Episode #477
News Items
- Alternative Research
- ISIS Bans Chemistry and Philosophy
- Ice Sheets Melting
- Hallucigenia
- Talking Apes
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: pending
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Fiction
Astronomers have observed lightning strikes on the surface of the moon, apparently originating in the wispy lunar atmosphere. http://www.nasa.gov/content/goddard/electric-sparks-may-alter-evolution-of-lunar-soil/#.U_Zs__ldV8E
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Item #2
Science
Scientists have discovered the first example of speciation occurring within a single group of animals sharing the same geographic area. http://www.rochester.edu/newscenter/alternate-mechanism-of-species-formation-picks-up-support-thanks-to-a-south-american-ant/
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Item #3
Science
A team of chemists and biologists have developed a semi-artificial leaf that, for the first time, is able to turn light into energy faster than natural photosynthesis. http://aktuell.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/pm2014/pm00132.html.en
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
“Scientific method is based on the principle that observation is the judge of whether something is so or not. All other aspects and characteristics of science can be understood directly when we understand that observation is the ultimate and final judge of the truth of an idea. Or, put another way, ‘ the exception proves that the rule is wrong.’ That is the principle of science. If there is an exception to any rule, and if it can be proved by observation, that rule is wrong. So the more specific the rule, the more powerful it is, the more liable it is to exceptions, and the more interesting and valuable it is to check. The method is “try it and see’ and accumulate the information and so on. And so the question ‘if I do it what will happen?’ is a typically scientific question.” – Richard Feynman