Medicine
Clinging tightly
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 7, 2013 Live Science posted a story recently on the sticking power of clingfish. Northern clingfish, like the one shown in the image above, live in turbulent waters off the Pacific Coast of North America. In order to cling to surfaces, the animals have what are called adhesion discs on their bellies that they use to hold…
A young antivaccine propagandist plans to teach his mad skillz to other antivaccinationists
Posted by Orac on May 7, 2013 As hard as it might be to believe, one time over 20 years ago I actually took the Dale Carnegie course and, as part of that course, read his famous book How To Win Friends and Influence People. I know, I know. It’s probably not obvious from my style of writing on this particular blog,…
Deregulating stem cell quackery in Italy? A bad omen.
Posted by Orac on May 6, 2013 Stem cells are magical, mystical things that can’t be explained. At least, if you listen to what docs and “practitioners” who run stem cell clinics in various parts of the world, usually where regulation is lax and money from First World clientele is much sought after, that’s what you could easily come to believe. Unfortunately,…
Newborn screening: One of public health’s greatest achievements celebrates 50 years and thousands of lives saved
Posted by The Pump Handle on May 3, 2013 On Feb. 13, 2012, Honey Stecken gave birth to her daughter Maren. Everything appeared perfectly fine — she ate and slept and did all the things a baby does. Even after a couple weeks at home in South Fork. Colo., with her newborn little girl, nothing seemed out of the ordinary.
Politics versus scientific peer review
Posted by Orac on May 3, 2013 In the United States, the federal government has long had a prominent role in funding science research. Be it the $30 billion a year or so that funds the National Institutes of Health or the $5 or $6 billion a year allotted to the National Science Foundation, the government funds a lot of basic and…
Wallace, the often forgotten co-discoverer of evolution
Posted by Dr. Dolittle on May 2, 2013 Darwin is the more famous of the two when it comes to thinking about who came up with the theory of evolution. However, a man named Alfred Russel Wallace co-discovered the theory. Alfred Wallace died 100 years ago. In honor of his contribution to the theory of evolution, NPR ran a wonderful story about him…
Fighting back against animal rights extremists
Posted by Orac on May 2, 2013 Here we go again. One of the greatest threats to biomedical research, in the U.S. at least, is the truly crappy research funding environment, a situation that hasn’t been this bad for at least 20 years. Labs are closing; investigators are giving up; and fewer of our young best and brightest are interested in a…
AutismOne 2013: A quackfest just as quacky as ever
Posted by Orac on May 1, 2013 Well, April is over, which means that Autism Awareness Month is almost over. While antivaccinationists are saying goodbye to April and whining about the very concept of “autism awareness,” I can’t help but realize that the autism quackfest known as AutismOne is less than a month away. Yes, every year around Memorial Day weekend, the…
Flavored java, coffee bean workers, and deadly lung disease
Posted by Celeste Monforton, DrPH, MPH of George Washington University School of Public Health & Health Services on April 30, 2013 This week’s MMWR describes cases of bronchiolitis obliterans diagnosed in two individuals who worked— not at a microwave popcorn plant—-at a Texas coffee bean processing company.
Eric Merola and Stanislaw Burzynski’s secret weapon against The Skeptics™: Fabio Lanzoni (I kid you not)
Posted by Orac on April 30, 2013 So now we know. Back when it was announced that the second Burzynski movie by Eric Merola would be screened at the Newport Beach Film Festival on April 27, Merola announced that there would be a “special celebrity guest.” Those of us who have been following Burzynski for a while scratched our heads, not knowing…
