SGU Episode 206

Introduction
You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

Ancient lake on Mars

 * University of Colorado team finds definitive evidence for ancient lake on Mars

Smoke Ring UFO

 * http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/06/16/dnt.va.ufo.sighting.wavy

FDA Zicam Warning

 * http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTkkEKE5LtPih_5Jcc-3MpD0gOYQD98ONHDG0 http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/06/who_knew_there_are_actual_medicines_in_t.php

Missing Sun Spots

 * http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17jun_jetstream.htm?list146689 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/17/here-comes-the-sunspot/

Interview with Richard Prum

 * Dr. Prum is an evolutionary ornithologist with broad interests in diverse topics, including phylogenetics, behavior, feathers, structural color, evolution and development, sexual selection, and historical biogeography. We discuss dissenters from the consensus that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs.

Science or Fiction
Item # 1: A new morphological analysis of modern and fossil apes suggests that humans are most closely related to orangutans, and form a separate group from chimpanzees and gorillas. Item # 2: Scientists have developed a new computer program that can automate the process of analyzing DNA to create phylogenies – a picture of the evolutionary tree of life - that is much faster and more accurate than existing methods. Item # 3: Biologists have discovered a new species of water snake, the only one known to have evolved the technique of capturing prey by first “hypnotizing” it with its rhythmic undulating motion.

Who's That Noisy

 * Answer to last week - Thomas Edison

Quote of the Week
"“Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” - Blaise Pascal"