badscienceblogs

Hide Your Money With Cash Can And Be Prepared For Unexpected Emergencies

Grey — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 15:52:31 +0000

Damages awarded in the Poling case?

Left Brain/Right Brain — Fri, 03 Sep 2010 00:44:31 +0000

Stephen Hawking rules modern art is rubbish after all

pj — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 17:59:00 +0000

Bicycle chain clock

SciencePunk — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 15:55:28 +0000

I have a love of innovative clocks and this is no exception.

The catena wall clock was designed by Andreas Dober for anthologie quartett. Yours for just $2,338.

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Politicians, their babies & MMR

gimpy — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:18:38 +0000

The MMR vaccine, since it was wrongly and fraudulently associated with autism, has been a favourite of media scare stories concerning healthcare. A recent example was the Main on Sunday’s recent story linking a legitimate and successful claim for compensation following a possible injury caused by the vaccine to autism, despite this forming no part [...]

A reminder for neurodiversity

Left Brain/Right Brain — Thu, 02 Sep 2010 09:15:12 +0000

Stress, fighter pilots and medical students

draust — Tue, 31 Aug 2010 22:10:20 +0000

In which Dr Aust offers, instead of bad science, a rather meandering anecdote. Sorry. En route back to Britain last week from our rather damp annual holiday, I couldn’t help noticing all the media coverage of the 70th anniversary of the Battle of Britain. Like all children growing up in Britain in the 60s and [...]

MMR Settlement - too little, too late

Mike — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 23:05:25 +0000

Justice delayed is justice denied and for Robert Fletcher justice was denied for over seventeen years. He was 13 months old when he received his MMR vaccination. Ten days later he had a severe convulsion and went on to develop epilepsy and severe developmental delay. His mother, Jackie Fletcher told the Daily Mail, ‘Robert is [...]

Spam spam spam spam? and an apology

draust — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 22:14:04 +0000

Apologies for the long break in transmission. We headed off on our family Summer holiday on July 31st, to a place beyond the reach of broadband internet (yes, it is possible, even in Northern Europe – it is apparently all a matter of how many metres your dwelling place is away from the box where [...]

MMR vaccine damaged man

Left Brain/Right Brain — Mon, 30 Aug 2010 18:44:06 +0000

Theories: Splitting Linguistic Hairs and the Work of Anne Elk (Miss)

Jourdemayne — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 12:00:53 +0000

The work of Anne Elk (Miss), undoubtedly one of the overlooked intellectual giants of our age, serves to remind us of the importance of theories. And indeed, how anyone can hold one … ahem!

I cannot gainsay Miss Elk’s evident expertise in the area of paleantology since I know nothing of Brontonsauruses.

But I was fascinated to hear the ‘T’ word occur yet again in Richard Dawkins’ recent More4 documentary ‘Faith School Menace?’

Middle Age Spread

Tessera — Sun, 29 Aug 2010 09:58:16 +0000

Once again, there are stories in the press about the rise of Sexually Transmitted Infections (STIs) in young people (under 24), with half a million new cases in the UK in the last year, a rise of 3% from the 2008 figures. There's an excellent analysis of the data and the media response by Dr Petra Boynton who also deals adeptly with an ill-informed response to the data by a Tory MP.

Editing reality

apgaylard — Sat, 28 Aug 2010 15:38:33 +0000

See Helmut Roniger, an NHS homeopath and doctor, with quackademic Jenifer Jocobs spin the recent Cuban Leptospirosis paper to support a research agenda on homoprophylaxis for malaria, dengue and antibiotic-resistant bacterial infections.

The power of anecdotes

Ben Goldacre — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 23:01:58 +0000

Cedillo appeal denied

Left Brain/Right Brain — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 20:13:14 +0000

Emergent Chinese Omics at the University of Westminster

David Colquhoun — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 11:52:20 +0000

Systems biology is all the rage, No surprise then, to see the University of Westminster advertising a job for a systems biologist in the The Department of Molecular and Applied Biosciences. Well, no surprise there -until you read the small print. Much has been wriiten here about the University of Westminster, which remains the biggest [...]

Colourful psychoactive drug Venn

SciencePunk — Fri, 27 Aug 2010 09:29:53 +0000

I stumbled across this delightful psychoactive drug Venn diagram. Isn't it pretty?

