WEBVTT 1 00:00:00.240 --> 00:00:04.519 This is Spacetime Series twenty seven, Episode twelve, for broadcast on the twenty 2 00:00:04.519 --> 00:00:09.720 sixth of January twenty twenty four. Coming up on space Time, the oldest 3 00:00:09.759 --> 00:00:16.000 black hole ever observed, a new satellite to study Earth's criosphere, and Boeing 4 00:00:16.120 --> 00:00:22.280 Starliner moves a step closer to launch with a successful upgraded parachute test. All 5 00:00:22.320 --> 00:00:30.600 that and more coming up on space Time Welcome to space Time with Stuart Gary. 6 00:00:46.000 --> 00:00:51.399 Astronomers have discovered what they're describing as the earliest and oldest black hole ever 7 00:00:51.479 --> 00:00:57.399 observed, a monster dating back more than thirteen billion years to a time very 8 00:00:57.439 --> 00:01:00.840 near the dawn of the universe. The fine were reported in the journal Nature. 9 00:01:00.920 --> 00:01:06.319 Sure the black hole was already actively feeding just four hundred million years after 10 00:01:06.359 --> 00:01:11.040 the Big Bang, eating its hearst galaxy to death. The observations were made 11 00:01:11.120 --> 00:01:15.680 using NASA's web Space Telescope. The studies lead author, Professor Roberto Mejelina, 12 00:01:15.760 --> 00:01:19.640 from the University of Cambridge, says, the very fact that such a surprisingly 13 00:01:19.719 --> 00:01:25.719 massive black hole several million times the mass of our Sun already existed so early 14 00:01:25.760 --> 00:01:32.519 in the universe challenges our assumptions about how black holes foreman grow see Estronness believe 15 00:01:32.599 --> 00:01:34.719 that super massive black holes, which are found at the centers of most, 16 00:01:34.719 --> 00:01:38.519 if not all, galaxies, including the one at the center of our own 17 00:01:38.560 --> 00:01:42.920 galaxy, the Milky Way, grew to their current size over billions of years, 18 00:01:42.640 --> 00:01:47.599 but the massive size of this newly discovered black hole suggests they may well 19 00:01:47.599 --> 00:01:51.799 have formed in other ways, such as being born big through the direct collapse 20 00:01:51.840 --> 00:01:57.280 of massive gas clouds. Alternatively, it could simply be that they've consumed a 21 00:01:57.319 --> 00:02:00.319 lot of matter in a very fast rate, at least five times faster than 22 00:02:00.439 --> 00:02:06.239 was previously thought possible. Now. According to this hypothesis, super massive black 23 00:02:06.239 --> 00:02:09.360 holes are formed out of the remnants of dead stars, which collapse to form 24 00:02:09.400 --> 00:02:15.719 stellar mass black holes and then gradually merged over time. But growing by this 25 00:02:15.840 --> 00:02:19.960 method would take at least a billion years to reach the current size observed, 26 00:02:20.759 --> 00:02:23.800 and that's where the problem arises. See the universe was only four hundred million 27 00:02:23.879 --> 00:02:30.639 years old when this black hole was detected. Meelina says early galaxies were extremely 28 00:02:30.719 --> 00:02:34.120 gas rich, and so it would have been like a buffet for a black 29 00:02:34.159 --> 00:02:38.000 hole, and that's supported by the fact that this particular black hole is devouring 30 00:02:38.039 --> 00:02:43.439 material from its Hearst galaxy at a ferocious rate. In fact, the author's 31 00:02:43.520 --> 00:02:47.639 calculations suggest that it's gobbling up matter much more vigorously than its siblings. At 32 00:02:47.719 --> 00:02:53.520 later epochs. The young Hearst galaxy called GNZ eleven is glowing from the enormous 33 00:02:53.639 --> 00:02:58.919 energetic output of the black hole at its center. Of course, black holes 34 00:02:58.960 --> 00:03:01.879 can't be observed directly. Escape velocity from a black hole is greater than the 35 00:03:01.879 --> 00:03:07.639 speed of light, hence their name, but they give away their location by 36 00:03:07.680 --> 00:03:12.560 their actions on surrounding space. In this case, a feeding black hole would 37 00:03:12.560 --> 00:03:16.400 have heaps of swirling material orbiting around it in an accretion disc, and that 38 00:03:16.520 --> 00:03:22.800 material is being constantly torn and ripped apart of the subatomic level, releasing huge 39 00:03:22.800 --> 00:03:27.840 amounts of energy before eventually disappearing beyond the black holes of at horizon. It's 40 00:03:27.919 --> 00:03:32.560 point of no return, beyond which matter falls forever into the singularity. The 41 00:03:32.639 --> 00:03:38.159 gas on the accretion disc becomes extremely hot and it glows, radiating out energy 42 00:03:38.319 --> 00:03:44.280 in X rays and ultraviolet, and it's the strong glow which is how astronomers 43 00:03:44.319 --> 00:03:50.280 are able to detect black holes. GNZ eleven is a compact galaxy aboute hundred 44 00:03:50.319 --> 00:03:53.120 times smaller than our own galaxy, the Milky Way, and the black hole 45 00:03:53.120 --> 00:03:59.840 at its center is likely harming its development. See as black holes consume material, 46 00:04:00.319 --> 00:04:04.639 some of the material is forced away in powerful jets known its quasars, 47 00:04:04.680 --> 00:04:10.639 sort of like an ultrafast moving wind. This wind can stop the process of 48 00:04:10.719 --> 00:04:15.720 star formation, thereby slowly killing the surrounding galaxy and eventually cutting off the black 49 00:04:15.720 --> 00:04:21.519 Horse fuel supply. This is space time still to come, a new satellite 50 00:04:21.519 --> 00:04:28.160 to study earth changing cryosphere, and Boeing Starliner now slated to launch its first 51 00:04:28.199 --> 00:04:31.639 astronauts to the International Space Station in April. All that and more still to 52 00:04:31.680 --> 00:04:53.480 come on space time. The countdown is now underway for this year's launch of 53 00:04:53.519 --> 00:04:58.879 the joint American Indian NISA spacecraft, which will study how climate change is affecting 54 00:04:58.920 --> 00:05:03.120 the planet's ice sheet. It's glaciers and sea ice short for NASA ISRAE that's 55 00:05:03.160 --> 00:05:09.920 the Indian Space Research Organization Synthetic Aperture Radar. The nicer spacecraft will use radar 56 00:05:10.079 --> 00:05:14.519 to monitor changes on Earth's land and sea surfaces, including the ice sheets covering 57 00:05:14.519 --> 00:05:17.800 Antarctica in Greenland, as well as on mountain glaciers. The breakup of ice 58 00:05:17.879 --> 00:05:23.839 shelves, the health of wetlands, and even ground defamation caused by volcanoes. 59 00:05:24.439 --> 00:05:29.600 Its high resolution radar data will provide the most comprehensive picture so far of motion 60 00:05:29.720 --> 00:05:34.399 and defamation of frozen surfaces in Earth's ice and snow covered environments, collectively known 61 00:05:34.439 --> 00:05:41.480 as the cryosphere. Glaciologist Alex Gardner from NASA's Jet Propulsion Laboratory in Passing into 62 00:05:41.519 --> 00:05:46.800 California says the planet's thermostat is set on the high and Earth's ice is responding 63 00:05:46.879 --> 00:05:50.480 by speeding up its motion and melting faster. Gardner says, we need to 64 00:05:50.480 --> 00:05:56.199 better understand the processes at play, and NISA will provide us with the measurements 65 00:05:56.279 --> 00:06:00.879 to do that. Set to be launched by the Indian Space Research Organization from 66 00:06:00.959 --> 00:06:05.160 Southern India NICE that will observe nearly all the planet's land and ice surfaces twice 67 00:06:05.199 --> 00:06:11.439 every twelve days. The satellite's unique insights into its criosphere will come from the 68 00:06:11.480 --> 00:06:15.759 combination of two separate radar units. There's an lband system with a twenty five 69 00:06:15.839 --> 00:06:21.000 centimeter wavelength and an S band system operating on a ten centimeter wavelength. The 