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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe - Podcast 206 - 6/18/2009
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The Skeptics' Guide To The Universe

The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, LLC - dedicated to promoting critical thinking, reason, and the public understanding of science through online and other media. The first episode of the SGU podcast went online on May 4th, 2005. It soon became a popular science/skeptical podcast, and remains one of the most popular science podcasts on iTunes.

SGU Podcasting Awards: SGU on XM: You can listen to the SGU on America's Talk XM 166 every Saturday night from 8-9pm Eastern.

Podcast 206 - June 18, 2009

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Interview with Richard Prum
News Items: Ancient Lakes on Mars, Smoke Ring UFO, FDA Zicam Warning, Missing Sun Spots
Science or Fiction
Whos That Noisy



Segment:   News Items     
Ancient lake on Mars     University of Colorado team finds definitive evidence for ancient lake on Mars
Smoke Ring UFO     http://www.cnn.com/video/#/video/us/2009/06/16/dnt.va.ufo.sighting.wavy
FDA Zicam Warning     http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jTkkEKE5LtPih_5Jcc-3MpD0gOYQD98ONHDG0 http://scienceblogs.com/insolence/2009/06/who_knew_there_are_actual_medicines_in_t.php
Missing Sun Spots     http://science.nasa.gov/headlines/y2009/17jun_jetstream.htm?list146689 http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/badastronomy/2009/06/17/here-comes-the-sunspot/

Segment:   Interview     
Interview with Richard Prum     Dr. Prum is an evolutionary ornithologist with broad interests in diverse topics, including phylogenetics, behavior, feathers, structural color, evolution and development, sexual selection, and historical biogeography. We discuss dissenters from the consensus that birds evolved from theropod dinosaurs.

Segment:   Science or Fiction     [ Click Here to Show the Answers ]
Item # 1     A new morphological analysis of modern and fossil apes suggests that humans are most closely related to orangutans, and form a separate group from chimpanzees and gorillas. http://esciencenews.com/articles/2009/06/18/humans.related.orangutans.not.chimps.says.new.pitt.buffalo.museum.science.study
Item # 2     Scientists have developed a new computer program that can automate the process of analyzing DNA to create phylogenies – a picture of the evolutionary tree of life - that is much faster and more accurate than existing methods. http://www.physorg.com/news164553586.html
Item # 3     Biologists have discovered a new species of water snake, the only one known to have evolved the technique of capturing prey by first “hypnotizing” it with its rhythmic undulating motion. http://www.scienceblog.com/cms/discovery-water-snake-startles-fish-way-makes-them-flee-its-jaws-22441.html

Segment:   Who's That Noisy     
Whos That Noisy     Answer to last week - Thomas Edison

Segment:   Quote of the Week     
Quote of the Week     “Men never do evil so completely and cheerfully as when they do it from religious conviction.” - Blaise Pascal
 
 
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