrace a sort
00:07:01 --> 00:07:03 of time capsule recording fundamental geological
00:07:03 --> 00:07:06 processes in a way that just isn't possible here on Earth
00:07:06 --> 00:07:09 Earth. To reach their conclusions, Liscott and
00:07:09 --> 00:07:12 colleagues used data from three orbital the
00:07:12 --> 00:07:14 Context Camera, the Mars Orbiter Laser
00:07:14 --> 00:07:17 Altimeter and the High Resolution imaging science
00:07:17 --> 00:07:19 experiment HiRISE. These
00:07:19 --> 00:07:22 datasets allow them to map the locations,
00:07:22 --> 00:07:25 lengths and morphologies of ridge systems across a
00:07:25 --> 00:07:28 wide area of the Red Planet. Many of the
00:07:28 --> 00:07:31 features appear to be isolated ridge segments, while others
00:07:31 --> 00:07:33 form systems extending for hundreds of kilometres
00:07:33 --> 00:07:36 and rising tens of metres above the surrounding terrain.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:40 The broad distribution and form of these ridges
00:07:40 --> 00:07:42 suggest that they likely formed over geologically significant
00:07:43 --> 00:07:46 periods under relatively stable surface conditions.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:49 The spatial distribution and extent of these features
00:07:49 --> 00:07:52 all indicate that the water source was precipitation.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 Leskut says the work provides a new piece of evidence
00:07:56 --> 00:07:59 suggesting that Mars was once a much more complex and
00:07:59 --> 00:08:02 active planet than what it is today. The
00:08:02 --> 00:08:04 fact that these ridges form extensive interconnected
00:08:04 --> 00:08:07 systems suggests that the watery conditions must have been
00:08:07 --> 00:08:10 relatively stable for long periods of time.
00:08:10 --> 00:08:13 So these findings are challenging existing
00:08:13 --> 00:08:15 theories that Mars was generally always
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 cold and dry, with a few valleys formed through
00:08:18 --> 00:08:21 ice sheet and meltwater in sporadic short periods of
00:08:21 --> 00:08:24 warming. So a, uh, mostly warm wet
00:08:24 --> 00:08:27 Mars as opposed to the freeze dried desert we see
00:08:27 --> 00:08:30 today. All birds will for the sort of environment
00:08:30 --> 00:08:33 in, in which ancient life, had it ever existed on the Red
00:08:33 --> 00:08:35 Planet, may well have thrived.
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 This is space time still to come.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:42 NASA to place nuclear reactors on the Moon and Mars
00:08:42 --> 00:08:44 and later in the science report New MRNA M
00:08:44 --> 00:08:47 Vaccine to target HIV aids.
00:08:47 --> 00:08:50 All that and more still to come on uh, space
00:08:50 --> 00:08:50 time.
00:09:06 --> 00:09:09 The United States has announced plans to develop nuclear
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 reactors to supply power to its future bases on
00:09:12 --> 00:09:15 the moon and Mars. U.S. transportation
00:09:15 --> 00:09:18 Secretary and acting NASA chief Sean Duffy says the
00:09:18 --> 00:09:21 agency hopes to launch its first plant by the end of this
00:09:21 --> 00:09:24 decade. Duffy says NASA will appoint
00:09:24 --> 00:09:27 a nuclear power czar who will select two commercial
00:09:27 --> 00:09:30 proposals within the next six months. The move is
00:09:30 --> 00:09:33 being seen as an attempt by Washington to outflank
00:09:33 --> 00:09:35 plans for a joint Chinese Russian lunar base by
00:09:35 --> 00:09:38 Beijing and the Kremlin, which he slated for construction in the
00:09:38 --> 00:09:41 early2030s. NASA has been working on
00:09:41 --> 00:09:44 developing small lightweight fission nuclear power
00:09:44 --> 00:09:47 systems since the year 2000. In
00:09:47 --> 00:09:49 fact in 2001 NASA tested the safe
00:09:50 --> 00:09:52 30 experimental space fusion reactor.
