Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:08:58 — 31.6MB)
Stone Tools To Rule Them All, Video And The Media Star, An Old Mantle Piece, Take Two And Have A Nice Day, It’s A Miracle… Tomato, Anger For Happiness?, Indian Superbugs, Pulsars For People, Bloomin’ Dust, Minion Mailbag, And Much More!!!
Read along with the TWIS Bookclub! This Month’s book:
Show Notes:
Ancient Tools
New evidence suggests that that tool use began much longer ago than previously thought.
Blinded by the Like
Research into the ways how people respond to different video qualities yielded surprising results. People who liked what they were watching were less likely to complain about the video quality.
Ancient Mantle Reveals Ancient Secrets
New evidence may support the theory that primordial earth had the same basic composition as the most common meteors in the solar system, chrondites.
Feel Snubbed by Your Friends? Take Tylenol
As well as alleviating psychical pain, Acetaminophen has been shown to also relieve the pain from hurt feelings. This research blends the line between physical and social/ emotional pain.
Miracle Tomato
A trans-gene tomato churns out a compound known as miraculin, a special compound that allows sour foods to taste sweet. Foods containing miraculin are used as diet foods in Japan, and their popularity is increasing in the US.
Don’t forget to check out Monty Harper’s Birthday / Fundraising Vigil on Saturday August 21st at MontyHarper.com!
Angry People are Positive People?
Anger has been long considered to be a negative emotion, but feeling angry can help people want to seek a reward. A study found the people who are angry show more focus on positive (rewarding) images than on negative images.
Superbug
37 people who returned from surgery tourist trips from India or Pakistan were found to be infected with a bacteria with a specialized gene that has the potential to make almost any other bacteria antibiotic-resistant.
A New Radio Pulsar…
…Was discovered by “Einstein at Home”. This is the first genuine astronomical discovery by a public research database.
Deserts Feed Rainforests
Scientists studying some of the dustiest places on earth have discovered that dust travels across the oceans from Africa to the Amazon. The transported dust may actually be keeping the rainforest alive by adding nutrients to the soil.
Minion Mailbag: Justin’s claim about advertising and psychology turn out to be spot on.
From our Minion Mailbag:
“The four-part BBC-documentary “The Century of the Self” (2002) gives you a brief but good introduction to the issue.
This is how BBC introduces the documentary:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/bbcfour/documentaries/features/century_of_the_self.shtml
You can also read about it on Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Century_of_the_Self
Or simply watch it online at Google Video (free & legal):
http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=6718420906413643126#” Thanks for the links, Magnus!
I'm the host of this little science show. 
