SGU Episode 190

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

Obama Reverses Stem Cell Ban

 * http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=493 'Promoting science isn't just about providing resources -- it's also about protecting free and open inquiry. It's about letting scientists like those who are here today do their jobs, free from manipulation or coercion, and listening to what they tell us, even when it's inconvenient -- especially when it's inconvenient. It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda -- and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology.' -Barack Obama

When Chimps Attack

 * http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/7928996.stm

Mellow Yellow

 * http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20090212/od_nm/us_urine_drink_odd_1

Prince Charles Snake Oil

 * http://www.theness.com/neurologicablog/?p=494

Interview with Kenneth Miller

 * http://www.millerandlevine.com/km/index.html Professor of Biology Royce Family Professor for Teaching Excellence Brown University Author of several books: Prentice Hall Biology, Finding Darwin’s God, and Only a Theory

Science or Fiction
Item # 1: MIT researchers have created a new process for manufacturing lithium ion batteries that allow them to be charged and discharged much faster – a large battery can be fully charged in minutes rather than hours. Item # 2: Physicists have created a new type of battery that uses magnetic spin rather than chemical bonds to store energy. Item # 3: Texas company, Eestor, has produced and will market this year an ultracapacitor-based energy storage system that has 10 times the energy density as current lithium-ion batteries.

Who's That Noisy

 * Peter Popoff

Quote of the Week
"Everything has a natural explanation. The moon is not a god but a great rock and the sun a hot rock. Anaxagoras, ca. 475 BC"