Ginger: 10,000 times more effective at killing cancer cells than conventional drugs?

After 25 years of full-time research into alternative medicine, I thought that I have seen it all. But I was wrong! Here is an article that surpasses every irresponsible stupidity I can remember. It is entitled ‘Ginger is the monumentally superior alternative to chemotherapy‘: Let’s say that your doctor has given you a cancer diagnosis. Let’s […]

Read the rest here: Ginger: 10,000 times more effective at killing cancer cells than conventional drugs?

Why is it important to tell the truth about homeopathy (or any other alternative medicine)

Many people seem to be amazed at my continued activities (e. g. blog, books, lectures, interviews) aimed at telling the truth about homeopathy and other alternative modalities. They ask themselves: why does he do it? And sometimes I ask myself the same question. I certainly don’t do it because I receive any money for my […]

Read the rest here: Why is it important to tell the truth about homeopathy (or any other alternative medicine)

American Loon #2110: Stephen Phelan

Oh yes, another fundie nutter. Stephen Phelan is the communications director for Human Life International, putatively “the largest international pro-life organization and missionary worldwide”, however they measured that. Of course, much of Phelan’s efforts go toward anti-abortion issues, but as...

Read the full lunacy: #2110: Stephen Phelan Encyclopedia of American Loons

The amazing story of a Brazilian cancer ‘cure’

I have just been in Sao Paulo to give a lecture at the opening of a new university institute, ‘Question of Science‘. Under the leadership of Natalia Pasternak, the institute will promote scepticism in Brazil, particularly in the area of alternative medicine. Brazil currently has no less than 29 types of alternative medicine paid for […]

Read the rest here: The amazing story of a Brazilian cancer ‘cure’

The end of homeopathy at the Medical School, University of Vienna

Professor Frass is well known to most people interested in homeopathy. He has also featured several times on this blog (see here, here and here). Frass has achieved what few homeopaths have: he has integrated homeopathy into a major medical school, the Medical School of the University of Vienna (my former faculty). In 2002, he […]

Read the rest here: The end of homeopathy at the Medical School, University of Vienna

American Loon #2109: Jesse Lee Peterson

Jesse Lee Peterson is a right-wing pundit, minister, author (e.g. SCAM: How the Black Leadership Exploits Black America), and media personality – host of The Jesse Lee Peterson Show and The Fallen State TV web series – as well as president and founder of BOND (Brotherhood Organization of a New...

Read the full lunacy: #2109: Jesse Lee Peterson Encyclopedia of American Loons

A new, comprehensive review: HOMEOPATHY = PLACEBO THERAPY

The primary objective of this paper was to assess the efficacy of homeopathy by systematically reviewing existing systematic reviews and meta-analyses and to systematically review trials on open-label placebo (OLP) treatments. A secondary objective was to understand whether homoeopathy as a whole may be considered as a placebo treatment. Electronic databases and previously published papers […]

Read the rest here: A new, comprehensive review: HOMEOPATHY = PLACEBO THERAPY

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #47

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... SkS in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Insights... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week...

Story of the Week...

Climate-heating greenhouse gases at record levels, says UN

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are far above pre-industrial levels

 

A power station in Poland close to the borders with Germany and the Czech Republic. Photograph: Florian Gaertner/Photothek/Getty Images 

The main greenhouse gas emissions driving climate change have all reached record levels, the UN’s meteorology experts have reported.

Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are now far above pre-industrial levels, with no sign of a reversal of the upward trend, a World Meteorological Organization report says.

“The last time the Earth experienced a comparable concentration of CO2 was 3-5m years ago, when the temperature was 2-3C warmer and sea level was 10-20 metres higher than now,” said the WMO secretary general, Petteri Taalas.

“The science is clear. Without rapid cuts in CO2 and other greenhouse gases, climate change will have increasingly destructive and irreversible impacts on life on Earth. The window of opportunity for action is almost closed.”

Levels of CO2 rose to a global average of 405.5 parts per million in the atmosphere in 2017 – almost 50% higher than before the industrial revolution.

Levels of methane, a potent greenhouse gas responsible for about 17% of global warming are now 2.5 times higher than pre-industrial times owing to emissions from cattle, rice paddies and leaks from oil and gas wells.

Nitrous oxide, which also warms the planet and destroys the Earth’s protective ozone layer, is now over 20% higher than pre-industrial levels. About 40% of N2O comes from human activities including soil degradation, fertiliser use and industry.

Climate-heating greenhouse gases at record levels, says UN by Damian Carrington, Environment, Guardian, Nov 22, 2018 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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SkS in the News

The origins of Skeptical Science and its rebuttals to the top 10 climate myth are the focus of the MNPR News article, How to talk climate change with skeptical relatives during the holidays by Cody Nelson & Paul Huttner.

