Science in the News: Real or Fake

Poll

Goldfish learned to drive tiny cars

If fish could drive, what vehicle would they choose? A tank of course!  And in January, that’s exactly what happened as Israeli scientists built fish tanks on wheels and taught six goldfish to drive them around on land – talk about fish out of water! They took to their Fish-Operated Vehicles (FOVs0 without floundering and were able to drive to targets to receive a tasty treat. So, how does a fish steer you may ask – fish fingers? No, the goldfish directed the vehicles with their own movements within the tank, swimming in the direction they wanted the FOV to go. The researchers said that after a few days of training, the fish were pretty good drivers – not only could they reach the targets, but they were also able to overcome obstacles, dead ends and wrong turns. So why teach fish to drive? The team wasn’t just doing this for the halibut – they were interested in how animals navigate in unfamiliar environments.

Direct Science Link: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0166432821005994?via%3Dihub

• Real News

• Fake News

​It's Real News!

Seems unbelievable, but it links to Science Direct link, which is a medical journal. It allows you to read the research paper that includes both the data and results of this experiment.

Poll

The Sun Times published this Summer Reading List in the Heat Index section produced by syndicator King Features.

• Real News

• Fake News

​It's Fake News!

“To our great disappointment, that list was created through the use of an AI tool and recommended books that do not exist,” the explanation said. “We are actively investigating the accuracy of other content in the special section.” The paper also pledged to update its policies “so that all our third-party licensed editorial content comply with our journalistic standards.”

Poll

This article was published in National Geographic about the supervolcano in Yellowstone erupting sooner than expected.

Article Link: https://www.nationalgeographic.com/science/article/yellowstone-supervolcano-erupt-faster-thought-science

• Real News

• Fake News

It's Real News

It links to original research and other relevant research. Also, it is published in a reputable source (National Geographic)

Poll

Is this Pink Salt claim Real or Fake news?

• Real News

• Fake News

​It's Fake News!

A quick search in PubMed on the topic of "pink salt diets" or "saltwater diets" AND "weight loss" brings back zero results. PubMed is a good starting point for finding field research by and for health professionals, and the fact that there is no research on this diet as a effective weight loss method suggests its lack of success or health benefit. In fact, there is evidence that increasing one's salt intake can increase weight gain (Grimes et. al., 2020 and others).

Poll

Click on the two articles about protecting us from Solar Flares using a space shield. Which article is a more reputable source?

Article A: https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/solar-storm-could-plunge-earth-into-technological-apocalypse-giant-shield-might-save-us-all-1641692

Article B: https://gizmodo.com/an-earth-sized-space-shield-to-protect-us-from-solar-st-1819057677

• Article A

• Article B

​Article B is the BETTER source!

This article interviews unaffiliated experts from the field and unaffiliated experts with opposing viewpoints. The other article does not conduct interviews and borrows interviews from other sources.