Six Degrees of Rumination

Episdoe 32: How was that New Year's kiss? 1/7/15

First podcast of the year!  We discuss a myriad of topics, from why humans kiss to what a non-person person might be.  Best of all, in the true spirit of the glitz and sparkle of New Year's celebrations, NASA admits that glitter might be the key to properly viewing space.

http://www.nprorg/blog.s/thetwo-way/2014/12/24/372930553/japanese-artist-indicted-for-vagina-kayak?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2050

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/lips-are-most-exposed-erogenous-zone-which-makes-kissing-feel-very-good

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/12/20/372142738/want-to-enhance-the-flavor-of-your-food-put-on-the-right-music?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2047

 

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/argentinian-court-extends-rights-captive-orangutan

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/organic-matter-detected-on-mars

 

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-dominant-life-form-in-the-cosmos-is-probably-superintelligent-robots

 

http://www.npr.org/2014/12/23/372468028/could-glitter-help-solve-nasas-giant-telescope-problem?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2049

 

http://www.sciencealert.com/news/20141106-25657.html

 

http://www.iflscience.com/physics/do-neutrinos-have-imaginary-mass

 

http://www.iflscience.com/space/nasa-wants-establish-floating-cloud-city-study-venus

Episode 31: Old School 12/17/14

Six Degrees is sans internet tonight, and reads their articles off paper.  Not rewritable paper, not 3D printed paper...just paper.  Plus, they return to some of their favorite topics of old: bioluminescence, discovering new species of animals, the secret lives of marine folk, and ANY applications to the military.

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/scientists-unravel-mechanism-behind-firefly-flashing

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/two-species-blind-pseudoscorpions-discovered-grand-canyon-cave

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/study-reveals-bizarre-deep-sea-hunting-methods-humpback-whales

http://www.newyorker.com/science/maria-konnikova/science-misheard-lyrics-mondegreens

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/worms-mind-robot-body

http://news.stanford.edu/news/2014/december/ai-century-study-121614.html

 http://www.iflscience.com/technology/darpa-has-created-self-guided-mid-flight-changing-bullets

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/humans-took-away-dogs-mathematical-abilities

Episode 30: Emotions are for baby-eaters 12/7/14

It's a carnival of the animals on Six Degrees!  Reno's and Nina's penchant for ravens is quenched, mice whose brains are part human are smarter than other mice, and a furry convention is horribly interrupted.  Elsewhere in the news, there could be a scientific reason why we say things like "That baby is so cute, I could just eat him up!"

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/ravens-have-social-abilities-previously-only-seen-humans

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/mice-part-human-brains-are-smarter-their-peers

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2014/12/07/369186497/chlorine-gas-leak-in-chicago-disrupts-furries-convention?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202607

 

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/to-your-health/wp/2014/11/13/why-do-people-cry-tears-of-joy-and-pinch-babies-cheeks-according-to-science-it-may-help-you-calm-down/

 

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/solar-technology-could-make-underground-parks-cramped-cities-possible

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/12/03/368044880/our-ability-to-digest-alcohol-may-have-been-key-to-our-survival?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=202603

 

http://news.ucdavis.edu/search/news_detail.lasso?id=10301

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/fabrics-that-transmit-biomedical-data

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/rewritable-paper

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/when-parallel-worlds-collide-quantum-mechanics-is-born

Episode 29: Pope Francis has sh*t for brains 10/29/14

Halloween is just around the corner, and all the signs of the devil abound: the world's longest snake experiences a virgin birth, the Pope endorses science yet again, evidence of starquakes is found, snobby foodies praise McDonalds as fine cuisine, and prolonged exposure to cat poop appears to alter human behavior.

 

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/virgin-birth-confirmed-world-s-longest-snake-species

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/pope-endorses-scientific-account-origins

 

http://www.iflscience.com/space/magnetar-storm-reveals-evidence-starquakes

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/10/23/358324106/don-t-mock-these-organic-food-experts-for-praising-mcdonald-s?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=2047

 

http://www.theatlantic.com/sponsored/lincoln-mkc-moment-to-think/the-art-and-science-of-our-senses/153/

 

http://motherboard.vice.com/read/the-horrible-anger-you-feel-at-hearing-someone-chewing-is-called-misophonia

 

http://m.theatlantic.com/magazine/archive/2012/03/how-your-cat-is-making-you-crazy/308873/