In his New York Times article, It’s Cold Outside? Gather Around the Turkey and Argue About Climate Change, John Schwartz refers reader to Skeptical Science in the following paragraph:

If you must rebut, take a deep breath and excuse yourself for research. With the internet on our phones, a quick trip to the bathroom is like visiting the library, and sites like Skeptical Science and the denial response collection at Grist can be helpful.  

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Discussing climate change on the net (Baerbel)
• Why does CO2 cause the Greenhouse Effect?! (Adam Levy)
• New findings on ocean warming: 5 questions answered (Scott Denning)
• Global coal use may have peaked in 2014, says latest IEA World Energy Outlook (Simon Evans)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #48 (John Hartz)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Weekly Digest #48 (John Hartz)

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Climate Feedback Insights...

False claims of a coming ice age spread through ecosystem of unreliable news sites, blogs, and social media accounts

Figure – The network of outlets, blogs, and social media profiles who have shared and endorsed the claim that an imminent “mini ice age” would be coming based on a misinterpretation of the original article at Space Weather Archive. Dot sizes are proportional to the total number of shares and interactions on social media; arrows represent citations from an article/social media profile to its source.

Solar Minimum expected to cool the upper-atmosphere

Recently, a claim that we are heading towards a mini ice age has been popping up across the web. This was the subject of a widely discussed Metro article titled “A mini ice age could be on the way which means it will get very, very cold”. Similar claims that we would be heading towards an imminent “mini ice age” were also repeated without verification throughout a network of unreliable outlets for climate news including Sputnik, The Sun, Fox News, and numerous hyper-partisan blogs such as Zero Hedge, Principia Scientific, IceAgeNow, Alien-Star… (listed in the table below).

The stories claim to be based on a September 27th article at Space Weather Archive, in which NASA scientist Martin Mlynczak discusses the influence of current low solar activity on the Earth’s thermosphere—a layer of the atmosphere that begins about 65 miles above the surface. Mlynczak explained to Climate Feedback that headline claims of coming cold weather are “false”:

There is no relationship between the natural cycle of cooling and warming in the thermosphere and the weather/climate at Earth’s surface. NASA and other climate researchers continue to see a warming trend in the troposphere, the layer of atmosphere closest to Earth’s surface.

Update (22 Nov. 2018):
The Metro article has been updated following publication of our review. The author completely changed the title and the main claim of the article, making it clear that no mini ice age would be imminent. Read the details in our claim review: “Metro’s claims of coming “mini ice age” have no basis in reality

Update (23 Nov. 2018):
The Sun article has also been updated to clarify that the low temperatures would not influence the Earth’s climate. See details here.

False claims of a coming ice age spread through ecosystem of unreliable news sites, blogs, and social media accounts by Emmanuel M Vincent, Insights, Climate Feedback, Nov 21, 2018

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47 by John Hartz
• New research, November 12-18, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Did bombing during second world war cool global temperatures? by Alan Robock (Carbon Brief)
• The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change by Sarah Finnie Robinson (Boston University Institute for Sustainable Energy) 
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #46 by John Hartz

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Poster of the Week...

 

from Skeptical Science
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American Loon #2108: Dan & Steve Peters

Dan Peters (I think: there was also an older brother Jim sometimes involved in their side-show).I have no idea whether these guys are still around, and their influence has certainly waned over the last 35 or so years, but they are absolute legends of fundamentalist insanity, so we have to cover...

Read the full lunacy: #2108: Dan & Steve Peters Encyclopedia of American Loons

Acupuncture is said to improve the quality of life of migraineurs, but I am unconvinced

This systematic review was aimed at evaluating the effects of acupuncture on the quality of life of migraineurs.  Only randomized controlled trials that were published in Chinese and English were included. In total, 62 trials were included for the final analysis; 50 trials were from China, 3 from Brazil, 3 from Germany, 2 from Italy and […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture is said to improve the quality of life of migraineurs, but I am unconvinced

Dance the pain away; a simple way to help fibromyalgia patients

The American Dance Therapy Association defines Dance Movement Therapy as the psychotherapeutic use of movement to promote emotional, social, cognitive, and physical integration of the participant. Dance/movement therapy is: Focused on movement behavior as it emerges in the therapeutic relationship.  Expressive, communicative, and adaptive behaviors are all considered for group and individual treatment.  Body movement, […]

Read the rest here: Dance the pain away; a simple way to help fibromyalgia patients

American Loon #2107: Chuck Peters

Chuck Peters is one of the leading voices in the ex-gay movement and currently a “research assistant” with Christopher Doyle’s Voice of the Voiceless, a group that describes itself as “the only anti-defamation league for former homosexuals.” It is really an anti-gay organization, of...

