SGU Episode 72

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

Holiday Shopping Scams

 * Be skeptical when shopping online

NASA Plans Moon Base

 * www.space.com/news/050919_nasa_moon.html Hawking article on people leaving the Earth: www.infowars.com/articles/science/hawking_man_must_leave_planet_earth.htm

Flowing water on Mars?

 * www.nasa.gov/mission_pages/mars/news/mgs-20061206.html

Molecular Manufacturing

 * National Academies Releases Report on Molecular Manufacturing www.foresight.org/nanodot/?p=232

Interview with Ken Macleod

 * Dr. MaCleod is the lead author on a new article favoring the single-impact theory of the K-T extinction event that killed the dinosaurs 65 million years ago. rcp.missouri.edu/articles/macleod-dinosaurextinction.html  Dr. MaCleod's Homepage: rcp.missouri.edu/geosci_macleod/index.html

Hi from Down Under
"Hey people How I love to hear the new episodes of your show. Just the thing to listen to while walking through the streets of Sydney. I have recorded a short greeting and a question for you (attached). Maybe you can be a guest on my podcast sometime? Wishing you well and another year of podcasting.  Richard Saunders Producer of the TANK podcast  Home Page www.MysteryInvestigators.com/richard Investigator / Editor / Film Maker www.MysteryInvestigators.com Australian Skeptics Inc www.skeptics.com.au"

Chiropractic HIV Denial
"Hi, As always, I really enjoy your show. I am a former chiropractor, now skeptic, who listens every week. The reason I am writing you is because I found a great article (or series of articles, rather) that you can possibly discuss on your show. I'm not sure if you have ever done a program on people who deny that HIV is the cause of AIDS, but recently there was a THREE PART interview in 'Today's Chiropractic Lifestyle' magazine promoting this theory. Here are the links:  www.todayschiropractic.com/issues/2006/oct_nov/bull.html www.todayschiropractic.com/issues/2006/oct_nov/bull_02.html www.todayschiropractic.com/issues/2006/oct_nov/bull_03.html  'Today's Chiropractic Lifestyle' is published by Life University in Marietta, Georgia. It is where I attended chiropractic college. While at chiro college, I was misinformed about almost every public health topic you can imagine. This article above is a good example of chiropractic misinformation and seems to contain almost every 'HIV denialist' argument available today. I am happy to no longer be a quack and enjoy learning about science and reality from your podcast. Keep up the good work! Jeff Jones, D.C. (Life University class of 2001) Tokyo, Japan"

High Tech Dowsing
"I have begun listening to your show very recently, and I'm trying to catch up on them. Tell Rebecca Watson that I got her skepchicks calendar yesterday, and after paging through it, I'm satisfied in a great investment. Anyway, on to the secondary reason for this message.  I'd like you to take a look at this, and maybe see if there's more information about this out there: http://www.carteblanche.co.za/Display/Display.asp?Id=3233  There was another article, published over a year ago: http://www.sabcnews.com/south_africa/general/0,2172,93664,00.html  To me, it sounds like some kind of futuristic method of dowsing. The only positive results I've heard about this is from the articles, and they are obviously anecdotal. If the only evidence that it works is anecdotal evidence, should it be discounted? Is it too early to dismiss this, or should we give them time to come up with actual experimental data? Thanks for your time, Matt Frederickson South Dakota, USA"

Testing ID
"Hi guys (guys is non-gender specific in England) Love the podcast. I've nearly caught up with you now, I'm just on the October shows. It's nice to be able to listen to voices of sanity in what can seem a pretty insane world. I have a question - more of a challenge - for you.  I know ID is not a science, and the actual answer is 'you can't' but I'd like to hear you guys trying to design some experiments for a science class on Intelligent Design.  The issue is raising its head over here (only in a small way though) and I thought it might be fun to have a bit of ammunition.  John Ansari (pronounced AN-SAAR-EE) UK"

Randi Speaks

 * The Uncompromising Observations of a Veteran Skeptic Each week James Randi gives a skeptical commentary in his own unique style.  This week's topic: Will they ever learn? The end of the world and other nonsense.

Science or Fiction
Question #1: New study suggests that homo sapiens innovated male/female division of labor and this gave them a critical advantage over Neandertals. Question #2: Newly published study has linked frequent cell phone use to declining cognitive function, as measured by standard IQ. Question #3: New research shows that the effectiveness of advertising has nothing to do with the actual message they contain.

Skeptical Puzzle
"Last Week's puzzle This person had good motives in mind when he proposed that mans activities occur in predictable waves. He took stock in this belief, and in his own bullish way, brought his philosophy to bear. Perhaps he should have invested more time in his research, for he could have used some corrections to realize his theory would crash. Who is this person? Ralph Nelson Elliot Winner: John Maddox   This Week's puzzle Take a mylar coat. Put it in a machine and mix it up. Lay it out.  What's left is something that was once believed to exist, yet has never been found.  What is it?"

Quote of the Week
"'What we observe is not nature itself, but nature exposed to our method of questioning.'- Werner Heisenberg"