 

http://m.livescience.com/48121-curiosity-boosts-memory-learning.html?cmpid=514627_20141003_32807856

 

http://www.npr.org/2014/10/05/353919711/dolphins-adorable-playful-not-as-smart-as-you-might-think?sc=tw

 

http://iphone.sciencealert.com.au/news/20142609-26244.html

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/scientists-convert-human-skin-cells-directly-brain-cells

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-bucket-full-of-this-material-can-absorb-all-the-oxygen-in-a-room

 

http://m.theatlantic.com/health/archive/2014/10/optimism-is-the-enemy-of-action/380834/

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/ed/2014/10/04/351187049/q-a-plumbing-the-mysteries-of-the-teenage-brain

 

http://blogs.discovermagazine.com/d-brief/2013/10/03/taking-a-fairy-tales-emotional-temperature/#.VFGwOYvF-yO

 

http://www.brainpickings.org/2014/09/02/the-science-of-soul-mates-xkcd/

 

 

Episode 28: Chimps are jerks, and schizophrenia just got a LOT more complicated 9/24/14

Producer Mike and Reno ruminate on the horrors of testicular assault, while Nina tries to imagine how painful childbirth might be.  Soft robots are discussed, as well as the personality defects of chimps.  Plus, is anyone who hears voices schizophrenic?  What is schizophrenia?  Further advances in science shed light on this disorder, as well as how blood tests could predict clinical depression.

http://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/video-childbirth-verse-getting-kicked-balls

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-soft-wearable-robot-exosuit-to-increase-stamina-for-soldiers-and-civilians

 

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/jetpack-aims-help-soldiers-hit-4-minute-miles

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/human-language-gene-helps-mice-learn-tasks

 

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/are-chimps-natural-born-killers

 

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/ancient-river-dolphin-relative-discovered-peru-desert

 

http://www.theguardian.com/books/2014/aug/22/charles-dickens-hearing-voices-created-his-novels

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/schizophrenia-revealed-be-8-genetically-distinct-disorders

 

http://www.northwestern.edu/newscenter/stories/2014/09/first-blood-test-to-diagnose-depression-in-adults.html

 

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/09/11/336330502/why-the-u-s-chills-its-eggs-and-most-of-the-world-doesnt?utm_source=facebook.com&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=npr&utm_term=nprnews&utm_content=20140911

 

http://www.iflscience.com/editors-blog/watch-hank-green-reveal-50-science-misconceptions

 

 

 

Episode 27: The First Anniversary of Our Genesis 9/10/14

One year and counting.  Here's to approximately twelve months of ruminating on science, psychology, technology....and gargoyles.  There's no stopping us now!

http://news.yahoo.com/chicago-church-laments-falling-gargoyle-kills-woman-184400612.html

 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2746321/Jack-Ripper-unmasked-How-amateur-sleuth-used-DNA-breakthrough-identify-Britains-notorious-criminal-126-years-string-terrible-murders.html?ito=social-facebook

 

http://news.yahoo.com/napa-quake-deformed-earth-satellite-photo-195304081.html

 

http://www.cnet.com/news/stephen-hawking-god-particle-may-wipe-out-the-universe/

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-low-cost-water-splitter-that-runs-on-an-ordinary-aaa-battery

 

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/direct-brain-brain-communication-used-humans

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/in-our-digital-world-are-young-people-losing-the-ability-to-read-emotions

 

http://www.kurzweilai.net/remote-controlled-cyborg-moth-biobots-to-monitor-emergency-response-operations

Episode 26: 8/6/14 Are you afraid of the dark?

Interested in seeing a goat/sheep hybrid?  Visit a petting zoo in Arizona to see "Butterfly."  The debate on which came first, the chicken or the egg, is settled once and for all.  Reno, Nina, and Mike also discuss a study on whether being raised religious could impair one's ability to discern fact from fiction, a new device inspired by fly ears, and what might go faster than the speed of light...

http://www.buzzfeed.com/mbvd/geep-geep

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/what-came-first-chicken-or-egg

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/religious-children-struggle-separate-fact-fiction

http://www.kurzweilai.net/a-cost-effective-nanotube-based-catalyst-for-producing-hydrogen-fuel

http://www.kurzweilai.net/more-efficient-solar-powered-steam

http://www.kurzweilai.net/study-suggests-probiotics-could-prevent-obesity-and-insulin-resistance

http://www.kurzweilai.net/fly-inspired-sound-detector

http://www.iflscience.com/physics/what-speed-dark 

 

 

Episode 25: 7/23/14: Don't try to use all of your brain at once to listen to this

Listen to Reno, Nina, and producer Mike debunk 7th myths about the brain, discuss the likelihood of 3D printing options at Kinko's, predict what kind of damage kudzu could do if left completely alone, and what happens when someone has 232 extra teeth.  Also discussed are Lego microscopes, why Mike hates Legos, and how a black hole becomes a white hole.

