Episode #274
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: the first purported recording of a human voice
Interview with Ben Goldacre
- www.badscience.net
Question #1 – Magic Burgers
- I thought you might be able to shed some light on the seemingly magical properties of McDonald’s food. In the movie Super Size Me, and this article from the Daily Mail: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-1319562/McDonalds-Happy-Meal-bought-Sally-Davies-shows-sign-mould-6-months.html It seems that McDonald’s burgers and fries will not decay if left out, and for some reason that’s a bad thing. I don’t know if the fact that food should decay is a false premise, but I thought this might make an interesting quick topic if you haven’t already discussed it. Thanks for the great podcast year after year! -Andy Paulo Glastonbury, CT
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Fiction
Researchers find that feeling in love is as effective in pain relief as narcotic medications. http://www.physorg.com/news/2010-10-pain-brain.html
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Item #2
Science
A new study finds that whale feces contributes more nitrogen to fish ecosystems that all rivers combined. http://www.uvm.edu/~uvmpr/?Page=News&storyID=17125
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Item #3
Science
Astronomers have discovered the largest galaxy supercluster ever – with hundreds of galaxies and with a mass of around 800 trillion solar masses. http://www.cfa.harvard.edu/news/2010/pr201020.html