SGU Episode 115

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SGU Episode 115
October 3rd 2007
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 114                      SGU 116
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
R: Rebecca Watson
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
'It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.'
Aristotle 384 BC- 322 BC
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

News Items ()

Tom Cruise Building a Bunker? ()

• www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/showbiz/showbiznews.html?in_article_id=484455&in_page_id=1773
  
  

Flat Earth ()

• Creationist panelist of The View, Sherri Shepard, does not know if world is flat
  www.youtube.com/watch?v=ehWv_qlKxSg
  
  
  

Fly Boy Follow up ()

• www.signs-of-the-times.org/articles/show/140859-Russia:+Airport+toughens+security+after+boy's+plane+wing+flight
  
  
  

Martial Arts Woo ()

• scienceblogs.com/neurotopia/2007/10/martial_idiocy.php
  
  
  

Vaccine News ()

• www.theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php?p=19
  www.theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php?p=17
  

Questions and E-mails ()

30 Year Battery ()

As a heavy laptop user, the following article linked on digg.com piqued my interest, and I am curious as to the validity. The article even seems to contradict itself, saying the batteries 'do not produce any radioactive or hazardous waste' while later stating 'when they eventually run out of power they are totally inert and non-toxic.' The article gives no citation, and the mere fact that the website features a section on 'free energy' which includes perpetual motion machines makes is all suspect to me. What is your take, and is a long-lasting battery like this out of the realm of possibility?

Thanks,

Mike Kolodoski
Texas
www.nextenergynews.com/news1/next-energy-news-betavoltaic-10.1.html


Blog discussing this story
community.zdnet.co.uk/blog/0,1000000567,10006069o--000331777b,00.htm

Nuclear battery
www.answers.com/topic/nuclear-battery?cat=technology

Orthomolecular Medicine ()

Dear Dr. Novella,

I've been meaning to see an endocrinologist and I ran across what is, to me, a new field: orthomolecular medicine.

I looked into it some, but the little information I could find was ambiguous and seemed a somewhat fishy to me. I was wondering if you had any additional info and could shed some light on the matter.

Thanks a lot!

-Fernanda Abdala
Brazil

Interview with Jon Blumenfeld ()

• Jon is the former Chairman of the CT chapter of the NESS, he has also joined the SGU team as a contributing blogger for the Rogues Gallery blog, and discusses his research into the life and science of Isaac Newton

Science or Fiction ()

Question #1: Astronomers have discovered a brief extra-galactic radio-wave burst so powerful it defies natural explanation, causing some leading astronomers to speculate that it may be of artificial origin. Question #2: Researchers estimate that one human language goes extinct about every two weeks. Question #3: New fMRI study shows that doctors are less empathic toward their patient's pain than matched controls.

Skeptical Puzzle ()

This Week's Puzzle:

For a feline and fowl he is known
This styling, for years, he had grown
Auras foretold his seizures
In the meantime his leisures
Would yield fame from these seeds he had sewn

Whom is this describing.

Quote of the Week ()

'It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it.'- Aristotle 384 BC- 322 BC

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at www.theskepticsguide.org. Please send us your questions, suggestions, and other feedback; you can use the "Contact Us" page on our website, or you can send us an email to info@theskepticsguide.org'. 'Theorem' is produced by Kineto and is used with permission.

References