00:09:52 --> 00:09:55 It was one of a series of small experimental nuclear
00:09:55 --> 00:09:58 reactors developed by the agency for electricity
00:09:58 --> 00:10:01 production in space. Unlike
00:10:01 --> 00:10:04 solar power, nuclear reactors can operate continuously
00:10:04 --> 00:10:07 around the clock. That's a requirement needed in order
00:10:07 --> 00:10:09 to deal with the Moon's 15 Earth Day long nights and the Red
00:10:09 --> 00:10:12 Planet's thick dust storms. The power planet would
00:10:12 --> 00:10:15 need to produce at least 100 kilowatts in order to support long
00:10:15 --> 00:10:18 term human operations, including in situ resource
00:10:18 --> 00:10:21 utilisation such as life support, communications,
00:10:21 --> 00:10:24 scientific equipment and the mining equipment needed to collect
00:10:24 --> 00:10:27 surface water ice. The current timeline would see
00:10:27 --> 00:10:30 the first reactor launched in late 2029
00:10:30 --> 00:10:33 using a heavy class lander capable of carrying at least
00:10:33 --> 00:10:36 15 metric tonnes of mass. NASA's
00:10:36 --> 00:10:39 Artemis programme will see humans return to lunar orbit
00:10:39 --> 00:10:41 aboard the Artemis 2 mission next year with
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 Artemis 3 landing a crew on the lunar south
00:10:44 --> 00:10:47 pole in mid-2027. Duffy
00:10:47 --> 00:10:50 says the reactor is all part of a new space race against
00:10:50 --> 00:10:53 China. The ultimate goal is establishing a sustained human
00:10:53 --> 00:10:56 presence on the moon. He says a future manned
00:10:56 --> 00:10:58 lunar base would need to be established at the moon's south
00:10:58 --> 00:11:01 pole, near permanently shadowed craters where water
00:11:01 --> 00:11:03 ice is thought to be abundant.
00:11:03 --> 00:11:06 Sean Duffy: So this is not a new concept. This uh,
00:11:06 --> 00:11:09 has been discussed under Trump one under
00:11:09 --> 00:11:12 Biden. But uh, we are in the race. We're in a
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 race to the moon, in a race with China to the moon. And
00:11:15 --> 00:11:17 uh, to have a base on the moon we need energy
00:11:18 --> 00:11:21 and some uh, of the key locations on
00:11:21 --> 00:11:24 the moon we're going to get solar power. But
00:11:25 --> 00:11:27 uh, this vision technology is critically uh, important
00:11:28 --> 00:11:31 and so we've spent hundreds of million dollars
00:11:31 --> 00:11:34 studying. Can we do it? We are now going to
00:11:34 --> 00:11:37 move beyond studying and we are going, we've given direction to
00:11:37 --> 00:11:40 go. Let's start to deploy our technology to move to
00:11:40 --> 00:11:43 actually make this a reality. And I think the stat we
00:11:43 --> 00:11:46 have is uh, it's 100 kilowatt output.
00:11:46 --> 00:11:49 That's the same amount of energy a 2 square foot home
00:11:50 --> 00:11:52 uses every three and a half days.
00:11:53 --> 00:11:55 So we're not talking about massive technology.
00:11:56 --> 00:11:59 We're not launching this live. That's obviously if you have any
00:11:59 --> 00:12:02 questions about that. No, we're not launching it live. But again energy
00:12:02 --> 00:12:05 is important and if we're going to be able to sustain
00:12:05 --> 00:12:07 life on the moon to then go to Mars,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:11 this technology is critically important. Um,
00:12:11 --> 00:12:13 and I would just note that we behind
00:12:13 --> 00:12:16 right. If we're going to engage
00:12:16 --> 00:12:19 um, in the race to the moon and the race to Mars, we have to get
00:12:19 --> 00:12:22 our act together. We have to marshal all of our
00:12:22 --> 00:12:25 resources, all of our focus on going to the moon,
00:12:25 --> 00:12:28 which is what we're going to do. Um, and again there's a lot of things that
00:12:28 --> 00:12:30 NASA does and a lot of people love a lot of the things that
00:12:30 --> 00:12:33 NASA does. But this is about space exploration
00:12:34 --> 00:12:36 and this is about this next phase.
