We Have Concerns

When we think of augmented reality face filters, we tend to think of goofy novelties like Halloween masks, face swapping, or inadvertent racist caricatures. But AR could go far beyond that, putting objects in real space with sophisticated tracking tech. Jeff and Anthony imagine a world of the not-too-distant future full of AR and cute widdle angels.

A chicken embryo with a dinosaur-like snout instead of a beak has been developed by scientists. Is this a good thing or a terrifying thing? Jeff and Anthony are here to think it through.

Squids, cuttlefish and octopuses do not follow the normal rules of genetic information, according to research published in the journal Cell. Their RNA is extensively rewritten, particularly the codes for proteins found in the animals' neurons. Put simply, that's very weird. One might even say... alien. Anthony and Jeff remain on the case, gathering more and more evidence that they's aliens.

Fed up with the theft of toilet paper from public bathrooms, tourist authorities in China's capital have begun using facial recognition technology to limit how much paper a person can take. Jeff and Anthony discuss toilet paper usage, and determine if facial recognition is a bit of overkill in this case.

Architecture firm Clouds Architecture Office has proposed a building that, instead of being supported by the ground and reaching up into the sky, would instead hang suspended from an asteroid. Named Analemma, the proposed skyscraper would be the tallest building ever created, and would travel thousands of miles each day between the northern and southern hemispheres in a figure-of-eight loop - including a daily pass over New York City. Anthony and Jeff discuss the concept and decide whether living there would be the best or worst thing.

Tyrannosaurus Rex had a snout as sensitive to touch as human fingertips, say scientists. Experts believe that males and females rubbed their sensitive faces together in a prehistoric form of foreplay. Jeff and Anthony discuss dinosaur mating, and the need to always make room for snout time.

Leonid Rogozov was a Soviet general practitioner who took part in the sixth Soviet Antarctic Expedition in 1960–1961. He was the only doctor stationed at the Novolazarevskaya Station and, while there, developed appendicitis, which meant he had to perform an appendectomy on himself, a famous case of self-surgery. Jeff thinks this makes Leonid a prime example of a badass. Does Anthony agree?

Scientists have long suspected that the common swift remains airborne for extraordinary amounts of time during its annual migration. Now, a team of scientists in Sweden has proved that these birds can spend almost their entire 10-month nonbreeding period on the wing. Jeff and Anthony discuss the idea of non-stop flying, and whether that's the best birding or the worst.

The contestants of a British reality show that marooned them in the wilderness for a year as a social experiment have returned to civilization — only to discover the series was taken off air several months ago and no one bothered to tell them. Jeff and Anthony wonder how this could happen, and what happens next?

Scientists Martin Nyffeler and Klaus Birkhofer published their estimate of the amount of spiders in the world, and the amount of biomass they would consume, in the journal the Science of Nature earlier this month, and the number they arrived at is frankly shocking: The world's spiders consume somewhere between 400 million and 800 million tons of prey in any given year. In other words, spiders could eat all of humanity and still be hungry. Anthony and Jeff discuss spiders eating humans and how scared we should be.

Creativity is highly prized in Western society—much touted by cultures that claim to value individualism and the entrepreneurial spirit. But scratch beneath the surface, and it turns out that a lot of schools and businesses aren’t actually all that excited about bold new ideas. By and large, we tend to be threatened by creativity—and eager to shut it down. Anthony and Jeff talk about true creativity and how it is really valued.

Scientists have found a way to use spinach to build working human heart muscle, potentially solving a long-standing problem in efforts to repair damaged organs. This opens up an entire field of vegetable-based human hybrids, and it has Jeff and Anthony imagining a Jolly Green Future.

Aging can seem like a scary prospect, but a wealth of scientific studies have found that youth isn't all it's cracked up to be. There are plenty of cases in which human beings peak well into middle and old age. Anthony and Jeff look at a chart about when we peak at certain activities and contemplate what that means for their own lives.

Hardened plaque harvested from Neanderthal teeth is loaded with genetic material from plants and animals these prehistoric hominins ate, as well as remnants of microbes that reveal a surprising amount about how they lived and even what made them sick. Researchers extracted the ancient DNA and bacteria from the jaws of three Neanderthal individuals from Belgium and Spain, and described the results in a paper published in the journal Nature. Jeff and Anthony discuss the findings and what it might mean for the history - and future - of man.

South African surfer Chris Bertish just pulled off one of the most remarkable feats of human determination, perseverance and sheer grit of all time by paddleboarding for 93 days, 4,050 miles across the Atlantic Ocean - by himself. Jeff is definitely trying to make his "Chronicles of a Badass" a recurring feature. Does Anthony think this one holds up?