70 00:06:21.079 --> 00:06:26.519 old bands designed to see through snow, helping scientists better tract the motion of 71 00:06:26.560 --> 00:06:30.759 ice underneath, while the s bad is more sensitive to snow moisture, which 72 00:06:30.800 --> 00:06:36.240 indicates smelting. Both signals penetrate clouds and darkness, thereby enabling observations during months 73 00:06:36.279 --> 00:06:43.759 long polar winter nights and nicas orientation in orbits also important. It'll enable a 74 00:06:43.800 --> 00:06:47.240 spacecraft to collect data from Antarctic as far interior close to the South Pole. 75 00:06:47.839 --> 00:06:53.959 That's something other large radar imaging satellites don't too. They're usually on orbits, 76 00:06:54.000 --> 00:06:58.800 which more extensively cover the Arctic. But it's the Antarctic's ice sheets which hold 77 00:06:58.800 --> 00:07:02.120 the planet's largest reserve of frozen fresh water, and the rate at which it 78 00:07:02.160 --> 00:07:08.199 may lose ice represents the greatest uncertainty when it comes to sea level rice projections. 79 00:07:09.040 --> 00:07:13.879 So NIC's increase courage of the Antarctic will be crucial for studying the motion 80 00:07:14.000 --> 00:07:18.240 of ice flowing down from the central Antarctic highlands down towards the sea, and 81 00:07:18.279 --> 00:07:23.639 the measurements will also enable scientists to closely study what happens where the ice and 82 00:07:23.720 --> 00:07:27.759 oceans meet. For example, when parts of an ice sheet sit on ground 83 00:07:27.759 --> 00:07:30.800 that's below sea level, salt water can seep under the ice, increasing melting 84 00:07:30.800 --> 00:07:36.439 and instability. Both Antarctic and Greenland have ice shelves, masses of ice that 85 00:07:36.519 --> 00:07:41.439 extend from land and float out on the ocean, and these are thinning and 86 00:07:41.480 --> 00:07:46.720 crumbling as icebergs break off. Ice shells are important because they help keep glacial 87 00:07:46.759 --> 00:07:50.360 ice on land from slipping into the ocean. If they diminish, glaciers can 88 00:07:50.399 --> 00:07:56.879 flow and calve faster. And the problem is ice losses on both Antarctica and 89 00:07:57.000 --> 00:08:01.519 Greenland have been accelerating since the nineteen ninety and so there's uncertainty about how quickly 90 00:08:01.600 --> 00:08:07.319 each will continue to recede. Nicer will monitor the movement and extent of sea 91 00:08:07.399 --> 00:08:11.319 level ice in both hemispheres. Sea level ice is important because it insulates the 92 00:08:11.319 --> 00:08:16.040 ocean from the air, thereby reducing evaporation and heat loss to the atmosphere. 93 00:08:16.560 --> 00:08:22.199 It also reflects sunlight, thereby keeping the planet cooler through the albedo effect. 94 00:08:22.720 --> 00:08:26.240 We know that Arctic c ice has been diminishing for decades now as rising water 95 00:08:26.279 --> 00:08:31.120 and air temperatures have increased melting. With more of its surface exposed to sunlight, 96 00:08:31.279 --> 00:08:35.320 the Arctic ocean gains and holds more heat in summer. It therefore takes 97 00:08:35.360 --> 00:08:41.360 longer to cool. This means that less ice formation happens in winter and faster 98 00:08:41.480 --> 00:08:45.840 melting happens next summer. With greater courage of the Southern Ocean than any other 99 00:08:45.879 --> 00:08:50.279 mission to day, NICER will open new insights around Antarctica, where c ice 100 00:08:50.360 --> 00:08:54.759 has been thought to be mostly stable until the past few years. Of course, 101 00:08:54.799 --> 00:08:58.559 that's all changed recently, with the latest reading showing it's reached a record 102 00:08:58.600 --> 00:09:03.200 low in twenty twenty three. But it's not just the polar regions. The 103 00:09:03.200 --> 00:09:07.039 satellite will also track changes in Earths mountain glaciers. See the melting of the 104 00:09:07.039 --> 