Episode #447
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
Scientists report strong evidence confirming the wave-particle duality of sound – demonstrating the coherent transport of quasiparticles called phonons. http://newscenter.lbl.gov/science-shorts/2014/02/05/coherent-phonons-in-superlattices/
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Item #2
Fiction
Researchers have published the results of a phase III clinical trial of an HIV vaccine demonstrating >80% efficacy in preventing initial infection. http://www.niaid.nih.gov/news/newsreleases/2014/Pages/Durable-End-to-AIDS-.aspx
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Item #3
Science
Scientists have developed the first prosthetic hand with real time “near-natural” sensory feedback, allowing sensation of grasping pressure, texture, shape, and hardness of held objects. http://stm.sciencemag.org/content/6/222/222ra19
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
“Fables should be taught as fables, myths as myths, and miracles as poetic fantasies. To teach superstitions as truths is a most terrible thing. The child mind accepts and believes them, and only through great pain and perhaps tragedy can he be in later years relieved of them.” - Hypatia