Read the full lunacy: #2107: Chuck Peters Encyclopedia of American Loons

An interview with Rosi Sexton: polymath

Jump to follow-up On Sunday 23 September, we recorded an interview with Rosi Sexton. Ever since I got to know her, I’ve been impressed by her polymathy. She’s a musician, a mathematician and a champion athlete, and now an osteopath: certainly an unusual combination. You can read about her on her Wikipedia [...]

DC's Improbable Science: Truth, falsehood and evidence: investigations of dubious and dishonest science

Read the rest at: An interview with Rosi Sexton: polymath

TCM for cancer? No, I would not recommend it

I only recently came across this review; it was published a few years ago but is still highly relevant. It summarizes the evidence of controlled clinical studies of TCM for cancer. The authors searched all the controlled clinical studies of TCM therapies for all kinds of cancers published in Chinese in four main Chinese electronic […]

Read the rest here: TCM for cancer? No, I would not recommend it

Why do so many German doctors practise homeopathy?

The inventor of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, was a German physician. It is therefore not surprising that homeopathy quickly took hold in Germany. After its initial success, homeopathy’s history turned out to be a bit of a roller coaster. But only recently, a vocal and effective opposition has come to the fore (see my previous post). […]

Read the rest here: Why do so many German doctors practise homeopathy?

American Loon #2106: Scott Perry

More silliness in Congress. Scott Gordon Perry is, since 2013, the U.S Representative for Pennsylvania’s 4th congressional district, previously serving in the Pennsylvania House of Representatives for the 92nd district (2007–2013). Perry is a member of the Freedom Caucus. He is probably most famous...

Read the full lunacy: #2106: Scott Perry Encyclopedia of American Loons

Homeopathy: ‘Doctors sought for new infant colic remedy trial’

In the latest issue of ‘Simile’ (the Faculty of Homeopathy‘s newsletter), the following short article with the above title has been published. I took the liberty of copying it for you: Members of the Faculty of Homeopathy practising in the UK have the opportunity to take part in a trial of a new homeopathic remedy […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy: ‘Doctors sought for new infant colic remedy trial’

Medical ‘Euromyths’: the UK media have an awful lot to answer for

The UK media have often disappointed me when reporting about matters related to alternative medicine. Yet, this is ‘small fry’ compared to their coverage of the EU during the last decades. Here I have selected 50 (there are plenty more) headlines from a long list of ‘alternative truths’ and Euromyths of their invented or misleading […]

Read the rest here: Medical ‘Euromyths’: the UK media have an awful lot to answer for

American Loon #2105: David Perlmutter

David Perlmutter is a Florida-based celebrity doctor (neurologist) and author in the tradition of celebrity quacks and frauds like Dr. Oz (indeed, Perlmutter serves as medical advisor for The Dr. Oz Show), and is partially responsible for currently popular and myth-based gluten...

Read the full lunacy: #2105: David Perlmutter Encyclopedia of American Loons

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #46

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... SkS in the News... Photo of the Week... SkS Spotlights... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 

Story of the Week...

Scientists acknowledge key errors in study of how fast the oceans are warming

A major study claimed the oceans were warming much faster than previously thought. But researchers now say they can’t necessarily make that claim.

The sun sets over sea ice floating on the Victoria Strait along the Northwest Passage in the Canadian Arctic Archipelago during the summer of 2017. (AP Photo/David Goldman)

Scientists behind a major study that claimed the Earth’s oceans are warming faster than previously thought now say their work contained inadvertent errors that made their conclusions seem more certain than they actually are.

Two weeks after the high-profile study was published in the journal Nature, its authors have submitted corrections to the publication. The Scripps Institution of Oceanography, home to several of the researchers involved, also noted the problems in the scientists' work and corrected a news release on its website, which previously had asserted that the study detailed how the Earth’s oceans “have absorbed 60 percent more heat than previously thought.”

“Unfortunately, we made mistakes here,” said Ralph Keeling, a climate scientist at Scripps, who was a co-author of the study. “I think the main lesson is that you work as fast as you can to fix mistakes when you find them.”

Scientists acknowledge key errors in study of how fast the oceans are warming by Chris Mooney & Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Nov 14, 2018 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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SkS in the News

[To be added.]

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Photo of the Week...

In this aerial photo, a burned neighborhood is seen in Paradise, California on November 15, 2018. JOSH EDELSON / AFP / GETTY IMAGES

California Wildfires: Where Is the Climate Change Outrage? by Bruce Melton, Environment & Health, Truthout, Nov 17, 2018 

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SkS Highlights...

New weather app 'a quantum leap' for understanding extreme events

 

Dr Soderholm says extreme weather can be missed by instruments because weather radars could not see close to the ground.

