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Bumps At The LHC, Pew, Pew, Pew!, Face Mite Genetics, Stickleback Science, Hot Penguins, Handy Parrots, Baby Tigers!, Bacon Is Better?, CRISPR Pigs, Pain Free Potential, Profit Pirates, And Much More!
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The following hour of programming deals with breaking science news…
There will be no name calling or fact spinning…
as seen in political propaganda shows…
There will be none of the biased, information-less speculation
you might get from an economic propaganda show…
We don’t have the latest inside the locker room information on your secret man crush…
That a sports propaganda show might offer you…
Want to know who looks good in a bikini only days after giving birth and getting divorced?
You’ll have to check in with a celebrity propaganda show…
If you are a fan of a movie franchise and are desperately seeking spoilers…
A movie franchise spoiler propaganda show, this is not…
If on the other hand it is science-y new propaganda that you seek…
You have come to the right place because it’s time once again for
This Week in Science…
Coming up Next…
Bumps At The LHC
Both the Atlas and CMS detectors at the LHC have detected a bump at around the same energy point, which suggests that there might be an unexpected particle hiding in the midst. Neither finding is especially significant on its own, but together the matching bumps have physicists intruiged.
Face Mite Genetics
Yup, researchers are looking into the genetics of face mites, and they have been evolving with us for as long as we have been around.
Pew, Pew, Pew!
Around 37% of people online are interested in health and medicine, while 32% say science and technology. Women are more interested in health and medicine, while men profess interest in science. Only 11% of people polled share interest in health, medicine, science, and technology.
How one fish went from salt to fresh in just a few decades
It was simple, but rapid, evolution.
Penguins in the freezing arctic dodge overheating
Yes, you read that right. The huddles they form to survive the cold winter get so hot they could potentially die of heat stroke if they didn’t frequently break up the party
Parrots more than just smooth talkers
In the first ever account of a non-human using a grinding tool, vasa parrots have been observed using pebbles or pits to grind shells in order to ingest the calcium it provides.
First rehab tiger birth in the wild!
A real reason to celebrate 😀
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Bacon is better than eggplant… if you’re a planet
A study suggests that eating meat is better for the environment than being a vegetarian. However, the debate is not over.
CRISPR Pigs
This study did not result in bacon, but it did determine that CRISPR technology could be used successfully to remove a gene from pigs used by a troublesome virus to infect porcine cells. The resulting GM pigs remained infection-free while their normal brethren got sick.
Pain Free Potential
New research suggests that a sodium channel in pain neurons not only regulates the passage of sodium into the cell, but also opioid activity. This double-layer of regulation might be the key to making people pain-free.
Writing for profit… in science
It is ok to make a profit as a scientist, but where one’s money originates is a crucial question that must be answered.
Climate Agreement
The Paris climate talks resulted in an agreement even stricter than previous meetings. Based on science, international representatives agreed to a 1.5 degree increase in temperature from pre-industrial levels rather than 2 degrees. Also, funding from developed nations will assist undeveloped nations in adopting clean-energy alternatives.
Update On DarkStar
The skeptics abound in their questioning of the recent finding of a dark object in the outer solar system.
Exoplanets Get Names
… and, they are weird.
Female spiders not agro, just unimpressed.
Female spiders that ate potential suitors appear to have done so, not because of agression or hunger, but just out of a lack of interest. Watch out, boys!
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I'm the host of this little science show. 
You know Fafnir is a character from someone’s (some group’s) religion. I know in your ignorance you think it funny to laugh at characters you don’t know (and can’t pronounce correctly).
Now I am not usually a member of the Politically Correct crowd, but it was clear that you don’t know the level of your ignorance.
Thinking about it, since we have a history of naming planets after characters in religions, it shouldn’t be that funny. (You do know that Mars was the name of a character in a religion long before it was the name of a planet, don’t you?)
OK Mars was a bad example, since it is visible in the night sky. But the point remains. Uranus for example…
Sure, point taken. Our ignorance spans the universe. However, we did learn the history of the name before the show’s end. AND, agreed that it was a pretty epic name in the end. That said, I do still giggle like a child at the name Uranus when it is pronounced incorrectly. Can’t help it. It’s funny. And, the politically correct police can write up the citation for my abuse of foreign names out if ignorance. I don’t really care… some words sound funny to the ear. Laughter is medicine as long as it doesn’t derive from malice. Which was never our intent.