Title: Skeptics Guide #220 - Oct 7 2009

" You're listening to the skeptics guide to did you give us your escape. -- reality."

" Hello and welcome to the skeptics guide to the universe today is Wednesday October 7 2009. And this is York post Steven Novella joining me this week are Bob novellus -- fighting Rebecca Watson. An airline. 719521. Hats for. Bar code. Was issued and I. Hours of woodland and Bernard -- that explains good that's why Google had a hard. Did gas and so it clearly everyone listening Michelle I'm sure. Use Google at some point today and --"

" I went a step further and figured out why the park by clicking on the -- Here is what a -- here what sounds like how if it were if there were park -- Big line the line the line land big line between North Atlantic Canada Millen. -- in -- that we get talk about this is actually notion Lewis stuff about bar -- anything interesting. Not yet they did and it valujet. How about this the first -- code was and it was not in straight lines will -- over the shapes of the quote unquote cars. -- wavy lines. It circles really -- a series of concentric circles I can tell I'm here -- made like a bullseye excellent -- And number 666 does not appear before every bar code it's just. -- the presidential it's a bracket encode it's not the numbers -- expect to -- school parking would still aren't instrumental. In -- began. Scalia so the market at least that's find out if I was gonna get it attack too early I always say it would get a tech to a report -- on the bottom of my foot. -- that's crazy. And Hussein that's kind of silly because the bar code be perfectly meaningless it would be like you actually have your bar code I would do it -- for the here reject market."

" Just for the corner of the pleasure autopsy dead heat it's a big laugh yes. That's it why not a quick and set up state from last week we talked about primary and the Indian teams are Indian he was. Sick with cancer and on his death -- A proclamation saying. No deathbed conversions from me basically I remained dedicated to wrestlers into the end and we we did hear that news that he did not passed away since well since the last episode. Which is very unfortunate by October 4 and -- you lived a full and fulfilling life well accounts."

" And have another update and I'll show actually took it I'm on the show now. Yes and it's 2 in the morning that's -- that's -- Rebecca is in London. It's -- 2 in the morning there. And you their listeners are wondering my -- whispering in his wife's parents have -- terrorist. And fifty cent just because this withdrew from him and didn't. Which into an upset because. Rebecca king is going the other room there -- to them."

" All of one room flat are but how was -- and him and in this remarkable. Or anything if you."

" It was a huge success the speakers are fantastic and everything went off an attitude. I I've managed court a number of interviews. With different speakers and even cats have to him -- and we'll have some audiences on the show. -- from the ship's surgeon and more coming up later. It was a lot of fun to."

" Excellent Austin. Sounds like they're gonna be doing this again in the future it does not going to be an isolated event."

" They pretty much have to with -- point I think because. It was this to him. Sold out in something like fifteen minutes of -- I think that a response that. Demands. -- to him and part."

" Even bigger and better hopefully you. Can they get bigger venue -- But enough of our loan RO UK listeners. Wanna bring us out there may be the next few motion picture here today being that BR every now. Well it is that time of year again before the Nobel Prizes and a and a few have already been announced. The Nobel prize for medicine. Was giving to three individuals Elizabeth Blackburn -- reader and Jack so stack. I'd be shows that miniature sets us Z was not as realistic and so -- Texas. Full are. -- The older car. The discovery of how chromosomes are protected by eight kilometers. And the enzyme telomerase. So you know these are like these basic aspects of biology that I learned and in college and medical school. So it -- interesting to hear you it's like decades later they get the Nobel prize -- it's audio it's I always took from France's interest and but absolutely immediate kilometers are now Oregon. Fundamental part -- understanding of chromosomes. So again the dean did DNA to genetic material between ourselves divided up into different chromosomes. Like that and caps right to the little protective caps it's identical -- with Blackburn used the analogy don't like the little. Tabs at the end of shoelaces trinity thinks yeah let's. Date they keep it from unwinding. But also when a chromosome gets copied. The to process can't copy the very end of the chromosomes the very into the chromosome it's left off. So if there weren't. Genes coding genes all the way to the end. Every time make it -- copied a little bit of important genetic information would get left off. For awhile that was considered to be. To chromosome problem you know -- that would what is the solution to this the discovery of kilometers solve this problem because. There's essentially this non coding repetitive DNA tapped at the end. -- each chromosome. And when that chromosome gets copied a little bit of the two of delegates left off but that's okay because -- justice filler cap at the end anyway. Now -- to a mares actually. Expands the -- So until the very gets -- you lose a little bit when he gets copied. But you can be reproduced unique you can build back some of the two Lemerre with a two minorities so. The understanding of -- also who was instrumental in understanding how some cancers work. Been different -- some cell cell lines become immortal. They don't stop growing and Jetsons and you know one of the features. Of cancer. Critical basic science understanding of the power chromosomes work and many applications. In terms of medicines -- not surprising. That Teddy you -- Nobel prize he does know how much the Nobel prize award is up to."

