Episode #419

Puzzle for this week: You are a detective, with a specialty in deciphering coded messages. During an investigation, you stumble upon a piece of paper which reads: 0.7734, 57718 37818 51 3718. 173 Being the world-class detective you are, you have immediately decoded the message. So … what is the message?

Item #1 Fiction
A recent study finds that occasional marijuana use increases alertness, probably through improved sleep quality. http://medicalxpress.com/news/2013-07-marijuana-adolescence-permanent-brain-abnormalities.html
Item #2 Science
Scientists have discovered that the herpes simplex virus (HSV-1) is packed under pressure 8 times higher than a car tire, and uses that pressure to blast its DNA into the nucleus of cells. http://www.infectioncontroltoday.com/news/2013/07/pressurized-virus-blasts-its-infectious-dna-into-human-cells.aspx
Item #3 Science
A new analysis finds that 2000 year old techniques for gold and silver plating produced results that cannot be achieved even with modern technology. http://phys.org/news/2013-07-ancient-technology-metal-coatings-years.html

‘He is a barbarian, who thinks the customs of his tribe are the laws of nature.’ - Caesar, from Caesar and Cleopatra, Act II, by George Bernard Shaw