Episode #542
News Items
- Universe Resolution
- Scientific Consensus
- Hobbit Update
- Gene drive in mosquitoes could eradicate malaria
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Fiction
A new study finds that the Earth’s magnetic field is much closer to flipping polarity than previously thought and may happen this century. http://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2015/11/23/earths-magnetic-field-just-returning-to-normal/
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Item #2
Science
After sequencing the genome of the tardigrade researchers found that about 6,000 genes, or over 17% of the tardigrade’s genome is composed of foreign DNA. http://uncnews.unc.edu/2015/11/23/a-huge-chunk-of-a-tardigrades-genome-comes-from-foreign-dna/
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Item #3
Science
Engineers have made bionic roses, with transistors and electrodes incorporated into the leaves and stem, including a rose that can change color when an electrical current is applied. http://www.nature.com/news/bionic-roses-implanted-with-electronic-circuits-1.18851
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
‘A professor can never better distinguish himself in his work than by encouraging a clever pupil, for the true discovers are among them, as comets amongst the stars.’ Carl Linnaeus