The Lujan Zoo outside of Buenos Aires has been dubbed the "World's Most Dangerous Zoo" because it allows visitors to cuddle, fondle, and feed lions, tigers, and bears. But when Anthony and Jeff hear about these practices, all they see are the inhumane and disgusting manner in which the animals are treated to ensure they remain in a state of lethargic docility. Are humans really this insecure about their place on the food chain? Oh, and what jungle cat is best to ride to school? We Have Concerns ...
May 11, 2015•21 min•Ep. 132
A new study at USC shows evidence that men who are going bald may actually be able to stimulate their dormant follicles by violently plucking out the remaining hairs that do grow. This counter-intuitive solution was reached by ripping out fur in healthy mice, which leads Jeff and Anthony to wonder how far we as humans will go to regrow our hair, and what kind of doctor even thinks to try this. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus conten...
May 08, 2015•21 min•Ep. 131
Anthony and Jeff learn about the affliction known as Exploding Head Syndrome, which, it turns out, is a really misleading name. It leads them to discuss sleep, inner voices, and the peace attained from a quiet mind. Oh, and alien probes. Somehow they also get to alien probes. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a moment to ra...
May 06, 2015•18 min•Ep. 130
An octopus at the Sea Life Aquarium in New Zealand has been trained to take photos. When visitors stand in front of his tank, Rambo the octopus reaches inside the casing of the underwater camera and presses the button, capturing the image of his "guests". Anthony reveals his long-held hatred of all cephalopods and fear that they will someday live in trees, while Jeff wonders how one trains an octopus, anyway. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episo...
May 04, 2015•17 min•Ep. 129
A 30-year-old Russian man Valery Spiridonov has volunteered to become the world's first head transplant. His terrible, degenerative spinal disease has forced him to resort to drastic actions, but some scientists are worried that the resulting neural confusion of a human head transplant may actually be worse than death. Jeff and Anthony wonder what kind of doctor would try such a thing, and consider the ramifications. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get ear...
May 01, 2015•21 min•Ep. 128
A new biotech startup aims to have synthetic, bioprinted eyeballs on the market by 2027. These could not only solve vision problems, but actually upgrade the eye to apply filters or even record video. Jeff, Anthony, and special guest Trisha Hershberger debate whether cool new functions are worth giving up your natural born eyes. Thanks to Trisha Hershberger for joining us! Visit her YouTube channel NerdyChick5 here: https://www.youtube.com/user/Nerdychick5 We recorded a special, patron-only epis...
Apr 29, 2015•25 min•Ep. 127
Cosmologist Fergus Simpson published a new scientific paper in which he suggests that intelligent aliens, if they exist, are likely enormous, weighing at least 650 lbs. Jeff and Anthony are skeptical of Mr, Simpson's mathematical model, but suspect first contact with gigantic aliens might not go smoothly. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the sh...
Apr 27, 2015•21 min•Ep. 126
Researchers studying the movements of tarantulas in different climates have discovered that at higher temperatures spiders can actually move much faster. This is due to fluid in their joints becoming more viscous in high heat. The trade-off is that they also become more wobbly and out of control. Jeff and Anthony imagine the hydraulic robots that might be created based on this information, and worry about running from them on a warm day. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep u...
Apr 24, 2015•20 min•Ep. 125
Historians uncovered an Old English book of Medieval remedies and decided to recreate and test them in modern conditions. Shockingly, one of the potions, made up of garlic, onions, and the bile from a cow's stomach was actually more effective at treating MRSA than modern antibiotics. Jeff and Anthony marvel at the wisdom that can be derived from trial and error, and wonder what other ailments alchemy can treat. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early epi...
Apr 22, 2015•21 min•Ep. 124
Seattle cancer researchers are hoping that they will be able to use scorpion venom to fight deadly brain cancer through a new product called "Tumor Paint." Jeff and Anthony consider the challenges of attacking cancer in the most sensitive areas of the human body and hope something deadly can combat something deadlier. Also, they remember their short-lived cartoon series, Cancer Killers: Tumor Squad. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus ...
Apr 20, 2015•21 min•Ep. 123
Plastic water bottles are a massive global pollution problem, but new biotech aims to replace traditional non-biodegradable containers with a thin algae membrane. The result is an amorphous spheroid of H2O that is inexpensive to produce and has zero impact on the environment. Anthony and Jeff are ready for the blob water future, and have been working up a series of biohacker adventure novels in anticipation. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episod...
Apr 17, 2015•20 min•Ep. 122
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 often. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus ...
Apr 15, 2015•18 min•Ep. 121
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 there always a 7-11 involved? We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and g...
Apr 13, 2015•21 min•Ep. 120
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 Riddick? We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonu...
Apr 10, 2015•20 min•Ep. 119
[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 haunted house. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early ep...
Apr 08, 2015•19 min•Ep. 118
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. Oh, and also Ross Con. There's so much you don't know about Ross Con. We Have Concerns is entirely l...
Apr 06, 2015•20 min•Ep. 117
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 our Patreon:http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please take a momen...
Apr 03, 2015•20 min•Ep. 116
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 work through their feeling about being denied the option to die in space. We Have Concerns is entirely ...
Apr 01, 2015•21 min•Ep. 115
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/bonus content, check out our Patreon:http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If you’re enjoying the show, please t...
Mar 30, 2015•19 min•Ep. 114
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 us! Check out his other shows: Thrilling Adventure Hour (http://thrillingadventurehour.com/), Welco...
Mar 27, 2015•21 min•Ep. 113
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! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon:http://patreon.com/...
Mar 25, 2015•20 min•Ep. 112
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 vast cyborg beetle army that will destroy us all. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! T...
Mar 23, 2015•20 min•Ep. 111
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 can single-handedly put a concept like that into the world. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To ...
Mar 20, 2015•21 min•Ep. 110
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 us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon:http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! ...
Mar 18, 2015•21 min•Ep. 109
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-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon:http://patreon.com/wehaveconcerns Hey! If yo...
Mar 16, 2015•20 min•Ep. 108
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 wonder how many other problems can be solved this way. We Have Concerns is entirely listener suppor...
Mar 13, 2015•20 min•Ep. 107
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 supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon:http://patreon.com...
Mar 11, 2015•18 min•Ep. 106
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 headlines for their self-congratulatory tone. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get ...
Mar 09, 2015•20 min•Ep. 105
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 professional. We Have Concerns is entirely listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus cont...
Mar 06, 2015•20 min•Ep. 104
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 listener supported! To keep us ad-free and get early episodes/bonus content, check out our Patreon: http:...
Mar 04, 2015•21 min•Ep. 103