Lastly, in honor of Six Degrees' 25th Episode, please enjoy 25 of the best Anti-Jokes of all time.

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/seven-myths-about-brain-most-people-believe

http://www.sculptgraphicz.com/

http://arstechnica.com/science/2014/07/invasive-kudzu-drives-carbon-out-of-the-soil-into-the-atmosphere/

http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/health/indian-doctors-remove-232-teeth-teenager-mouth-article-1.1878411

http://www.iflscience.com/technology/lego-microscope-actually-works 

http://www.iflscience.com/space/black-holes-may-collapse-their-exact-opposites-white-holes

http://www.iflscience.com/space/sun-eerily-quiet-and-scientists-arent-sure-why

http://www.tickld.com/x/25-of-the-best-anti-jokes-ever-12-is-gold

Episode 24: 7/16/14: Things you didn't know and probably still don't want to

Enjoy a mish-mash of articles in episode 24, including more 3D printing antics, how a parasite adds insult to injury, what new nursery rhymes may be emerging about natural selection, and just what an nT might be...

http://www.printing3dtoday.com/news/2014/07/14/002132/japanese-woman-arrested-sending-3d-printer-files-her-genitals

http://www.npr.org/blogs/goatsandsoda/2014/07/16/331729614/dogs-spread-kissing-bug-disease-in-texas-and-latin-america

http://www.iflscience.com/environment/new-study-suggests-world-brink-next-great-extinction

http://www.iflscience.com/physics/earths-electromagnetic-field-weakening

http://www.npr.org/blogs/13.7/2014/07/14/331328580/sex-death-and-evolution-nursery-rhyme-style

http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2014/07/14/330434597/this-is-your-stressed-out-brain-on-scarcity

http://www.iflscience.com/brain/magic-mushrooms-expand-your-mind-and-amplify-your-brain%E2%80%99s-dreaming-areas-%E2%80%93-here%E2%80%99s-how

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/plants-can-hear-themselves-being-eaten

Episode 23: 6/25/14 The artificiality of life, and when life gets too real

Join Nina, Reno, and producer Mike to explore the many faces of salad, as well as what you might consume if you give up food altogether.  Would you eat a colorless, nearly tasteless sludge in the name of efficiency and sustainability? 

What do you think of AI?  Could it ever be so well done that it fools real humans?  

Reno, Nina, and Mike discuss.  As Eugene Goostman might say, "Oh, what a fruitful conversation ;-)"

Harvard is reasonably sure their university library houses a book that's bound in human skin.  Arse'ne Houssayee's French treatise, "Des destine'es de l'ame" (On the Destiny of the Soul) 

is an example of anthropodermic bibliopegy.  It came to the library in 1934, and the skin was supposedly taken from a woman's back.

Beware the fungus among us--although it's not humungous.  Ophiocordyceps unliateralis is a parasite that lodges itself inside ants' brains, controlling their movements and turning them into tiny zombies.  

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/06/10/320321553/the-salad-frontier-why-astronauts-need-to-grow-lettuce-in-space

http://www.npr.org/blogs/thesalt/2014/06/25/325189711/kandinsky-on-a-plate-art-inspired-salad-just-tastes-better?sc=tw

http://robrhinehart.com/?p=298

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eugene_Goostman 

http://www.scottaaronson.com/blog/?p=1858

http://mobile.nytimes.com/blogs/artsbeat/2014/06/05/harvard-confirms-book-is-bound-in-human-skin/?_php=true&_type=blogs&smid=nytimesarts&_r=0

http://www.sciencechannel.com/tv-shows/through-the-wormhole/videos/this-fungus-turns-victims-into-the-crawling-dead.htm

http://www.npr.org/blogs/alltechconsidered/2014/06/25/325188747/these-bathroom-lights-tell-you-where-its-ok-to-go

*Special edition: Episode 23.5 at the Santa Cruz Mystery Spot!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NglZqExcRQk