00:09:11.559 glaciers has already contributed about a third of the sea level rise that's been seen 105 00:09:11.600 --> 00:09:18.159 since the nineteen sixties, and climate driven changes to freezing and thawing patterns affect 106 00:09:18.240 --> 00:09:22.480 water supplies to downstream populations. And this is important for India because in the 107 00:09:22.519 --> 00:09:28.480 Himalays, nice As all weather capabilities will at researches monitor how much water is 108 00:09:28.519 --> 00:09:33.519 stored in glacial lakes, and that's essential for assessing the risks of future catastrophic 109 00:09:33.559 --> 00:09:39.559 floods. This report from NASA TV with NISSAR, we're attracting the changes of 110 00:09:39.600 --> 00:09:45.720 the solid Earth and how it's moving, ecosystem's ice cover, and any other 111 00:09:45.759 --> 00:09:48.720 thing that's changing at the scale of a centimeter on the Earth in a way 112 00:09:48.759 --> 00:09:56.480 that we've never been able to see before. Because of these very subtle motions 113 00:09:56.519 --> 00:10:01.480 we can measure, we're able to understand what's happening below the surface of the 114 00:10:01.519 --> 00:10:05.600 Earth a great precision. We can see subsidence and that allows us then to 115 00:10:05.960 --> 00:10:11.759 manage resources of what's happening below the Earth. Scientists want to study the movements 116 00:10:11.759 --> 00:10:18.200 of the Earth's surface to understand the processes that could trigger earthquakes, volcanoes, 117 00:10:18.399 --> 00:10:24.279 and landslides, and that allows us then to understand risks associated with natural hazards, 118 00:10:24.360 --> 00:10:28.440 which in turn can help in mitigation measures and early response. Other changes 119 00:10:28.440 --> 00:10:33.200 over the Earth's surface include melting of glaciers and ice sheets, changes in fortest 120 00:10:33.240 --> 00:10:39.120 biomass, soil moisture, and shoreline changes. It's based on radar, so 121 00:10:39.159 --> 00:10:43.240 it has two different frequency radars and it basically looks through clouds and sees the 122 00:10:43.240 --> 00:10:46.679 surface of the Earth. These beams coming down from the antenna and coming back 123 00:10:46.720 --> 00:10:50.000 then that's where it collects the data and when it combines them all together, 124 00:10:50.080 --> 00:10:54.720 you get what we need for the science. We can see day and night 125 00:10:54.840 --> 00:10:58.480 through clouds and recovering all of the land and all of the ice covered surfaces 126 00:10:58.519 --> 00:11:05.519 of Earth every week. NISAR is quite unique in that it has two radars, 127 00:11:05.559 --> 00:11:09.519 one provided by NASA, one provided by ISRO, the Indian Space Research 128 00:11:09.639 --> 00:11:16.600 Organization. NASA and NISRO have collaborated in this mission till last year. We 129 00:11:16.600 --> 00:11:22.799 were there at JPL NASA where the radars got integrated and tested and were shipped 130 00:11:22.840 --> 00:11:28.200 back to India. And now the spacecraft is getting integrated with the instruments and 131 00:11:28.240 --> 00:11:35.519 they are being tested together in NISA is going to be launched from Shriharrikota which 132 00:11:35.559 --> 00:11:39.519 is a ESRO launch pad and it is going to be launched by AGSLV Mark 133 00:11:39.600 --> 00:11:43.639 two. So we are just looking forward for the launch of NISAR in the 134 00:11:43.759 --> 00:11:50.519 forthcoming GIA. NISIR is measuring the changes on the Earth surface which are either 135 00:11:50.799 --> 00:11:56.240 factors or indicators of climate change. The society will also immensely benefit due to 136 00:11:56.320 --> 00:12:03.440 its contribution towards disaster management and providing food and water security. These things are 137 00:12:03.480 --> 00:12:09.559 global problems that the global community needs to come together to resolve. Now it 138 00:12:09.679 --> 00:12:13.039 looks like we