We Have Concerns

Scientists recently discovered a species of sea slug takes genes from the algae it eats, allowing it to photosynthesize like a plant and survive for months at a time on sunlight. Anthony thinks that if we can replicate this process in humans, he might finally be able to shed the need for daily meals, while Jeff wonders if it means he'll end up looking green and needing to be outside much more ofte...

Anthony and Jeff consider the plight of mice in a cage, given the opportunity to drink clean, natural water, or water laced with illicit drugs. Is their choice dependent on the pure addictive properties of the drugs, each individual mouse's brain chemistry, or a simple lack of other interesting things to do? What does this experiment tell us about how we approach drug use in humans? And why is the...

A group of biohackers in Tehachapi, California have figured out a way to give themselves night vision by squirting a kind of chlorophyll analog called Chlorin e6 directly onto their eyeballs. Anthony is thrilled by this development and cannot wait to try it himself, while Jeff is disturbed by the solid black color the eyes take on, and the complete lack of medical oversight. Would you go full Ridd...

[UPDATE: It turns out this story isn't true, but our reactions to it still are.] This year the annual haunted house in Waukegan, Illinois provided an extra terror for visitors after an elderly man passed away inside and was mistaken for a prop for nearly 2 weeks. Jeff and Anthony wonder what kind of haunted house is so good a real dead body goes unnoticed, and whether his ghost actually haunts the...

A dog walker in New York city has turned her apartment into a veterinarian clinic and rehabilitation center for injured squirrels, pigeons, and other overlooked creatures, while keeping it secret from her landlord and local authorities. Anthony and Jeff wonder what that apartment smells like, and consider whether this is a good, generous thing to be doing, or an unsafe headache for her neighbors....

Evidence that a hallucinogenic fungus was readily available to Dinosaurs has some scientists speculating that prehistoric creatures were getting high. This leads Anthony and Jeff to discuss all the various animals that are known to intentionally alter their brain chemistry in nature. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out...

Anthony and Jeff had such high hopes for Mars One - the non-profit offering one-way trips to the red planet to anyone willing to apply. But according to at least one high-ranking applicant, the entire endeavor looks like a scam. A flimsy selection process based on purchases and donations, no actual training, and no plan in place for the technology required to leave Earth's atmosphere. The guys wor...

A scent-trained dog was able to identify the presence or absence of thyroid cancer in human urine more accurately than lab tests, which leads Anthony and Jeff to wonder how much faith they are able to put into "natural" remedies vs scientific ones. Would you be able to trust a canine diagnosis? We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bon...

So much frozen, un-biodegradeable human waste has been left on Mt Everest by climbers, that it is becoming a problem. In fact, Nepal is now requiring climbers to bring their feces back down the mountain with them. Jeff, Anthony, and special guest Hal Lublin discuss the logistics of conquering the world's toughest mountain, and then bringing your crap home with you. Thanks to Hal Lublin for joining...

Scientists from the University of Wollongong in Australia are 3D-printing their own tiny, artificial human brains to study the physical properties of psychological conditions like schizophrenia. Anthony and Jeff ponder the ethical considerations of creating organs that can think from scratch, and wonder why Australia is always such a dangerous place. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported...

Researchers have created remote-controlled crawling insects before, forcing a bug’s legs to move by electrically stimulating its muscles. But now, for the first time, the muscles that control flight in beetles have been identified, allowing the same technology to create remote-controlled flying bugs. Jeff and Anthony wonder how this breakthrough will be used, and long it will take to assemble the...

It turns out the idea of human pheromones, tiny molecules that can attract a mate, or make you more likable, are a total fabrication invented to sell perfume. While pheromones exist in goats and other creatures, there is no proof that human beings have them at all. Anthony and Jeff look into the strange, and surprisingly recent history of pheromone "science" and wonder how one company ca...

A quadriplegic woman who has trained her neural impulses to control a robotic arm, has now flown a jet airplane using only her mind. Anthony is thrilled by the prospect of someday being able to control aircraft with his brain, while Jeff worries about the ramifications of announcing this new feat at the "Future of War Convention." We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep...