[click to enlarge]

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Quick Q&A with APC study lead author

Left Brain/Right Brain — Thu, 26 Aug 2010 18:08:47 +0000

Amateaur astronomers discovery rotating pulsar using Arecibo

Casey — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 19:59:47 +0000

[2:07 begins the commentary by the discoverers] READ MORE

Risks of CAM Part One: Nocebo

jdc325 — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 18:30:10 +0000

Can misinformation make you believe you are ill? Can an inert treatment such as homeopathy have side-effects? Do alternative medicine practitioners act responsibly and attempt to prevent nocebo effects?

Infinite costs wouldn’t be Nice

Paul Wilson — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 14:47:00 +0000

Autism and learning disabilities connected to APC protein

Left Brain/Right Brain — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 09:22:27 +0000

How hard it is to see the mote in one?s own eye

majikthyse — Wed, 25 Aug 2010 07:31:06 +0000

The ability of people in a position of responsibility to be blind to biasses and canards never ceases to amaze me. On 4th June last the Royal Society of Medicine hosted a symposium on `Integrated Oncology’. This was originally a three-day event, organised jointly by the RSM and the Prince’s Foundation for Integrated Health, until [...]

Bad cycling: I’m the champion (but I’m not very fast)

Paul Wilson — Tue, 24 Aug 2010 11:28:00 +0000

Review of the Introduction of Age of Autism – the book.

Left Brain/Right Brain — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 10:30:54 +0000

‘A blaze of loyalty’: The illuminations of Georgian London

Lucy Inglis — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 09:33:49 +0000

Britain's only remaining illuminations (in the true sense) are in Blackpool, where they are associated with trams, tableaux and tackiness. But where did Blackpool, first lit up in 1879, get the idea for such a display? Georgian London of course.

We will support your foundations

Kev — Mon, 23 Aug 2010 07:24:33 +0000

LBRB on Facebook

Kev — Sun, 22 Aug 2010 08:23:26 +0000

Society of Homeopaths launch photography rights grab

Joe D — Sat, 21 Aug 2010 21:51:41 +0000

As a sometimes sort-of almost semi-professional photographer and a freelance mocker of bad marketing (enough plugs - ed), I have stumbled upon and mocked a great many photography rights grabs in recent years.

“Exams are getting easier”

Ben Goldacre — Fri, 20 Aug 2010 23:01:00 +0000

Eli Lilly halts two clinical trials of an experimental Alzheimer’s treatment

Left Brain/Right Brain — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 21:17:26 +0000

Patrick Holford On Cell Studies and Antioxidants

jdc325 — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 20:50:50 +0000

Here, Patrick Holford responds to a study that found “antioxidants suppressed DNA damage at low concentrations, but potentiated such damage at higher concentrations”. Holford told the Irish Independent that he “isn’t convinced” by the Cedars-Sinai study: “We don’t have the full study available yet and I think it’s significant that it is a cell study, [...]

Disturbances in certain genes play a role in autism

Left Brain/Right Brain — Thu, 19 Aug 2010 10:30:07 +0000

BLEACH: Chemistry v English (or “More Mineral Miracle Solution”)

Dr* T — Wed, 18 Aug 2010 07:40:00 +0000

Bad cycling: I get round in 27:45

Paul Wilson — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:47:00 +0000

“Dr” Nancy Malik is spamming my blog again…

Paul Wilson — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 11:09:00 +0000

The autism ‘epidemic’ no more

Left Brain/Right Brain — Tue, 17 Aug 2010 08:50:34 +0000

My Contribution to the Dundee Comedy Festival

andrew — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 22:27:56 +0000

NHS Scotland are advertising a job for a ’specialty doctor in homeopathy’, which pays up to £68,638. They are also letting go of hundreds of other staff who have actual jobs. Obviously this is fucking stupid, and so several bloggers have applied for it already, and obviously so have I. You can read their supporting [...]

Fluence and the Machine

jdc325 — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 17:08:02 +0000

Victorian Quackery - the magneto-electric therapy machine and other electrical curiosities.

