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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 190 - 3/12/2009
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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is a weekly Podcast talkshow discussing the latest news and topics from the world of the paranormal, fringe science, and controversial claims from a scientific point of view. -The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe: Your escape to reality -Produced by the New England Skeptical Society in association with the James Randi Educational Foundation(JREF) : http://www.theness.com

Podcast 190 - March 12, 2009

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Interview with Kenneth Miller
News Items: Stem Cell Ban Lifted, When Chimps Attack, Mellow Yellow, Prince Charles Snake Oil
Science or Fiction
Who's That Noisy



Segment:   News Items     
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

Segment:   Interview     
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

Segment:   Science or Fiction     [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
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. http://web.mit.edu/newsoffice/2006/battery-hybrid.html
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. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EEStor

Segment:   Who's That Noisy     
Answer from last week     Peter Popoff

Segment:   Quote of the Week     
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
 
 
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