are no more belonging to two different worlds and we all belong 139 00:12:13.120 --> 00:12:18.159 to the space community. That's it. There's the excitement about what we are 140 00:12:18.200 --> 00:12:20.720 going to learn that we didn't even anticipate we're going to learn. And in 141 00:12:20.759 --> 00:12:24.000 that report from n's a TV, we had from NICEA Project scientist Paul Rosen 142 00:12:24.039 --> 00:12:28.679 from the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, nice AS science co lead the PACPUT review from 143 00:12:28.720 --> 00:12:35.080 the Indian Space Research Organization, nice AD Deputy Project Manager Windy Eddleston also from 144 00:12:35.080 --> 00:12:39.120 the Jet Propulsion Laboratory, and nice AD Deputy Project Manager Chatrau, also from 145 00:12:39.120 --> 00:12:46.320 the Indian Space Research Organization. This space time, still, the Camp Stalin 146 00:12:46.519 --> 00:12:50.000 passes an important parachute test, thereby helping clear the way for its first man 147 00:12:50.039 --> 00:12:54.919 fly to the International Space Station later this year. And later in the science 148 00:12:54.000 --> 00:13:00.240 report, any study looks at the microbes responsible for the lovely flavors cheese as 149 00:13:00.639 --> 00:13:20.159 all that and more coming up on space time. Okay, let's take a 150 00:13:20.200 --> 00:13:24.519 break from our show or a word from our sponsor, NordVPN. If you're 151 00:13:24.519 --> 00:13:28.159 a sports fan, you know this struggle of missing out on that big game, 152 00:13:28.759 --> 00:13:33.159 especially when they're simply not available in your country through gear blocking. Well, 153 00:13:33.159 --> 00:13:37.639 that's where nord vpn comes in. It's quite literally a game changer for 154 00:13:37.679 --> 00:13:41.639 sports fans worldwide. 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Hey you want to, so say goodbye to missing 161 00:14:11.440 --> 00:14:16.919 out on social media updates and exclusive content just because of where you are. 162 00:14:16.440 --> 00:14:22.240 And the best part, NordVPN offers you a thirty day money back guarantee. 163 00:14:22.759 --> 00:14:26.080 That's right, you can try it out and if it's not living up to 164 00:14:26.120 --> 00:14:30.120 our promise, there's no cost to you, zero nada. In other words, 165 00:14:30.200 --> 00:14:33.080 there's no risk and you get all the rewards now. If you're ready 166 00:14:33.120 --> 00:14:39.240 to join nordvpn's winning team, head over to NordVPN dot com. Slash Stewart, 167 00:14:39.279 --> 00:14:43.799 Gary and click on that get the Deal button. That's NordVPN dot com 168 00:14:43.799 --> 00:14:48.519 slash Stewart Gary and click on they Get the Deal button. And remember it's 169 00:14:48.559 --> 00:14:52.360 alternally risk free with Nord's thirty day money back guarantee. Now you can find 170 00:14:52.399 --> 00:14:56.320 all the details in our show notes and on our website, so don't miss 171 00:14:56.360 --> 00:15:01.840 out. That's NordVPN dot com slash Stewart Gary. Secure your spot at the 172 00:15:01.840 --> 00:15:07.559 Global Sports Arena with Nord VPN and now it's back to our show. You're 173 00:15:07.600 --> 00:15:16.120 listening to Springstime with Stuart Gary. Engineers have tested a modified new parachute system 174 00:15:16.159 --> 00:15:22.480 for Boeing's troubled Starliner spacecraft in the skies above Arizona. The plimbery data analysis 175 00:15:22.519 --> 00:15:26.480 from the parachute deployment and soft landing test suggest the primary test objectives were all 176 00:15:26.559 --> 00:15:31.639 met. Now many years behind schedule, sixty one hundred, star Liner is 177 00:15:31.720 --> 00:15:37.799 slated to undertake its first man test flight to the International Space Station sometime around 178 00:15:37.840 --> 00:15:41.960 mid April what will be a ten day mission. The drop test used the 179 00:15:41.000 --> 00:15:46.720 new star