A man in Britain has been diagnosed with "auto-brewery syndrome." Due to an overgrowth of yeast in his stomach, every time he eats carbohydrates, his body turns them into alcohol and he gets drunk. Jeff and Anthony struggle to decide if this is the greatest gift a human can receive, or a horrible curse destined to ruin lives. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad...

The residents of St. Pauli, a party district in Hamburg, Germany, were fed up with drunk revelers urinating on the sides of their buildings, so they turned to science to stop the behavior. Painting the most peed-upon areas with an extremely hydro-phobic coating effectively turned the walls into reflectors, bouncing the urine right back onto the culprits. Jeff and Anthony applaud the ingenuity, and...

You've heard Anthony and Jeff warn you about the far-reaching influence of the dreaded Spike Lobby. Now it gets real. An article in The Guardian outlines the numerous locations in the UK installing spikes in public places to get rid of homeless loiterers. The guys think this is a disproportionate, inhumane approach, and can only imagine one culprit... We Have Concerns is entirely listener supporte...

With a headline like "Man Gets Bionic Eye, Sees Wife for the First Time in 20 Years", you might expect a tearful moment of feel-good sentimentality. But the truth of the moment, as evidenced by the article's embedded video, is much more honest and real about the state of technology. Anthony and Jeff applaud the headline's "man" for his genuine reaction, and make fun of media he...

The New Zealand-based Martin Aircraft Company, now listed on the Australian stock exchange, is taking orders for the "world's first practical jetpack" and Jeff couldn't be more excited. But at $200,000 and at its current size, Anthony wonders if practical is really the right word. Also, the guys pitch their idea for Jetpack Rescue Squad and Anthony eats during the show, like a real profe...

The mummified remains of a Buddist monk have been discovered inside a statue that dates back over 1,000 years. Even more fascinating, studies reveal that the monk may have been self-mummified! Jeff and Anthony learn the excruciating, lengthy procedure once used to begin the embalming process while still alive, and wonder how enlightened one must be to attempt it. We Have Concerns is entirely liste...

A very special 100th episode of We Have Concerns, recorded in front of a live audience at the Nerdmelt Showroom in Los Angeles! Anthony and Jeff discuss the potential to sell your feces to science for use in treating patients with C diff. Donors can earn up to $13,000 per year for their excrement, but the standards are quite high for what constitutes sellable poop. Special thanks to Christian Spic...

A new article on i09 describes animal behaviorist John Calhoun's quest to create the perfect mouse city, complete with abundant food, recreation, and even rodent apartments. Now referred to as the "Behavioral Sink", the utopian underground mouse habitat quickly degraded into an apocalypse, as the mice turned on one another and the bloated population died out. Anthony and Jeff can't help...

*not necessarily a guarantee One robotics company, Clearpath Robotics, has promised never to make autonomous killing machines, and hopes all future tech companies will get on board with the no killer robot promise.  Problem solved, right?  Jeff and Anthony aren't so sure, and see a future where solemnly swearing with no take-backs might not be enough.  This episode also features French robots, so...

The tiny organism known as the hydra is a half inch tube of jelly that inhabits fresh water all over the world, and it may well be functionally immortal.  What does that mean?  Anthony and Jeff try to make sense of a creature that can re-grow any part of itself and live for thousands of years - and imagine what that might be like for them. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep u...

Now that private companies are getting into space, the legalities of who can own celestial bodies comes into question.  Specifically, a company called Bigelow Aerospace of Las Vegas wants to start selling inflatable habitats and property on the moon.  Jeff and Anthony discuss the archaic treaties and laws that govern space ownership now, how it might change, and, of course, space pirates. We Have...

According to researchers at Macquarie University, couples in long-term relationships develop inter-connected memory systems.  Each partner can remember only a few details, but together they piece together a more accurate whole, ostensibly off-loading parts of the job to the other.  Anthony is intrigued by this, and what it means for replacing human interaction with machines, while Jeff wonders how...