Medicine
What do flies, fish, mice and worms have to do with biomedical science?
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 18, 2013 A recent article posted in the BBC News provided a good explanation of why scientists commonly study these organisms as models for human diseases and conditions. Model organisms are chosen because their physiology is similar to other animals, including humans, in addition to other reasons: Visit the BBC News to see why researchers most often use flies, fish, mice and worms…
No matter how often I read about treatments like this, I still can’t believe parents actually subject their children to them
Posted by Orac on June 18, 2013 It’s been a while since I’ve written about MMS. You remember MMS, don’t you? It’s an abbreviation for “miracle mineral solution,” a solution first promoted by a man who is inaptly named Jim Humble. Basically, as I’ve described in multiple blog posts, MMS is bleach, specifically chlorine dioxide (ClO2). I first became acutely aware of…
Student guest post: Unintended Consequences
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 17, 2013 Student guest post by Naomi Kirschenbaum Although we can never know, there are estimates in the range of 15,000 displaced pets in the wake of 2005 Hurricane Katrina. Many of the dogs found their way to shelters and homes in our community around the Monterey Bay in California. As a local veterinarian the most notable…
Student guest post: Tuberculosis: A Real Problem With No Real Solution
Posted by Tara C. Smith on June 17, 2013 Student guest post by Jack Hamersky After successfully completing a job interview I had the opportunity to take the next step in my employment process: taking a Tuberculosis or TB test. I have received the test before but never really understood the point of testing for a disease no one ever sees in my community.…
Bad science about GMOs: It reminds me of the antivaccine movement (revisited)
Posted by Orac on June 17, 2013 I never used to write much about genetically modified organisms (GMOs) before. I still don’t do it that often. For whatever reason, it just hasn’t been on my radar very much. That seems to be changing, however. It’s not because I went seeking this issue out (although I must admit that I first became interested…
Fluorescent sushi?
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 16, 2013 Dr. Miyawaki from the RIKEN Brain Science Institute in Wako, Japan and colleagues have identified the first example of a muscle protein in Japanese freshwater eels (Anguilla japonica) that fluoresces under special circumstances that may lead to improved medical testing (photo above). The researchers have isolated the protein they named UnaG (after “unagi”, the term…
Environmentalists Must Face Down the Anti-Science in Their Own House
Posted by Mark on June 15, 2013 How can environmental groups and media outlets maintain that they are advocates of science, and not ideology, when they engage in the anti-science Luddism of GMO fearmongering? The potential of this anti-science behavior to poison their credibility on global climate change is real, as there is an obvious comparison between their flawed risk assessment on…
“Autism biomed” and the murder of Alex Spourdalakis
Posted by Orac on June 14, 2013 Sometimes, in the course of blogging, I come across a story that I don’t know what to make of. Sometimes, it’s a quack or a crank taking a seemingly science-based position. Sometimes it’s something out of the ordinary. Other times, it’s a story that’s just weird, such that I strongly suspect that something else is…
Alternative medicine: The bait and switch is working
Posted by Orac on June 13, 2013 For a long time, going back almost to the beginning of this blog eight and a half years ago, I’ve referred to the “bait and switch” of alternative medicine. What I mean by that is the manner in which advocates of alternative medicine—or, as they like to call it these days, “complementary and alternative medicine”…
How dogs may be able to help in the fight against cancer
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on June 13, 2013 Dr. Liz Phular and colleagues at the University of Minnesota have been testing an experimental cancer treatment for brain tumors in dogs that also offers hope to humans with brain tumors: KMSP-TV
