A horse science roundup and using dubious brain scans as evidence of crimes

Science Magazine Podcast

Science Podcast

News Commentary, News, Science

4.2 • 791 Ratings

🗓️ 15 May 2025

⏱️ 29 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

First up on the podcast, freelance journalist Jonathan Moens talks with host Sarah Crespi about a forensic test called brain electrical oscillation signature (BEOS) profiling, which police in India are using along with other techniques to try to tell whether a suspect participated in a crime, despite these technologies’ extremely shaky scientific grounding. Next on the show, scientists have recently made strides in our understanding of horses, from identifying the mutations that make horses amazing athletes to showing how climate shaped intercontinental horse migrations 50,000 years ago. Science life sciences editor Sacha Vignieri joins us to discuss new horse-related studies published in Science—and how equine research has broader implications. Other papers mentioned in this segment: W. Taylor et al., Science 2023 C. Gaunitz et al., Science 2018 A. Outram et al., Science 2009 This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy. About the Science Podcast Authors: Sarah Crespi; Sacha Vignieri; Jonathan Moens Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

Transcript

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0:00.0	This podcast is supported by the Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, one of America's leading research medical schools.
0:07.4	The school is the academic arm of the Mount Sinai Health System in New York City.
0:11.6	It's consistently among the top recipients of NIH funding.
0:15.3	Researchers at the Icon School of Medicine in Mount Sinai have made breakthrough discoveries in many fields vital to advancing the
0:21.7	health of patients, including cardiology, cancer, immunology, neuroscience, and artificial intelligence.
0:28.9	The Icon School of Medicine at Mount Sinai, we find a way.
0:34.6	This is a science podcast for May 15th, 2025.
0:38.3	I'm Sarah Crespi.
0:40.3	First up, freelance journalist Jonathan Mowens talks with me about a forensic brain profiling
0:45.6	test, which police in India are using, along with other techniques, to try to tell whether
0:51.3	a suspect participated in a crime, despite these technologies extremely shaky scientific grounding.
0:58.0	Next on the show, scientists have been recently making strides in our understanding of horses,
1:03.3	from identifying the mutations that make horses amazing athletes to showing how climate-shaped intercontinental horse migrations 50,000 years ago.
1:13.9	Life Science's editor, Sasha Viniere, joins us to discuss new horse-related studies published in science
1:20.0	and how equine research has broader implications.
1:39.8	In India, police have been using dubious technologies for evidence of innocence or guilt in serious crimes, including a brainwave reader that has been declared inadmissible in courts.
1:45.7	Despite the controversy, the results of these tests appear to continue to influence certain judicial decisions.
1:52.7	Freelianist Jonathan Mowens wrote about this questionable crime combating technique and others this week in science.
1:57.8	Hi, Jonathan. Welcome to the science podcast. Hi. Great to be here. I've seen a lot of cop shows.
2:04.7	Not so much lately, but in my past. lie detector is used to feature, you know, on all these different shows.
2:05.7	But most people today in the U.S. know that they're not considered court worthy evidence.
2:11.1	And I actually haven't heard of the other type of scan that's mentioned in the story.
	...

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