Liner parachute system attached to a dart shaped slid about the same mass 180 00:15:46.759 --> 00:15:50.799 as the Starliner capsule. It was designed to confirm the functioning of a redesigned 181 00:15:50.840 --> 00:15:56.360 and strengthen soft link joint that's part of a network of lines connecting the parachutes 182 00:15:56.399 --> 00:16:00.279 to the spacecraft. The test involved dropping the test out the rear of a 183 00:16:00.360 --> 00:16:07.440 C one thirty hercules transport from NASA's Wallop Stylan flight facility in Virginia. Starliner 184 00:16:07.480 --> 00:16:11.840 has already undertaken two unmanned orbital test flights to the International Space Station, the 185 00:16:11.919 --> 00:16:17.000 second of which successfully docked with the orbiting outpost in May twenty twenty two. 186 00:16:17.799 --> 00:16:21.320 However, the first orbital test flight, back in December twenty nineteen, was 187 00:16:21.360 --> 00:16:25.879 a complete failure. Firstly, there was a faulty mission clock which caused the 188 00:16:25.960 --> 00:16:30.200 orbital insertion engines to fire too early. That resulted in Styliner achieving orbit two 189 00:16:30.240 --> 00:16:36.639 load to reach the space station. Mission managers then discovered two faulty computer programs, 190 00:16:36.799 --> 00:16:40.200 one of which would have prevented the plan docking with the space station anyway, 191 00:16:40.399 --> 00:16:44.240 and the other would have caused star Liner to collide with its service module 192 00:16:44.320 --> 00:16:48.840 after it was jettisoned prior to atmospheric reentry that would have destroyed the spacecraft completely. 193 00:16:49.519 --> 00:16:55.440 NASA conducted a major review of Boeing star Liner program, and they identified 194 00:16:55.480 --> 00:16:59.840 no less than eighty corrective actions which Boeing needed to take before Starline I could 195 00:17:00.120 --> 00:17:03.759 turn to flight. Right now, the only way for astronauts to reach the 196 00:17:03.759 --> 00:17:08.839 International Space Station is either aboard SpaceX's Dragon capsules or the Russian Soyuz system, 197 00:17:08.920 --> 00:17:30.359 which has its own problems. This is space time, and time that I'd 198 00:17:30.400 --> 00:17:33.359 take another brief look at some of the other stories making use in science this 199 00:17:33.440 --> 00:17:37.319 week. With a Science report, Researchers have identified a two hundred and eighty 200 00:17:37.359 --> 00:17:44.079 eight million year old fragment of ancient fossilized skin. The ancient epidermis described in 201 00:17:44.119 --> 00:17:47.960 the General Current Biology is at least one hundred and thirty million years older than 202 00:17:48.000 --> 00:17:52.039 any previously described skin fossils. The skin, which belonged to an early species 203 00:17:52.039 --> 00:17:57.720 of Palaeozoic reptile, was discovered in the Richard Spur Limestone cave system in Oklahoma. 204 00:17:59.440 --> 00:18:03.920 The preserve fragments are tiny, smaller than a fingernail, but they still 205 00:18:03.960 --> 00:18:07.519 contain features which are shared with lots of ancient and extinct reptiles, such as 206 00:18:07.559 --> 00:18:14.440 the pebbled surface similar to crocodile skin and hinged regions between epidermal scales that resemble 207 00:18:14.519 --> 00:18:18.599 the skin structures of snakes and worm lizards. The find is amazing because skin 208 00:18:18.640 --> 00:18:23.759 and other soft tissues rarely fossilize. The authors think this skin was preserved because 209 00:18:23.759 --> 00:18:29.359 of the cave conditions in which it was found. The cave system included fine 210 00:18:29.359 --> 00:18:33.359 clay sediments that would have slowed decomposition. Also, there was oil seepage which 211 00:18:33.359 --> 00:18:37.839 would have acted as a preservative, and it was all in an oxygen free 212 00:18:37.880 --> 00:18:41.720 cave environment. The tatters of fossilized