When I was working as a physician in the US, our Federal clinic’s policy was to order mammograms on all women starting at age 4o.
Why was this important? Because there is some indications that mammogram and early diagnosis increases the cure rate for breast cancer in young women.
This statement is not as obvious as you […]

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Quick. Name the most dangerous terrorist organization in the US, organizations that are responsible for  47 of the53 most destructive terrorist attacks in the US.
Muslims? No.
Right wing Militias? No.
The Christian fundamentalist types? No.
It’s the Animal rights extremists.
Via SecondhandsmokeBlog, quoting from the 7th Circuit Court of Appeals decision U.S. v Christianson:
… between 2000 and 2005, 43 […]

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A study among Chinese factory workers shows exposure to high doses of Bisphenol A at their jobs resulted in an increase of erectile dysfuntion.
Compared to the other workers, men with high BPA exposure were about four times as likely to report trouble achieving erections, about seven times as likely to say they had difficulty ejaculating, […]

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In science, there are all sorts of gossip that tweak the infallibility of scientists.
For example, the discovery of the “big bang” was postponed until they cleaned the antennae of Pigeon poop, and found it was the sky, not the poop, causing the hum of  the big bang.
And Penicillin may have been discovered because of carelessness […]

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In “Evolution’s Fatal Flaw”, a carefully researched and well written book, author Lawrence Wood sets out to validate two controversial and often debated claims:  that evolution is the proper explanation for our origins; and that evolution is all about the survival of the species, not as one might suppose, about the survival of the individual.  […]

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The over-hyped story of a new “HIV Vaccine” cause a lot of people working in public health to worry.
Every time these stories come out, there are laypeople who think: well, there will be a vaccine so I don’t have to change my behavior”, and voila, case numbers spike.
That is why the Department of Health here […]

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Geneticists, Other Scientists, Join Ranks of Darwin Dissenters
DNA Testing Not Helpful to Darwin Disciples
More at Odds with Darwin’s TOE

DNA model
The “end” of evolution as we know it?

With the advent of advanced DNA testing relating to the origin of humans, you’d think geneticists, biochemists, and other scientists, such as molecular biologists, bacteriologists, geophysicists, and microbiologists would […]

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Every once in awhile, the headlines will report another human death from bird flu.
This week, a small child in Egypt is being treated in hospital, making her the 58th case in that country since 2005.
Birdflu, of course, is a smouldering time bomb: so far, only isolated cases of animal to human infections, but so far […]

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There is a lot of stuff out there about a recent study comparing a regular low calorie diet with the low carbohydrate diet.
The conclusion?
Both work…it’s the amount of calories you eat that count.
But there are  lot of other interesting facts in the study.
I am using the original journal article, which alas is limited to those […]

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The esteemed British medical journal, the Lancet, has gotten a black eye in the news lately for articles that were poorly screened and were biased for political/personal reasons.
The first one is the 1998 study linking MMR vaccine with Autism.
This study has had devastating effects on three fronts: One, the terrible guilt by parents who are […]

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The “fake scientific study” of the day is the one that announced that four cups of coffee would make you see visions.
It got a lot of press, of course, with even the staid National Geographic reporting “Coffee may cause hallucinations”.
The UK press had a field day:
Three cups of brewed coffee a day ‘triples risk of […]

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Are we a step closer to a world without autism? The British newspaper, the Guardian had a lead feature written by Health Editor, Sarah Boseley on the new research by the Cambridge University Autism Research Centre. Professor Simon Baron Cohen and his team followed 235 children from birth to the age of eight. The study […]

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A team of Indian and German scientists have started a 70-day ocean expedition to find out if pouring iron powder into ocean can trap greenhouse gas, CO2 from atmosphere and can keep it long enough under water to make a difference in global warming situation, according to a report by Times of India.
The scientists leaving […]

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A New Zealand Families Commission report has revealed that New Zealanders often prefer turning to family and friends for help in preference to seeking support from professional counsellors when it comes to their relationships.
The study, titled Reaching Out: Who New Zealanders turn to for relationship support, spoke to 50 New Zealanders at in-depth level and asked them who they spoke to when it came […]

