News of the Week
How is your summer going? Spending any lazy days by the beach or at the pool? If so, you will want to peruse our article on the benefits and hazards of suntans, sunscreen, and artificial tans. Are you thinking you might like to lose a few pounds before appearing in a bathing suit? If so, be sure to read our nutrition article where we assess whether a high fiber diet, vegetables or the new policies suggested by Mayor Bloomberg will help. Or is it just too hot for you outside? If so, be sure to see our update on the climate science debate and how it impacted one unfortunate professor. Then again, maybe you just plan on staying inside and surfing the ‘net. If so, be sure to read up on the benefits and drawbacks of the new Macbook Pro and associated Applecare warranty.
Perhaps none of the above are part of your plans and you will find yourself with time on your hands. If so, AITSE can provide your summer entertainment needs, as well. If it is reading you prefer, Dr. Crocker has had an article, Pinocchio in College, accepted for publication by Teachers of Vision magazine. You can read it below. Alternatively, if you would like to hear a talk, Dr. Crocker will be presenting on the Bunk Detecting Principles at the American Scientific Affiliation meeting in San Diego on July 23 at 10:45 am and at McLean Bible Church in Northern Virginia on August 12 (other VA venues will be posted in the July newsletter). She also plans to be in Dallas, TX at the end of August. Is this too far for you to travel? Request that Dr. Crocker comes to your area. Or maybe you prefer to listen to the radio. If so, watch this space for an announcement of when you can hear Dr. Crocker’s recent and extensive radio interview.
We are so glad to be able to serve you by providing your summer entertainment and information needs with these monthly updates. But, that is not all we do! We also have an informative website with over 150 articles pertaining to integrity in science and medicine. In addition, if you “like” us on Facebook, you will receive daily science updates on your Facebook page. Or, if you would rather, you can get the same information on Twitter or Linked in. Have a happy, healthy, and informed summer!
So how’s your health been over the last couple of months? Did you get that nasty virus: coughing, fever, muscles aches, sore throat, runny nose and lethargy? If you are like me, most of the people in your family got it, too.
Since I have contacts all over the country, I noticed something odd/interesting. This “bug” seems to have hit our eastern, western and southern borders all at once (I don’t know about the north). Folks who visited their physician were often prescribed antibiotics, but since antibiotics do not affect viruses, the sufferers still took 7-10 days (or longer) to recover. None of the them were told that they have influenza. Neither were they tested for it. Why not?
According to the World Health Organization, the symptoms of flu are “high fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, severe malaise (feeling unwell), sore throat and runny nose.” Sound familiar? Since the “flu season” can last into May, why were none of the folks I spoke with tested for it? One could speculate that it might have been because at least 50% of those who got “the bug” had been vaccinated against influenza and it was assumed they could not have flu. And, for the others, it might have been that the quickest way to make them happy was to prescribe (unnecessary and ineffective) antibiotics.
One might then ask just how effective the influenza vaccine is. According to the CDC website, it is hard to determine how well the vaccine works. They estimate it protected about 60% of those vaccinated in 2010. Another site asserts that the flu shot keeps 30-40% of recipients from getting the flu, but keeps 80% of those vaccinated from actually dying of the flu.
But, it appears that many who had an illness that looks exactly like flu were never tested for, let alone diagnosed with, influenza. Is this a lack of integrity or just the inevitable consequence of medical professionals being fallible? Regardless of the reason for the oversight, it does throw suspicion on any statistics claiming flu vaccine efficacy.
Here at AITSE we will not tell you what to think. Rather our goal is to provide you with the information and resources to decide for yourselves. Meanwhile, please indulge my curiosity. Please take the five-question AITSE survey on your health this spring. The results will not be scientific, but they might be interesting.
Finally, we are so glad to be able to serve your needs by these monthly updates about good science, based on evidence, not mere consensus. But, that is not all we do! Let me encourage you to “like” us on Facebook to receive frequent science updates in a shorter (much shorter) format on your Facebook page. Or, if you would rather, you can get the same information in manageable bites by following me on Twitter or Linked in.
Well, we’ve made it through another winter. Spring is here: new leaves on the trees, new flowers blooming, and new contributors to the AITSE newsletters. Thanks to the tireless efforts of our communications officer Ted, contributions from you on the ground, and information from our consortium of experts, we have a newsletter full of accurate and interesting information. Read on to find out more about superweeds, depression, medical screening, genetic meltdown, and a dietary supplement that takes the cake for bunk science. Don’t forget to click on the links to get the full story!
Finally, have you done it yet? If not, let me encourage you to “like” us on
Facebook to receive frequent science updates in a shorter (much shorter) format on your Facebook page. Or, if you would rather, you can get the same information in manageable bites by following me on Twitter or Linked in.
AITSE: Your one stop source for information about integrity in science, cheating, nutrition, pharmaceutics, technology, evolution, alternative medicine, and other hot button issues in science.
John Woodmorappe wrote a nice review of Free to Think–only the first page is shown for copyright reasons.
But, if you would like to purchase the book, just go to http://freetothink.us!
For excellent communication through social media
Surveys, socials campaigns, and more surveys! You may wonder what is going on with AITSE. Well, we were offered the social campaign marketing and surveys as free trials for two months. Seemed like a great opportunity to find out how we can do better and spread the news about what we are doing well–at no cost to you!
Thank you to all of you who have given us invaluable feedback. The newsletter has been improved, as you can see. We are working on the website–check out our new “Articles” pages, the changes under News of the Week, and our new contact page. You may notice that some links do not connect to anything, but remember this is a work in progress! More about your thoughts on the website next month.
Next, you may remember that last month we advertised for an AITSE communications officer. We now have one. Thanks Ted! You can look forward to seeing a lot more input from the AITSE Consortium in the near future. And remember, if there is a topic relevant to integrity in science that you would like to have us research, just let us know.
Finally, if you have not already done so, let me encourage you to “like” us on Facebook to receive frequent science updates in a shorter (much shorter) format on your Facebook page. Or, if you would rather, you can get the same information in manageable bites by following me on Twitter or Linked in.
AITSE: Your one stop source for information about integrity in science, cheating, nutrition, pharmaceutics, technology, evolution, alternative medicine, and other hot button issues in science.
AITSE provides daily news updates in a variety of formats.
Go to the AITSE Facebook page and click on “like” under the title to get daily news about good science, based on evidence, not mere consensus, posted to your Facebook page.
These same news updates can be accessed through Twitter, if you prefer.
Finally, for more detailed analysis of recent news and other topics of importance to integrity in science, sign up for the monthly AITSE email newsletter.
