SGU Episode 403

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SGU Episode 403
6th Apr 2013
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 402                      SGU 404
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
R: Rebecca Watson
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Guest
IO: Ian O'Neill
Quote of the Week
Design in nature is but a concatenation of accidents, culled by natural selection until the result is so beautiful or effective as to seem a miracle of purpose.
[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Pollan Michael Pollan
Links
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Forum Discussion

Introduction

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

This Day in Skepticism ()

April 6 1992 Isaac Asimov Died

News Items

Fairy Circle Update ()

• LiveScience: Fairy Circle Mystery Solved

Zombie Parasites ()

• http://style.uk.msn.com/health/zombie-nation-the-outside-forces-controlling-human-brains

Retraction Watch ()

• http://retractionwatch.wordpress.com/2013/03/28/why-publishers-should-explain-why-papers-disappear-the-complicated-lewandowsky-study-saga/

Genetic Transistors ()

• http://www.interestingthings.net/2013/03/stanford-researchers-discover-genetic.html

Prescribing Placebos ()

• NeuroLogica Blog: Do 97% of UK Doctors Prescribe Placebos?

Interview with Ian O'Neill ()

• Discovery: Ian O'Neill

Astronomer with PhD in Solar Physics, science producer for Discovery News

Science or Fiction ()

Item #1: A new study finds that wearing a special contact lens for even a single night can correct for loss of near vision in adults with presbyopia. Item #2: New research finds that most fame is not fleeting – people who become famous tend to stay famous for years or decades. Item #3: Researchers analyzing the fossil record find that thousands of Pacific island bird species went extinct following first contact with Europeans.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

Design in nature is but a concatenation of accidents, culled by natural selection until the result is so beautiful or effective as to seem a miracle of purpose.

References