Episode #179

News Items

    Question #1 ET Life

    • We frequently hear from scientists that life on other planets would require the presence of water or carbon or a particular range in temperature. This may be true if they are looking for life as we find it on Earth. But is this a parochial bias? Are there reasons why life, which would require molecules with the ability to replicate themselves, cannot be fundamentally differently organized from what we find locally, and exist in radically different conditions?

      Daniel Robbins
      New York City

    • http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/7789302.stm

      Hi,
      This news article talks about commonly held beliefs which the study says are wrong. I wondered if you had seen it and what your thoughts on it were.

      Regards

      Sion Hughes
      UK

    Science or Fiction

    • Item #1 Fiction

      In a recent study researchers find that the children of first cousins have an overall lower risk of genetic disease than the general population.

    • Item #2 Science

      Researchers have developed a new kind of laser from a device one-tenth the thickness of a human hair.

    • Item #3 Science

      Scientists have documented a case of a blind man who can flawlessly navigate an obstacle course without relying upon any other senses.

    Skeptical Quote of the Week.

    “The truth of things is the chief nutriment of superior intellects.”- Leonardo da Vinci