skin, as well as various skin impression 213 00:18:41.880 --> 00:18:47.119 also found in the cave, come from the earliest known amniotes, lizard like 214 00:18:47.160 --> 00:18:51.559 animals that are among the first creatures to live their entire lives on dry land 215 00:18:51.839 --> 00:18:57.200 away from the water's edge. Scientists have created what is the largest ever catalog 216 00:18:57.359 --> 00:19:03.319 marine microbes based on scanning environmental DNA in thousands of water samples from the world's 217 00:19:03.319 --> 00:19:07.880 oceans. The findings, reported in the General Fronties of Science, links to 218 00:19:07.960 --> 00:19:12.720 microbes with their biological function, location, and habitat type, and is available 219 00:19:12.720 --> 00:19:18.240 for use by scientists around the world. The authors say the work was possible 220 00:19:18.319 --> 00:19:23.039 thanks to major advances in DNA sequencing computing technology which identified some three hundred and 221 00:19:23.079 --> 00:19:27.960 seventeen and a half million groups of genes in sample types. As well as 222 00:19:29.000 --> 00:19:33.160 aiding an ocean conservation, the authors hope it will enable scientists to scan for 223 00:19:33.240 --> 00:19:37.039 genes which could be used in future for drug development, energy production, and 224 00:19:37.119 --> 00:19:44.359 agriculture. European researchers say a combination of teeny tiny bugs are responsible for the 225 00:19:44.440 --> 00:19:48.640 lovely flavors found in the Cheddar cheese on your toast. Their findings, reported 226 00:19:48.680 --> 00:19:53.119 in the journal Nature Communications, follows a year of research doing what most of 227 00:19:53.200 --> 00:19:59.079 us dream about, making and then eating, especially made cheese. They added 228 00:19:59.160 --> 00:20:03.759 different combination a certain starter bacteria to their cheese and found which ones created Cheddar's 229 00:20:03.839 --> 00:20:08.920 buttery, nutty, fluffy, and creamy flavors. Well, in case you 230 00:20:08.920 --> 00:20:14.720 had any doubt, let me state categorically that your favorite color does not provide 231 00:20:14.720 --> 00:20:21.359 a definitive statement about your personality. It's becoming increasingly trendy amongst some employers who 232 00:20:21.480 --> 00:20:25.359 really don't know what they're talking about to use a person's favorite color as a 233 00:20:25.400 --> 00:20:30.279 determining factor in whether or not to give the perspective employee a job. But 234 00:20:30.359 --> 00:20:34.519 while it's an unreliable gauge of potential employees personality. Asking the question probably tells 235 00:20:34.559 --> 00:20:40.160 you all you really need to know about the pseudo scientific galibility of the employer. 236 00:20:41.079 --> 00:20:45.839 Tremendum from Astrans Skeptics says there's simply no scientific evidence that favorite color based 237 00:20:45.839 --> 00:20:52.440 personality tests can offer any sort of profound insight. And your character color is 238 00:20:52.480 --> 00:20:56.920 one of those sort of personality assessment tricks. I should say. There are 239 00:20:56.960 --> 00:21:00.519 so many of these things around to test your personality based on one criterion, 240 00:21:00.599 --> 00:21:03.440 and this one is based on what's your favorite color. Most people say that 241 00:21:03.480 --> 00:21:07.799 you choose blue because you're happy, and red good you're dynamic or a regressive 242 00:21:07.960 --> 00:21:11.400 or something like that. So the problem with this is it's designed to help 243 00:21:11.440 --> 00:21:15.039 people decide who to actually employ based onwhat their favorite com It's crazy. There 244 00:21:15.039 --> 00:21:18.599 are so many of these things around personally sort of fort graphology has been around 245 00:21:18.599 --> 00:21:22.920 for a long time to sort of test people's handwriting and therefore get a character 246 00:21:22.920 --> 00:21:26.440 assessment on that. It doesn't work right, that's just good, not at 247 00:21:26.440 --> 00:21:29.200 all, not at all. It's not the same as comparing handwriting deceive if 248 00:21:29.200 --> 00:21:32.200 it's the same person that's different different. Yeah, that's legit, But this 249 00:21:32.279 --> 00:21:34.440 is about sort of testing your personality based on your handwriting. This is even 250 00:21:34.480 --> 00:21:38.279 worse. Actually, this is basically a complete character assessment based on a color. 