Episode #336
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: Beethoven heard through a cochlear implant
Science or Fiction
-
Item #1
Science
Scientists have discovered bacteria capable of living in the subsurface of Mars. http://oregonstate.edu/ua/ncs/archives/2011/dec/scientists-find-microbes-lava-tube-living-conditions-those-mars
-
Item #2
Science
Research finds that thick hair protects against bed bug bites, but despite this hairy individuals are bitten as often as less hairy individuals. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16166134
-
Item #3
Fiction
A new study finds that UV light is 95% effective in reducing chicken pox severity and preventing its spread. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-16217303
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
“The only position that leaves me with no cognitive dissonance is atheism. It is not a creed. Death is certain, replacing both the siren-song of Paradise and the dread of Hell. Life on this earth, with all its mystery and beauty and pain, is then to be lived far more intensely: we stumble and get up, we are sad, confident, insecure, feel loneliness and joy and love. There is nothing more; but I want nothing more.” ― Christopher Hitchens, The Portable Atheist: Essential Readings for the Non-believer