Karol Sikora is a very confused man

gimpy — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 15:42:40 +0000

A few months ago I posted on the very silly views of Karol Sikora in commenting on the life expectancy of the Lockerbie bomber, Abdelbaset al-Megrahi. The words of Professor Sikora have apparently informed the US senators who are demanding an enquiry into the release of al-Megrahi. I was interested in finding out just how [...]

Amoeba to Zebra: pop songs about natural history

SciencePunk — Mon, 16 Aug 2010 09:23:44 +0000

Thanks to Elliot Reuben who points out that when it comes to singing about science, us Brits aren't being left behind. Behold Amoeba to Zebra, the educational music entertainment brainchild of Leeds-based pop rockers Being 747.

They say:

"As a band, we all share a fascination with the wonders of the natural world and the evolutionary processes that have shaped the flora and fauna of our planet. We decided to use our combined creative talents to do something truly worthwhile - to tell an incredible story that will stimulate the imagination of young people and leave a lasting impression"

Amoeba to Zebra are available to play at schools - see their website for details.

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Indie band sings about the solar system

SciencePunk — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 21:19:47 +0000

Michael Hearst of One Ring Zero writes:

I just did a Google search for "science blogs," and landed on your site. And the first thing I see is a picture of The Magnetic Fields, who are good friends of mine, and who I've toured with. Very strange. The reason I was searching for science blogs is because my band, One Ring Zero, is gearing up to release a new album on Sept. 7th ... our first studio album in 3 years. The theme and title for this one is PLANETS. The album is a sort of revisit to our solar system, as the 100th anniversary of Holst's The Planets approaches. Here's some more info on the project, complete with a blurb from Neil DeGrasse Tyson.

The album features guest performances by Mark Feldman (Masada), Hamilton Berry (Vampire Weekend), Curtis Hasselbring (Slavic Soul Party), and guest lyrics by Rick Moody (The Ice Storm). Here's the video to "Venus":

If you liked that, you can order the full album here.

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Food Allergies - Fact, Fiction and the Middle Class

Tessera — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 20:28:07 +0000

There are two common responses when the subject of food allergies comes up. The first, mostly but not entirely from older people, is "Stuff and nonsense. They didn't exist when I was young, we ate whatever was put in front of us. You don't see starving people in the third world with allergies". The second is: "I feel much better and have lost lots of weight since I stopped eating wheat. I know I'm allergic/intolerant because I sent my poo/blood/hair away to be analyzed".

I miss Ofquack so I?m applying for job as a homeopath

David Colquhoun — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:12:59 +0000

Having recently been fired from Ofquack, the Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council (CNHC). I found I was missing the constant dribble of double-speak, Then, as luck would have it, a friend emailed me to draw my attention to a lucrative job at Ninewells Hospital, Dundee. On August 11th I put out a tweet, just in [...]

The Fall of the Lifestyle Nutritionists?

jdc325 — Sun, 15 Aug 2010 14:20:56 +0000

Back in 2008, Ben Goldacre made a two part radio series called The Rise of the Lifestyle Nutritionists. It seems that the show may have been made at the peak of the modern lifestyle nutritionists’ popularity. I looked at Google Trends and the Google News archives to see how much exposure various lifestyle nutritionists received [...]

Give us the trial data

Ben Goldacre — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 23:40:00 +0000

Depression severity

pj — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:10:00 +0000

Friday the Thirteenth

Jourdemayne — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 14:22:05 +0000

“Some mathematicians believe that numbers were invented by human beings, others, equally competent, believe that numbers have a sufficiently independent existence of their own and are merely observed by sufficiently intelligent mortals”
E T Bell
The Magic of Numbers

‘The Magic of Numbers’ is still available today. Amazon bills it as:

“a stimulating account of the origins of mathematical thought and the development of numerical theory”

and

“… exploring the ways in which "number magic" has influenced the development of religion, philosophy, science and mathematics”

Pod Delusion: Miracle Mineral Solution

Dr* T — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 08:50:00 +0000

Here Is the News

apgaylard — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 19:21:42 +0000

The Faculty of Homeopathy's press release for Bracho et al's Leptospirosis paper deploys the usual PR techniques to sell a dangerous message: don't worry about the lack of medicine in the medicine, homeopathy works - now let's research its use on other infectious diseases.