badscienceblogs

Aggregating the best of the blogs on science and pseudoscience

May 12, 2008

Embryos and Parlaiment - Part One

consider, evaluate, act by teekblog

My thanks first and foremost to Ben Goldacre for advertising the second reading of the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill in the House of Commons. And more importantly, my thanks to Evan Harris MP and his team for organising a demonstration of support on the lawns across from Parliament House, ...read more>>

Briefly: An Example Of Why We Need An Ethical Language of Bullshit

jdc325's Weblog by jdc325

In September last year, blogger Nicholas Marsh posted an article discussing the need for a Language of Bullshit and I was reminded of this at the weekend when reading a comment from a poster on the Hpathy forum. In response to a statement to the effect that “homeopathy is an elaborate placebo ...read more>>

May 11, 2008

How to remove the RFID chip from an Oyster card

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

Kudos to Chris Woebken and Skeptobot for laying the groundwork. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1BT6MU3gH80 read more>>

I should certainly be mobbed

jdc325's Weblog by jdc325

I was reading a book on Porton Down called From Biological Warfare to Healthcare when I came across a letter written by Sir Paul Gordon Fildes (OBE, MB, Hon. ScD Cantab, Reading, FRS). Fildes was head of the Biology Department from 1940-1946 and according to the book Fildes’s team at ...read more>>

May 10, 2008

Mad Nad

Pyjamas in Bananas by pj

Via Hawk/Handsaw, Nadine Dorries shares her unique perspective on the BMJ study of survival rates in preterm infants: "No improvement in neo-natal care in twelve years? Really? So where has all the money that has been pumped into neo-natal services gon... read more>>

TED Sunday #004: Brian Cox on the LHC

SkeptoBot by Lave

After a short break, this week we've got Brian Cox talking about the LHC. Mainly to tie in with this post, and so wind up this guy up a little.Brian Cox was in D:ream, but has managed to get past that mistake, and it's left him rather media savvy, whi... read more>>

May 9, 2008

The Embryo Research Bill (and a little bit about Murphy-O’Connor’s ‘Evil Atheists’ Comments)

jdc325's Weblog by jdc325

On Monday, there will be a show of support for the Embryo Research Bill outside Parliament. There are concerns that sense may not prevail and the Bill may be defeated by religious objectors. The likely reason for these concerns is the fuss being made in the press by people such as ...read more>>

The futility of transcendental speculations

What the hell is this? by What the hell is this?

Lionel Milgrom's latest paper, “A New Geometrical Description of Entanglement and the Curative Homeopathic Process” [1], as introduced by Alex Hankey (“Self-Consistent Theories of Health and Healing” [2]) quotes Hahnemann saying that “The unprejudiced observer is well aware ...read more>>

Project Ladybird Update: borked!

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

Update on Project Ladybird: Having retrieved an intact chip from the body of a London Transport Oyster card, I set about repairing the damage I’d done to it. Skeptobot used a milder solution of acetone and was able to extract the chip and aerial in one piece. I’ll ...read more>>

Yes, but what about the evidence? Nadine Dorries and the BMJ

Hawk/Handsaw by Paul Wilson

This morning my Grauniad was carrying a story about new research, published in the BMJ, that suggests survival rates for ...

May 8, 2008

BBC Breakfast Promises to do Better

A canna’ change the laws of physics by apgaylard

The BBC's Editiorial Complaints Unit (ECU) has just published its final ruling on two complaints I made last year. ...

Experts: hired lackeys - & moon made of cream cheese.

Dr Aust's Spleen by draust

It is a bit of a tough gig being an “expert” these days. Not so much in what I do, of ...

Time-lapse Vid of Dissolving an Oyster Card in acetone (aka nail varnish)

SkeptoBot by Lave

Disclaimer: Just to cover my back, be aware that TFL probably won't like you doing this. So get permission first ...

May 7, 2008

Polypills or Vitamins for Homocysteine and Cardiovascular Risks: the Hype is Ahead of the Evidence

Holford Watch: Patrick Holford, nutritionism and bad science by dvnutrix

There is renewed interest in the benefits of polypills for the over-55s. The claims is that each of the proposed ...

How to become a Daytime TV Expert: The Jayney Goddard Story

the quackometer by Le Canard Noir

Professor Jayney Goddard is the president of the Complementary Medical Association (CMA), "the world's largest professional membership body for complementary ...

An Admission About Homeopathy

Letting Off Steam by jaycueaitch

I watched the “Wright Stuff” deabate about homeopathy on Channel 5 this morning while waiting for a gas engineer to turn ...

CERN has impeccable comedic taste: Chris Morris, Kevin Eldon and Simon Munnary

SkeptoBot by Lave

So the people at CERN have been inviting the best comedians in the UK to come and have a look ...

May 6, 2008

Project Ladybird is go!

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

For a long time now, unbeknownst to all but a few select friends, I have been planning a project of ...

Ant Farm Update #1

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

Some readers may recall that a while ago I received a much-celebrated ant farm for my birthday. Well, now ...

Neals Yard get gentle slap from MHRA for peddling life-endangering sugar pills

Thinking Is Dangerous by Dr* T

And so the saga continues..... To recap briefly, BBC SouthWest's program Inside Out questioned whether Neals Yard should be selling ...

Neal’s Yard Remedies ‘rapped by medicines regulator’

the quackometer by Le Canard Noir

In a recent post, I described how Neal's Yard Remedies had withdrawn their Malaria homeopathy pills. Their press release said, as ...

Patrick Holford and How Super Water Reduces Acidity in the Blood

Holford Watch: Patrick Holford, nutritionism and bad science by dvnutrix

Visiting Professor Patrick Holford of Teesside University and Head of Science and Education at Biocare has some odd beliefs about ...

Statistics of a lonely heart

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

I was browsing idly through the lonely hearts column on my daily commute yesterday, when I stumbled across an acronym ...

May 5, 2008

Daily Mail madness: “Attack of the killer ravens”

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

Today’s choke-on-your-cornflakes story of stupidity from the Daily Mail is a report on flocks of killer ravens that are attacking ...

May 4, 2008

Miracle Gro’s nonsense organic advert

SciencePunk by Frank the SciencePunk

Spotted today as I was lazing in front of the TV: this bullshit advert from fertiliser makers Miracle Gro. ...

Kirsch et al reply again

Pyjamas in Bananas by pj

Huedo-Medina, Johnson, and Kirsch have submitted a further response on PLOS Medicine in reply to further comments by myself and ...

Amateur psephology

Pyjamas in Bananas by pj

Something that always annoys me about election coverage is the amazingly unsophisticated interpretation of the resulting statistics. For instance, in ...

May 3, 2008

Prominent member of Alliance of Registered Homeopaths says “Conventional drugs are something to avoid - at all costs.”

gimpy's blog by gimpy

The Alliance of Registered Homeopaths (ARH) are one of the bodies purporting to regulate homeopaths and protect the public. ...

Oh dear god

Pyjamas in Bananas by pj

Just think how many Tories there are who, while I wouldn't vote for them, would at least be competent to ...

May 2, 2008

The Dawkins Delusion - Introduction

jdc325's Weblog by jdc325

Alister and Joanna Collicut McGrath wrote The Dawkins Delusion in 2007 and I’ve just borrowed a copy from my library. ...

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