00:12:36 --> 00:12:39 Um, a lot of people don't know even
00:12:39 --> 00:12:42 what Artemis is. Everyone knew what Apollo was.
00:12:42 --> 00:12:45 We all knew, the whole world knew what Apollo was. We were going to the
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 moon. Artemis is, we're going back.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:50 So in uh, the first part of next year we are going to send
00:12:50 --> 00:12:53 Artemis 2 out, met the four astronauts,
00:12:53 --> 00:12:56 they're fantastic. Uh, we're going to go out around the moon
00:12:56 --> 00:12:59 and come back. Artemis 3, we are going to
00:12:59 --> 00:13:02 go back to the moon. We're going to land. The longest time
00:13:02 --> 00:13:05 we've spent in the past was three days. We're going to stay for six
00:13:05 --> 00:13:08 days and then after that we're able to start
00:13:08 --> 00:13:10 shipping uh, our assets to the moon
00:13:10 --> 00:13:13 unmanned. And we'll have those assets
00:13:13 --> 00:13:16 there as our astronauts arrive and we're able to uh,
00:13:16 --> 00:13:18 build a base. But this is critically important.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 There's a certain part of the moon that everyone knows is the best.
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 We have ice there, we have sunlight there.
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 We want to get there first and claim that for America
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 and uh, to do this is this part
00:13:30 --> 00:13:33 of the fission technology is critically
00:13:33 --> 00:13:35 important to sustain life because solar won't do
00:13:35 --> 00:13:38 it. But it's just a lower amount of
00:13:38 --> 00:13:41 that fission technology that's going to allow human uh, life
00:13:41 --> 00:13:42 to sustain.
00:13:42 --> 00:13:44 Stuart Gary: That's acting NASA Chief and US Transportation
00:13:44 --> 00:13:47 Secretary Sean Duffy. And this is
00:13:47 --> 00:13:48 space, time
00:14:04 --> 00:14:06 and time. Now to take a brief look at some of the other stories making
00:14:06 --> 00:14:09 newgen science this week with the science report.
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 Scientists have used MRNA technology,
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 engineer new vaccines for HIV aids which
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 have produced potent human responses to the virus in
00:14:18 --> 00:14:20 volunteers during early phase 1 clinical
00:14:20 --> 00:14:23 trials. A report in the journal Science
00:14:23 --> 00:14:26 Transitional Medicine claims using MRNA has
00:14:26 --> 00:14:28 allowed the authors to bypass common obstacles with
00:14:28 --> 00:14:31 HIV vaccines and it's another step towards
00:14:31 --> 00:14:34 a more effective and affordable vaccine regimen.
00:14:34 --> 00:14:37 The human immunodeficiency virus HIV
00:14:37 --> 00:14:40 attacks the immune system, causing acquired immune
00:14:40 --> 00:14:43 deficiency syndrome, or aids, which allows opportunistic
00:14:43 --> 00:14:46 diseases, normally easily combated by the body, to
00:14:46 --> 00:14:49 take hold, eventually killing the patient. The
00:14:49 --> 00:14:52 World Health Organisation says that since first being
00:14:52 --> 00:14:55 diagnosed in 1981, AIDS has killed over
00:14:55 --> 00:14:58 43 million people globally and infected
00:14:58 --> 00:15:00 more than 113 million. HIV
00:15:01 --> 00:15:03 is transmitted through body fluids. There is
00:15:03 --> 00:15:06 no cure, although it can be controlled using a
00:15:06 --> 00:15:09 combination of complex drug cocktails.
