Adam Ruins Science is the fifteenth episode of Season 2 of Adam Ruins Everything. The episode aired on October 31, 2017.
Synopsis[]
In this episode, Adam investigates the truth behind experiments on mice, reveals how scientific research is funded and talks about how many results can’t be replicated.
Plot[]
Winnie gets to work in the lab on the weekend with her experiment about vitamin D with test subject Carl (Segan) the mouse. Adam drops in to ruin Science for her, rodents are terrible stand-in test subjects for human beings. We only use them because they are cheap and convenient. Dr. Azra Raza also reminds Winnie that the FDA will also never approve a study on humans unless it's been first tested on mice.
Adam then bursts Winne's bubble by explaining how so much of the research that gets done is completely dependant on private corporations and their funding interests. Government and public funding are great, but they are controlled by political interests and greatly swayed by lobbyists. The modern political environment is decreasing the amount of funding to science.
Winnie looks to her Science journals for comfort, but Adam then reminds her that just because something is published, doesn't make it true. Studies can be flawed for a variety of reasons from sample size to confounding variables. And rarely, they are straight-up fraud. Reproductivity is a great way to show that a study's findings, but because the first study has already been published, it can still make its way into the public's consciousness. It would be great if we could reproduce every study but it just won't happen due to pressures put on researchers to publish new studies.
After storming out of the lab feeling very discouraged, Doctors Raza and Nosek convince Winne to keep at it and use Science to try to fix everything wrong with Science. Several months later Winnie enters the Science competition she replicates 19 studies and finds them un-reproducible.
Cast[]
Main Cast[]
Experts[]
- Azra Raza as herself
- Brian Nosek as himself
Guest[]
- Nicholas Azarian as Test Subject
- Gigi Bermingham as Philanthropist
- Charles Emmett as Big Sugar
- Drew Kenney as Cool Scientist
- Laura Kightlinger as Dr. Sherman
- Andrew Michaan as Researcher 2
- Tipper Newton as New Researcher / V.O. Researcher
- Jill Remez as Big Smart
- Nicolas Eduard Suter as Other Student
- Amos Vernon as Uncle Sam
- Genneya Walton as Winnie
- Damian Washington as Researcher 1
- Shondalia White as Scientist Cheryl / V.O. Mouse OBGYN
References[]
Adam Ruins Everything – Adam Ruins Science on TruTv