Episode #681

Episode #681

News Items

• Lake on Mars
• Reanalyzing the Drake Equation
• In Search Of Reboot
• More Energy Nonsense

Who's That Noisy

• Answer to last week: Drip Irrigator

Interview with Alethea Dean

• https://convention.skeptics.com.au/

Science or Fiction [ Show Answers ]

• Item #1 Science

  Astronomers find the rust-colored dust that covers Mars originates from one large geological structure at the equator. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2018/07/25/mars_dust_medusae_fossae/

• Item #2 Fiction

  A new study finds that eradication of malaria-carrying mosquitoes in endemic regions could cause significant disruption to the local ecosystem. https://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2018/07/180726161109.htm

• Item #3 Science

  Engineers have created a transistor based on excitons, rather than electrons, opening the door to a new technology of excitronics. https://actu.epfl.ch/news/epfl-uses-excitons-to-take-electronics-into-the-fu/

Skeptical Quote of the Week.

‘We all want so badly to believe in miracles. That’s what makes us so vulnerable, and that’s what makes the self-help movement so rich.’ - Steve Salerno