00:15:10 --> 00:15:12 Scientists have finally discovered the origins of
00:15:12 --> 00:15:15 potatoes, in the process solving a long standing
00:15:15 --> 00:15:18 mystery. A report of the journal search claims
00:15:18 --> 00:15:21 the humble spud's DNA shows that it originally
00:15:21 --> 00:15:24 evolved from tomatoes around 9 million years ago in
00:15:24 --> 00:15:26 South America. The authors say natural
00:15:26 --> 00:15:29 interbreeding between tomato like plants and potato like
00:15:29 --> 00:15:32 plants triggered the formation of the tubers which we know and
00:15:32 --> 00:15:35 love today. Potatoes had proved
00:15:35 --> 00:15:38 puzzling because in appearance modern potato plants
00:15:38 --> 00:15:41 are almost identical to three potato like species from Chile
00:15:41 --> 00:15:43 called E. Tuberosum. But those plants don't
00:15:43 --> 00:15:46 have any tubers. So scientists
00:15:46 --> 00:15:49 analysed a genetic sequence of 450 cultivated
00:15:49 --> 00:15:52 potatoes as well as 56 wild potato species, finding
00:15:52 --> 00:15:55 they all contained a mix of genetic M material from E.
00:15:55 --> 00:15:58 Tuberosum and tomato. And
00:15:58 --> 00:16:00 that suggests that they must have resulted from the two plant
00:16:00 --> 00:16:02 species hybridising long ago.
00:16:03 --> 00:16:06 Developing tubers allowed potatoes to flourish
00:16:06 --> 00:16:09 because that allows reproduction without seeds or
00:16:09 --> 00:16:11 pollination, and it acts as a food storage for the plants,
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 helping them survive in harsh environmental conditions.
00:16:15 --> 00:16:18 And this allowed potatoes to rapidly spread right
00:16:18 --> 00:16:20 across south and Central America.
00:16:21 --> 00:16:24 A new study has shown that cockatoos have up to 30
00:16:24 --> 00:16:27 different dance moves in their repertoire, including head
00:16:27 --> 00:16:30 banging and body rolls. The findings, reported
00:16:30 --> 00:16:32 in the journal PLOS One, follow anecdotal observations
00:16:32 --> 00:16:35 of numerous species of captive and pet cockatoos
00:16:35 --> 00:16:38 performing various dance moves both with and without
00:16:38 --> 00:16:41 music. Scientists at Charles Sturt University
00:16:41 --> 00:16:44 identified 30 distinct dance movements,
00:16:44 --> 00:16:46 17 of which had not previously been described
00:16:46 --> 00:16:49 scientifically. Thing is, dancing results from
00:16:49 --> 00:16:52 complex brain processes, including imitation,
00:16:52 --> 00:16:55 learning and synchronised rhythmic movement. But
00:16:55 --> 00:16:58 spontaneous dancing in time, the music has only ever
00:16:58 --> 00:17:01 been reported in humans and parrots, although many
00:17:01 --> 00:17:04 wild birds also display rhythmic movements m as part of their
00:17:04 --> 00:17:07 courtship displays. However, as to what
00:17:07 --> 00:17:09 motivates captive birds to dance remains
00:17:09 --> 00:17:12 unclear. Maybe like people, they
00:17:12 --> 00:17:15 just like it A new
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 study has found that people with lower cognitive abilities
00:17:18 --> 00:17:20 are more likely to be taken in by
00:17:20 --> 00:17:23 pseudoscientific claims. The findings,
00:17:23 --> 00:17:26 reported in the journal Applied Cognitive Psychology, are based
00:17:26 --> 00:17:29 on a meta analysis study trying to determine why some
00:17:29 --> 00:17:31 people are more likely than others to believe statements which
00:17:31 --> 00:17:34 sound profound, deep and meaningful, but, uh, are essentially
00:17:34 --> 00:17:37 meaningless word salads. Timms Mendham from
00:17:37 --> 00:17:40 Australian Sceptic says the authors found that receptivity
00:17:40 --> 00:17:43 to this type of language is more common among individuals
00:17:43 --> 00:17:46 with lower cognitive abilities and greater faith in intuition,
00:17:46 --> 00:17:49 as well as a stronger belief in the paranormal,
00:17:49 --> 00:17:51 conspiracy theories and religion.
