Episode #644
News Items
Who's That Noisy
- Answer to last week: Engine starter
Science or Fiction
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Item #1
Science
Doctors report that they successfully transplanted genetically modified skin derived from stem cells to over 80% of a patient’s body. http://www.sciencemag.org/news/2017/11/boy-rare-disease-gets-new-skin-thanks-gene-corrected-stem-cells
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Item #2
Fiction
A new study finds that stimulating the frontal lobes in order to increase analytical thinking reduces the level of supernatural beliefs in subjects. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171108092429.htm
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Item #3
Science
Astronomers report the first discovery of a star that underwent multiple supernova explosions over 50 years and somehow survived. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/11/171108131839.htm
Skeptical Quote of the Week.
All interpretations made by a scientist are hypotheses, and all hypotheses are tentative. They must forever be tested and they must be revised if found to be unsatisfactory. Hence, a change of mind in a scientist, and particularly in a great scientist, is not only not a sign of weakness but rather evidence for continuing attention to the respective problem and an ability to test the hypothesis again and again. — Ernst Mayr