Episode #257
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week:
Question #1 – Cursed Cell Phone Number
- The cursed cell phone number Thought you guys might like this story of truly stupid superstitious thinking that misses the glaringly obvious. http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/newstopics/howaboutthat/7763578/Mobile-phone-number-suspended-after-three-users-die-in-10-years.html Danforth France Glendale, CA
- Steve – You made the offhand comment that there are ‘serious concerns’ that soy milk is producing an estrogen type hormonal effect. I am a vegan bodybuilder who drinks a quart of soy milk everyday. I am concerned your offhand comment will scare people away from switching to a healthier milk alternative with no saturated fat. I’ve looked in the past when people have made these claims, and all I can find is that there may be some very mild effect, but nothing that rises to the level of your ‘serious concern’ comment. If there was, there would be serious estrogen related issues throughout Asian countries. Since you felt it necessary to scare people away from soy by telling them about the ‘serious concerns’ science has with soy milk, I hope you will provide the research on you next show that proves soy milk causes serious estrogen like effects. I do love the show, and I thank everyone for the time and effort you guys put into it every week. Michael Wilson Prescott, AZ
- One of the branches of the company I work for in Japan has started selling Propolis as a means to make more money in a bad economy. This branch has repeatedly tried to get me to buy some of this magic bee juice. Many of my Japanese co-workers have taken the bait. They are putting bee juice in their drinks and swallowing magic bee juice pills. When I ask them if they feel any better, they all say they aren’t sure. Hmm… I think the company I work for has a snake oill division. Do you know of any scientific evidence that shows any benefit to taking Propolis? All the information I found say that Propolis may contain lead and other garbage bees pick up while flying around the city. Thank you for your time. David Gardner Osaka, Japan
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Fiction
NIST scientists have developed a ‘dark laser’ that is endothermic – it takes heat away from an object on which it is focused. http://news.thomasnet.com/companystory/NIST-JILA-Research-demonstrates-dark-pulse-laser-technology-578743
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Item #2
Science
A new analysis suggests that many comets, including well-known comets like Halley’s and Hale Bopp, originated from other solar systems. http://www.astronomy.com/asy/default.aspx?c=a&id=9932
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Item #3
Science
Scientists report a 5-fold increase in the growth of rice plants from manipulating the genetics of a fungus that grows on its roots. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2010/06/100610125619.htm