SGU Episode 518

This episode needs: transcription, time stamps, formatting, links, 'Today I Learned' list, categories, segment redirects. Please help out by contributing!

How to Contribute

SGU Episode 518
June 13th 2015
(brief caption for the episode icon)
SGU 517                      SGU 519
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many.
Baruch Spinoza
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction

You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

Forgotten Superheroes of Science ()

• Chien Shiug Wu: Called the First Lady of Physics, she made significant contributions to the standard model of physics and showed that the conservation of parity does not always hold.

News Items

Implantable Electrodes ()

• http://theness.com/neurologicablog/index.php/injectible-brain-electrodes/

Biolimb ()

• http://www.newscientist.com/article/mg22630243.300-worlds-first-biolimb-rat-forelimb-grown-in-the-lab.html?full=true#.VXbUHM9VhBc

Tredinnick Pseudoscience ()

• http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/damian-thompson/2015/06/roll-of-shame-mps-who-back-homeopathy-fan-david-tredinnick-for-chair-of-commons-health-committee/

Darpa Robotics Challenge ()

• http://www.theverge.com/2015/6/8/8745143/darpa-robotics-challenge-winner-pictures

Who's That Noisy ()

• Answer to last week: John Lennon

Special Report ()

• The Victorian era phenomenon of taking pictures of the recently deceased.

Science or Fiction ()

Item #1: Hypsugo dolichodon, or the long-toothed pipistrelle, is a bat with impressive canines that it uses in colonies to kill through exsanguination much larger animals, as large as an ox. Item #2: Cyrtodactylus vilaphongi is a bent-toed gecko whose claim to fame is being the 10,000th reptile in the reptile database. Item #3: Ampulex dementor is a new species of wasp, inspired by the dementors of Harry Potter, that turns its prey into zombies before consuming them. Item #4: Three new species of princess moths were named in the genus Sirindhornia, easily identifiable as new species because their genitalia sport graspers, spines, tufts, and teeth that create a unique "lock and key" between the male and female.

Skeptical Quote of the Week ()

"Be not astonished at new ideas; for it is well known to you that a thing does not therefore cease to be true because it is not accepted by many." - Baruch Spinoza

S: The Skeptics' Guide to the Universe is produced by SGU Productions, dedicated to promoting science and critical thinking. For more information on this and other episodes, please visit our website at theskepticsguide.org, where you will find the show notes as well as links to our blogs, videos, online forum, and other content. You can send us feedback or questions to info@theskepticsguide.org. Also, please consider supporting the SGU by visiting the store page on our website, where you will find merchandise, premium content, and subscription information. Our listeners are what make SGU possible.

References