A Reasonable Breakdown
By Brian Caulkins
A Reasonable BreakdownOct 20, 2020
Elizabeth Blackwell
On this episode of A Reasonable Breakdown, I look at the remarkable story of Elizabeth Blackwell and how she defied all odds to become the first woman to graduate from an acredited American college with a degree in medicine.
Black Mold and Citric Acid
One of my favorite drinks is a limeade slush from a popular drive in restaurant that shares the name with an incredibly fast blue hedgehog. But could the citric acid used in that limeade have been grown using something as dangerous as black mold? Let's find out on this genetically modified episode of A Reasonable Breakdown.
If you have any feedback please feel free to email me at brian@breakdown.fm.
GMOs: Pros and Cons, Backed by Evidence
https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/gmo-pros-and-cons
The allergenicity of genetically modified foods from genetically engineered crops
https://www.annallergy.org/article/S1081-1206(17)30550-1/fulltext#secsectitle0095
Genetically Modified Organisms
https://www.nationalgeographic.org/encyclopedia/genetically-modified-organisms/
Non-GMO Project
https://www.nongmoproject.org/
No scientific consensus on GMO safety
https://enveurope.springeropen.com/track/pdf/10.1186/s12302-014-0034-1.pdf?site=enveurope.springeropen.com
Shelby the Dog and the Curious Case of Carbon Monoxide
Dogs are amazing creatures. Not only are they cute, loyal and great companions, they also have an incredible sense of smell. Some say they're able to smell a pinch of sugar in a million gallons of water. So the idea of a dog smelling carbon monoxide isn't that far fetched, right? Let's find out on this episode of A Reasonable Breakdown.
References:
Canine Scent Detection of Volatile Elements, Characteristic of Malignant Cells, in Cell Cultures
Lung cancer diagnosis by trained dogs
Article on NOVA's website about dogs
The Mansfield Bar
Episode 2 of A Reasonable Breakdown details a popular post circulating Facebook about Jayne Mansfield. She was killed in a car accident and supposedly due to her untimely death, a new federal law was created requiring semi-truck trailer manufacturers to install an underride bar to prevent cars from going underneath the trailer. According to the story, that bar is more commonly known as the Mansfield Bar. Is it true or is it false? Let's find out.
Fisher Space Pen vs The Russians
In episode one of A Reasonable Breakdown, I take a look at a common circulated story on Facebook about how the US government supposedly spent millions and millions of dollars developing a pen that could write in space and yet the Russians did it with a simple pencil. Is this true, or is it false? Let's take a look.