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Japanese whaling ships are currently being targeted by environmental activists aboard the Steve Irwin ship in Antarctic waters. The Japan Whaling Association (JWA) say they fear for the lives aboard the whaling vessel.
The activists group is called Sea Shepherd, and they are being filmed by Animal Planet on board the Steve Irwin for a show […]

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The FBI investigation of the 2001 anthrax mailings may well be the most extensive criminal investigation in world history. According to FBI, this investigation has determined that the Mailer was U.S. Government scientist Bruce Ivins, who committed suicide this July. But the evidence FBI has adduced is so embarrassingly weak that skepticism runs rampant among […]

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I read an article this morning entitled Workplace Bullying: Psychological Violence? This was well written and informative. It gave a few examples of recent stories shared that involved bullying growing up and how victims were still being affected by this trauma.
One thing I want to point out is that bullies do not “grow up” as […]

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There has been a low-grade terrorist war in the US that gets little attention, and the shadowy group has attacked again. Several cars have been firebombed, and an animal rights group is behind the attacks.
Don’t expect much publicity about the attacks, because the attackers are so called animal rights protesters, a group beloved of the […]

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The Killer Eggplants are coming…they should arrive in 2009.
I’m joking, of course.
But Science Daily News reports that scientists have developed a newer genetically modified eggplant, which is now in the testing phase and so far it has tested safe and nutritious.
If it passes the test, the new variety would allow farmers to grown eggplant without […]

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Really? You Think?
You know, there are some days when you just try and understand why some do not see what is right in front of their faces. I know, I know….not everyone is going to instinctively get that bullying (Peer Abuse) is a serious problem and that maybe those who engage in these behaviors are […]

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(London, UK) One of Britain’s leading entrepreneurs Dame Stephanie Shirley recently paid her first visit to the London Borough of Redbridge, to address an event in Woodford Green Essex organised by the autism charity, the UK Autism Foundation. Dame Stephanie (Steve) Shirley has campaigned tirelessly on autism. She is a well known philanthropist and has […]

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Autism campaigners from around the world congratulated President Elect Barack Obama for winning the race to the White House. This campaign was historic in many ways. It was the first time that Autism was mentioned specifically in a Presidential Debate and received a very high profile on the campaign trail. Barack Obama and John McCain […]

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In one of the weirdest science stories I’ve read in awhile, some scientists took an x ray using simple sticky tape (what in America is commonly called Scotch Tape).
Some kids are aware that if you unroll sticky tape in a dark room you sometimes see light emissions. But in the latest experiment in UCLA, scientists […]

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Last week the infamous “Ignoble Prize” went to scientists who studied how the crunch of potato chips improve their taste, investigated how income is related to the monthly cycles of lap dancers, and investigated how slime mold figures out how to solve Mazes.
But today’s actual genuine Nobel Prize in Chemistry was awarded to three scientists […]

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Well, a little late on the blogging but as they say “better late than never.” I tend to write about the articles and events that grab me right off the bat and at first this one did not. But as I did something thinking, I realized the value of the article and the fact that […]

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While the rest of us go about our daily business, maybe worrying about our mortgages, the elections or perhaps even global warming, the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) will conduct a multi-billion experiment that critics say could create a black hole right here on earth that will destroy the world.  Unless an urgent appeal […]

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One of the environmental stories that has worried some of us for years is again in the news.
There is a new report that worries about the Bisphenol A, a chemical used to harden plastics including that found in water bottles and baby bottles, was found to cause brain changes in baby monkeys.
The study was […]

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“The dad vs. stepdad debate is no mere academic question, but instead an issue which has serious ramifications in family law. Advocates of sole or primary custody for mothers often insist that children do fine with ‘father-figures’ instead of their fathers.”
My new co-authored column, Media Misreports Study: Stepdads Better than Dads? Not so Fast […]

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The Center for American Progress just released a report indicating that not enough is being done to protect the public from fraud on the Internet. It’s also warning that the convenience, choices and lower prices enjoyed by Internet users are at risk because of this.
They report reveals that high levels of fraud and abuse may […]

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U.S. organizations lose about 7 percent of their revenues to fraud, according to the Association of Certified Fraud Examiners. When compared to the projected U.S. Gross Domestic Product for 2008 — 7 percent equates to $994 billion.
In their just released Report to the Nation on Occupational Fraud and Abuse, the average case cost a business […]

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