" Yeah one almost 21 half million you know -- avoid colliding nice I didn't know that they gave money with that he's now in a strengthens bragging rights. Now which is pretty kickass as it is that -- my god one point five million. With four yeah bump for -- they give any it Nobel Prizes up for a podcasts. And Qaeda but hadn't."

" That's the next awards -- won noble prize in chemistry 2009. Was give one of the three people is from new it is from yell -- gotten to know right now few do now until her. The Nobel prize in chemistry was given to. Again three people -- determine Rama Krishna and thomas' Dietz and a -- young enough for understanding of the structure and function of the right so. So that even does it this is chemistry truly biochemistry and part of the rivals so home is in Oregon now it's -- structure inside pretty much every living cell. -- drug songs do is they translate. RNA so your first DNA it's transcribed into -- forms of RNA. Are -- is like the set of instructions that runs through the drivers some in the drivers so. We'll build a protein based upon the instructions in the kind of important got a report -- basically the biochemical factory that -- that builds life the credit. -- nano machine brains -- central to our understanding of of biology really Wright episode. And numerous applications interestingly though the one application that I mean in all the news reports public zoos in the press release. That people mention is some antibiotics function by targeting the bacterial private sounds. And which are different then than you carrier service -- the different than the host cells so. We can stop bacteria from reproducing by stopping -- arrive some from -- to some some back tears summit barracks function that way. The end sense and certainly sounds worthy of a noble prize to me see there's a Howard Hughes Medical Institute in in an email -- done. If you have what you have him millions billions of dollars you have lots of stuff that."

" And after these variants and medical research its -- kept on his terms of this year yeah and the -- to show us be an advocate for a fifth. Never look as -- says says Simpson says a some an episode a does seriously you know Howard Hughes had mental illness Sonia who really should make fun of some of these mental list. A very tragic story of the guy who was or make a fight the symptoms. Yes yes yes it was like service like it. Terrorism here we can but it is it's a it's pop culture like that it's been long enough I -- want to match up Howard Hughes was. You know are very successful brilliant you know men whose life. Was read it really tragically altered by mental illness and but that's part of the reason why it really bugs me when people like mental illness and -- that like psychiatric disease or I don't really exist air. The course of this -- is -- significantly altered by mental illness as well as with a lot of people's eyes from the point that. And he he probably today probably couldn't fix by. By one pill a day or something out that's the other thing didn't you know you might have been exactly bodies have been they've on the right medication he could could at a completely different. -- played into his inspiration for all the things he accomplished in his life -- now on how if you if you took that aspect out what else would have to would have been different would have changed. That's a certain now Obama. It's a good point the end is there in fact was a recent study which showed that. Brilliance and insanity if you will and I can't go hand in hand in certain individuals. And Bob you're gonna tell us about the Nobel prize in physics for 2000. Yeah god can Greg."

" to Charles -- Willard -- and George Smith. Like customer Steve science fiction segments at this year's noble prize for physics tenets seemed like late technology. -- one Gunnar oh Quist -- the academy says Secretary General when he announced the winners recently he said that the work of the physics winners has built the foundation. To our modern information society society and he wasn't exaggerating the first half. Of the one point four million dollars goes to the engineer Charles how. I think that's how you pronounce it KA you know cow cow. Adam like that pronunciation. On the aids hospice for him they said specifically. For ground breaking achievements concerning the transmission of light in fibers for optical communication. I in fact he was he's widely regarded as a father fiberoptic communications. I even though in the mid in the mid sixties when he came on the scene he he didn't. Adventist fiber optics already existed but their applications were very very local. On they they would only work for his 1220 metres or so and indeed light would just attenuated to nothingness. So why they did have certain applications especially medical applications but for long distance communications they work worthless really."

" And the common wisdom at the time was that. Imperfections in the class were scattering the light at the sky realize that it would this wasn't a manufacturing problem. It was that the that the class was not pure enough and it was his idea to -- who works to make him. I'm more transparent medium. And -- when he initially presented this paper. End of late sixties they -- he got laughed pretty much off the stage but cousins is so hard for people to think that they could make city. You know some chips to huge difference and die casino he's been kind of laughing in the past 3040 years. The estimate that a lot of articles like thrown around. Is that there's now 600 million miles of fiber optics. You -- fiber pitching to surface of the earth I figured that that would get you somewhere between Jupiter and Saturn. Or by 25000 times around the earth. And and if you if you actually she I've shown Lazard three that fiber take eighty minutes to go all the way through it's it was just a straight go and -- here's another interest he went. That that number is increasing by thousands of kilometers every hour so you couldn't even. How -- to a department insists ESP ND is it's it's a huge amount and the basic concept as just. To reload the background of a fiber optic is that."