Cloning is getting more useful and more unsettling, tropical trees may be better at cooperation than we are, and smart underwear is now tracking human flatulence in extraordinary detail. This week, Will and Rod move from organ-growing biotech to forest teamwork, fart analytics, and a deeply worrying case of AI gone wrong.

They look at the push to grow organs using non-conscious biological structures, and why that could transform medicine while also sounding like the start of a sci-fi horror film. Then they head into the forest, where new research suggests tropical trees are better at helping their neighbours than trees in colder climates, raising some mildly awkward questions about whether plants are beating us at community building.

And because science never knows when to stop, the episode also dives into the world of smart underwear, digestive health, and what actually counts as a normal amount of flatulence. Along the way, there is also a sobering look at a Tennessee grandmother wrongly jailed after faulty facial recognition, which is a useful reminder that technology can be both brilliant and deeply stupid.

 

CHAPTERS:

00:00 Cloning Nightmares Recap

01:45 Monkey Organ Sacks Idea

04:34 Human Organ Replacement Debate

07:45 How It Could Work

08:57 Surrogates And Storage Problems

12:39 Trees That Get Along

15:45 Why Tropical Trees Are Friendlier

17:25 Not All Prodigies Win

19:47 Late Bloomers And Training Myths

24:10 German Forest Bathing Tease

24:52 Forest Sounds Boost Mood

25:35 Massage Stories Detour

27:58 Local vs Tropical Forests

30:14 Fart Science Gets Serious

34:37 Smart Underwear Study

36:55 Farting Baselines Explained

39:19 Farter Types Atlas

43:00 AI Facial Recognition Fail

46:53 Why AI Enhancement Lies

49:13 Wrap Up and Callouts

 

SOURCES:

https://futurism.com/health-medicine/startup-pitching-cloned-human-bodies

https://www.wired.com/story/a-billionaire-backed-startup-wants-to-grow-organ-sacks-to-replace-animal-testing/

https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26935844-200-the-human-flatus-atlas-plans-to-measure-the-explosivity-of-farts/

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115965

https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268?via%3Dihub

https://www.newscientist.com/article/2509261-high-achieving-adults-rarely-began-as-child-prodigies/

https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01840-1

https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-grandmother-jail-mistake

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123556

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123008

https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123312

Cloning is getting more useful and more unsettling, tropical trees may be better at cooperation than we are, and smart underwear is now tracking human flatulence in extraordinary detail. This week, Will and Rod move from organ-growing biotech to forest teamwork, fart analytics, and a deeply worrying case of AI gone wrong.
They look at the push to grow organs using non-conscious biological structures, and why that could transform medicine while also sounding like the start of a sci-fi horror film. Then they head into the forest, where new research suggests tropical trees are better at helping their neighbours than trees in colder climates, raising some mildly awkward questions about whether plants are beating us at community building.
And because science never knows when to stop, the episode also dives into the world of smart underwear, digestive health, and what actually counts as a normal amount of flatulence. Along the way, there is also a sobering look at a Tennessee grandmother wrongly jailed after faulty facial recognition, which is a useful reminder that technology can be both brilliant and deeply stupid.
&nbsp;
CHAPTERS:
00:00 Cloning Nightmares Recap
01:45 Monkey Organ Sacks Idea
04:34 Human Organ Replacement Debate
07:45 How It Could Work
08:57 Surrogates And Storage Problems
12:39 Trees That Get Along
15:45 Why Tropical Trees Are Friendlier
17:25 Not All Prodigies Win
19:47 Late Bloomers And Training Myths
24:10 German Forest Bathing Tease
24:52 Forest Sounds Boost Mood
25:35 Massage Stories Detour
27:58 Local vs Tropical Forests
30:14 Fart Science Gets Serious
34:37 Smart Underwear Study
36:55 Farting Baselines Explained
39:19 Farter Types Atlas
43:00 AI Facial Recognition Fail
46:53 Why AI Enhancement Lies
49:13 Wrap Up and Callouts
&nbsp;
SOURCES:
<a href="https://futurism.com/health-medicine/startup-pitching-cloned-human-bodies">https://futurism.com/health-medicine/startup-pitching-cloned-human-bodies</a>
<a href="https://www.wired.com/story/a-billionaire-backed-startup-wants-to-grow-organ-sacks-to-replace-animal-testing/">https://www.wired.com/story/a-billionaire-backed-startup-wants-to-grow-organ-sacks-to-replace-animal-testing/</a>
<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26935844-200-the-human-flatus-atlas-plans-to-measure-the-explosivity-of-farts/">https://www.newscientist.com/article/mg26935844-200-the-human-flatus-atlas-plans-to-measure-the-explosivity-of-farts/</a>
<a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115965">https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1115965</a>
<a href="https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268?via%3Dihub">https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590137025001268?via%3Dihub</a>
<a href="https://www.newscientist.com/article/2509261-high-achieving-adults-rarely-began-as-child-prodigies/">https://www.newscientist.com/article/2509261-high-achieving-adults-rarely-began-as-child-prodigies/</a>
<a href="https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01840-1">https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s40279-023-01840-1</a>
<a href="https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-grandmother-jail-mistake">https://futurism.com/artificial-intelligence/ai-grandmother-jail-mistake</a>
<a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123556">https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123556</a>
<a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123008" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123008&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776239210296000&amp;usg=AOvVaw0TI7QWG9oUIKYRtAqwvqNj">https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123008</a>
<a href="https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123312" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123312&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1776239210296000&amp;usg=AOvVaw1FLQYLt5vroduSabYUa9gC">https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1123312</a>

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed. 

From tales of historical idiocracy and scientific genius to weird and wacky cultural phenomena, Dr Rod Lamberts and Dr Will Grant are here to take you on a wild conversational journey, deep diving into the crevices of science, history and culture that you never knew existed.

Bizarre science history from academics with beers