SGU Episode 660

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SGU Episode 660
March 3rd 2018
Scientists have assembled the first nearly complete genome of the little bush moa, a flightless bird that went extinct soon after Polynesians settled New Zealand in the late 13th century.
SGU 659                      SGU 661
Skeptical Rogues
S: Steven Novella
B: Bob Novella
J: Jay Novella
E: Evan Bernstein
Quote of the Week
Where misunderstanding dwells, misuse will not be far behind. No theory in the history of science has been more misused and abused by cranks and charlatans—and misunderstood by people struggling in good faith with difficult ideas—than quantum mechanics.
Sean Carroll, American theoretical physicist
Links
Download Podcast
Show Notes
Forum Discussion

Introduction, Patreon, SGU community, TV show pilot

Voice-over: You're listening to the Skeptics' Guide to the Universe, your escape to reality.

Forgotten Superheroes of Science (12:04)

• Margaret Oakley Dayhoff, American physical chemist and a pioneer in the field of bioinformatics

News Items

S:

B:

C:

J:

E:

(laughs) (laughter) (applause) [inaudible]

Low-Fat vs Low-Carb (14:14)

• Low Fat vs Low Carb – No Difference

Moa Genome (39:00)

• With DNA from a museum specimen, scientists reconstruct the genome of a bird extinct for 700 years

Superatomic Semiconductor (45:23)

• Researchers create first superatomic 2-D semiconductor

Who's That Noisy? (50:27)

Answer to previous Noisy:

Drumfish using swim bladder "croaking mechanism"

... reel-to-reel

New Noisy (53:43)

[cracking/slashing possibly in a large space]

J: Guys, if you think you know what this week's Noisy is, or if you 've heard anything cool this week, email me at WTN@theskepticsguide.org.

Questions/Emails/Corrections/Follow-ups

_consider_using_block_quotes_for_emails_read_aloud_in_this_segment_
with_reduced_spacing_for_long_chunks –

Question #1: Conspiracy Theorists (58:18)

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Science or Fiction (1:03:56)

Item #1: According to a study by the CDC, the most common cause of animal-related deaths are due to deadly encounters with farm animals. Item #2: Researchers have produced the first commercial perovskite solar cell with efficiencies equal to silicon based solar cells but only 1% of the thickness. Item #3: Scientists report a new method for creating graphene on the surface of a variety of organic materials, including food items, allowing for the creation of edible electronics.

Answer	Item
Fiction	Ultra thin perovskite
Science	Edible electronics
Science	Deadly farm animals

Host	Result
Steve	win

Rogue	Guess
Jay	Deadly farm animals
Bob	Ultra thin perovskite
Evan	Ultra thin perovskite

Voice-over: It's time for Science or Fiction.

Skeptical Quote of the Week (1:21:10)

Where misunderstanding dwells, misuse will not be far behind. No theory in the history of science has been more misused and abused by cranks and charlatans—and misunderstood by people struggling in good faith with difficult ideas—than quantum mechanics.
– Sean Carroll, American theoretical physicist

Signoff

S: —and until next week, this is your Skeptics' Guide to the Universe.

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.

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Today I Learned

• Fact/Description, possibly with an article reference
• Fact/Description
• Fact/Description

References

Vocabulary