00:17:51 --> 00:17:54 Tim Mendham: People with limited cognitive abilities or lower,
00:17:54 --> 00:17:57 uh, cognitive abilities are supposed to be more prone to
00:17:57 --> 00:18:00 believing in those statements that are, shall we
00:18:00 --> 00:18:03 say, vague, claim a lot don't make a lot of
00:18:03 --> 00:18:05 sense are rubbish. Meaningless BS
00:18:05 --> 00:18:08 is the polite way of referring to them. These word
00:18:08 --> 00:18:11 salads of just putting words together and see it sounds
00:18:11 --> 00:18:13 impressive. That must be true because it's hard to understand. At one
00:18:13 --> 00:18:16 stage it was suggested, and we've spoken about this in other sort of, uh,
00:18:16 --> 00:18:19 discussions about people who are emotionally unstable are more
00:18:19 --> 00:18:22 inclined to believe because they're worried about the world. The world sort of has it in
00:18:22 --> 00:18:25 for them. But this is people with lower cognitive abilities
00:18:25 --> 00:18:28 doesn't necessarily mean dumb or stupid. We know
00:18:28 --> 00:18:31 a lot of people who are very bright. The issue here is the
00:18:31 --> 00:18:33 ability to do critical thinking, to use
00:18:33 --> 00:18:36 reason when you're assessing what someone else does. If you are
00:18:36 --> 00:18:39 unable to apply critical thinking to a
00:18:39 --> 00:18:42 statement that someone makes, you're less likely to be able
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 to take it apart and see. That doesn't make sense.
00:18:45 --> 00:18:48 I mean, literally, it doesn't make sense. Not that there's no evidence for it,
00:18:48 --> 00:18:50 not that it hasn't been proven. It's just that it's a garbage statement. It just
00:18:50 --> 00:18:53 sounds good, the sort of thing advertisers use all the time. Certainly a lot of
00:18:53 --> 00:18:56 mystics and a lot of people sort of trying to portray themselves as
00:18:56 --> 00:18:59 deep thinkers and deep philosophers. And it sounds impressive because
00:18:59 --> 00:19:02 it uses big words and things. Critical thinking is something we do all
00:19:02 --> 00:19:05 the time, but we don't necessarily apply it everywhere. We apply critical
00:19:05 --> 00:19:08 thinking when we decide what sort of fridge to buy, what sort of car to buy,
00:19:08 --> 00:19:11 how you get from one place to another, you have to choose. You weigh up the
00:19:11 --> 00:19:14 evidence way up and think, I will do this. When it comes to philosophies and
00:19:14 --> 00:19:17 religions and things like that, we do not use critical thinking. We use
00:19:17 --> 00:19:19 unreason to make our, uh, decisions. And that's what these
00:19:19 --> 00:19:22 things are. Relying on these things sound impressive. They have certainly have
00:19:22 --> 00:19:25 a bit of a religious, philosophical tone to them, these BS
00:19:25 --> 00:19:28 statements. Critical thinking it comes down to is the
00:19:28 --> 00:19:31 thing that sceptics push heavily. It
00:19:31 --> 00:19:34 doesn't matter what the answer is as long as you apply your critical thinking.
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 Stuart Gary: That's Tim Mendham from Australian Sceptics,
00:19:53 --> 00:19:56 and that's the show for now. Space Time is
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