251 00:21:38.319 --> 00:21:44.480 There's the more complicated personality assessment things like with the Maya Briggs whatever. 252 00:21:44.880 --> 00:21:47.680 That one's pretty shunky too. Actually it's a bit more complicated, but it's 253 00:21:47.680 --> 00:21:51.680 pretty much that summing up people based on a couple of criteria is probably not 254 00:21:51.720 --> 00:21:55.319 a good idea. It certainly doesn't told me that in the room I'm in 255 00:21:55.400 --> 00:21:59.480 right now is basically purple in color. It's called hyacinth, but it's a 256 00:21:59.519 --> 00:22:03.319 purple. And someone tell me that means you're frustrated. Really, yes, 257 00:22:03.400 --> 00:22:07.480 apparently, there you go. But anyway, personality tests, there's a lot 258 00:22:07.519 --> 00:22:10.200 of them around. Some of them do better than others. A lot of 259 00:22:10.200 --> 00:22:12.799 them, though, are always based on let's look at one criterion and apply 260 00:22:12.880 --> 00:22:15.799 that to everything else about your personality. And this one about color is just 261 00:22:17.240 --> 00:22:18.480 I don't know why someone sort of wants to make this up. I didn't 262 00:22:18.480 --> 00:22:22.119 know once. We're just to work with a graphic designer who had his little 263 00:22:22.160 --> 00:22:26.880 color charet worked out for every emotion, every tiny tonal difference between thirty five 264 00:22:26.960 --> 00:22:32.799 versions of blue had a different emotional reaction. I don't know how placebo based 265 00:22:32.839 --> 00:22:36.440 it was, but when I first start out in radio, I would bring 266 00:22:36.960 --> 00:22:41.000 a colored light into the studio with me, and depending on the color, 267 00:22:41.079 --> 00:22:45.200 that would change the way that I performed the program on that particular day. 268 00:22:45.240 --> 00:22:48.359 It was really interesting. If I had the thing on red, then it 269 00:22:48.400 --> 00:22:52.079 would be more dynamic and blue was more laid back. I think that's the 270 00:22:52.119 --> 00:22:55.359 sort of thing you would say, is a suggestibility test that you are so 271 00:22:55.559 --> 00:22:56.960 you put it on blue, and then you are so it's going around the 272 00:22:56.960 --> 00:23:02.160 wrong way almost and sort of the correlation calisation thing you're putting on blue means 273 00:23:02.160 --> 00:23:03.799 you want to have a sublime day or something. You put it on red, 274 00:23:03.960 --> 00:23:07.000 more dynamic, so you're reacting to the life that you put in, 275 00:23:07.079 --> 00:23:29.119 reacting emotionally rather than physically. That's timendum from Austriaian Skeptics, and that's the 276 00:23:29.160 --> 00:23:33.960 show for now. Space Time is available every Monday, Wednesday and Friday through 277 00:23:33.000 --> 00:23:38.759 Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Stitcher, Google podcast pocker Casts, Spotify, a 278 00:23:38.960 --> 00:23:44.680 cast, Amazon Music, Bytes, dot Com, SoundCloud, YouTube, your 279 00:23:44.720 --> 00:23:48.960 favorite podcast download provider, and from space Time with Stuart Gary dot com. 280 00:23:49.119 --> 00:23:53.960 Space Time's also broadcast through the National Science Foundation, on Science Zone Radio and 281 00:23:55.079 --> 00:23:59.599 on both iHeartRadio and tune In Radio. 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