New weather app 'a quantum leap' for understanding extreme events by Shelley Lloyd, Weather, ABC News (Australia), Nov 21, 2018

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• The Scientific Consensus on Climate Change (Sarah Finnie Robinson)
• Did bombing during second world war cool global temperatures? (Alan Robock)
• New findings on ocean warming: 5 questions answered (Scott Denning)
• Global coal use may have peaked in 2014, says latest IEA World Energy Outlook (Simon Evans)
• New research this week (Ari Jokimäki)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #47 (John Hartz)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #47 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #46 by John Hartz
• New research, November 5-11, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Katharine Hayhoe on Fossil Fuels, Global Weirding Video with Katharine Hayhoe  
• The many ways climate change worsens California wildfires by Dana Nuccitelli (Yale Climate Connections)
• Climate science comeback strategies: Al Gore said what? by Karin Kirk (Yale Climate Connections)
• What are the climate change consequences of the midterm elections? by Dana Nuccitelli (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #45 by John Hartz

from Skeptical Science
via IFTTT

Integrative Medicine: here is my slightly altered and much improved version

On this blog and elsewhere, I have repeatedly criticised the concepts of ‘integrative medicine’ (IM). But criticising is easy, improving would be better. Today, I want to re-visit and revise the idea of IM and propose the concept of a ‘reformed integrated medicine’ (RIM). Proponents of IM suggest that we should use ‘the best of […]

Read the rest here: Integrative Medicine: here is my slightly altered and much improved version

American Loon #2104: Tom Perkins

Tom Perkins is a rich venture capitalist and founding partner of Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers. Perkins is also delusional, and in a way that seems to have become rather common. In response to a Matthew Yglesias column, Perkins stated that “[w]riting from the epicenter of...

Read the full lunacy: #2104: Tom Perkins Encyclopedia of American Loons

A new survey of CAM-use (or is it a promotion for more nonsense on the NHS?)

A survey was commissioned in 2015 to obtain general population figures for practitioner-led CAM use in England, and to discover people’s views and experiences regarding access. Of 4862 adults surveyed, 766 (16%) had seen a CAM practitioner. People most commonly visited CAM practitioners for manual therapies (massage, osteopathy, chiropractic) and acupuncture, as well as yoga, […]

Read the rest here: A new survey of CAM-use (or is it a promotion for more nonsense on the NHS?)

American Loon #2103: Shelley Penney

The alkaline diet is a diet fad and type of nature woo that has recently gained quite a bit of popularity. The guiding idea is that altering your blood pH through diet change to make it more alkaline is a means to health benefits. As an idea, it is as stupid and insane as they come,...

Read the full lunacy: #2103: Shelley Penney Encyclopedia of American Loons

Trust me, I’m a doctor (but know little about dietary supplements)

The DAILY MAIL is by no means my favourite paper (see, for instance, here, here and here). This week, the Mail published another article which, I thought, is worth mentioning. The Mail apparently asked several UK doctors which dietary supplements they use for their own health (no mention of the number they had to approach […]

Read the rest here: Trust me, I’m a doctor (but know little about dietary supplements)

A birthday-card for Prince Charles on his 70th birthday

Today is Charles’ 70th birthday! On previous occasions, I have published a detailed review of Charles’ outstanding achievements in the realm of alternative medicine. For his 70th, I feel that something else is required. How about a personal birthday card? HAPPY BIRTHDAY YOUR ROYAL HIGHNESS! I know, it is not easy to become 70, but […]

Read the rest here: A birthday-card for Prince Charles on his 70th birthday

ACUPUNCTURE: journalists, be aware of your responsibility not to mislead the public

The public is often impressed by scenes shown on TV where surgeons in China operate patients apparently with no other anaesthesia than acupuncture. Such films have undoubtedly contributed significantly to the common belief that acupuncture cannot possibly be a placebo (every single time I give a public talk about acupuncture, the issue comes up, and […]

Read the rest here: ACUPUNCTURE: journalists, be aware of your responsibility not to mislead the public

American Loon #2102: John Pendleton

John Morris Pendleton is one of many creationists littering youtube and traveling around giving lectures to anti-science audiences. Pendleton is apparently a chemist scientist automotive technician with a BA in chemistry, though he likes to dress up in a lab coat to read the...

Read the full lunacy: #2102: John Pendleton Encyclopedia of American Loons

Massage or acupuncture for back pain?

Back pain is a huge problem: it affects many people, causes much suffering and leads to extraordinary high cost for all of us. Considering these facts, it would be excellent to identify a treatment that truly works. However, at present, we do not have found the ideal therapy; instead we have dozens of different approaches […]

Read the rest here: Massage or acupuncture for back pain?

The real danger of yoga!

I came across this article; it is neither new nor particularly scientific. Yet I believe it is sufficiently remarkable to alert you to it, quote a little from it, and hopefully make you chuckle a bit: The Vatican’s top exorcist has spoken out in condemnation of yoga … , branding [it] as “Satanic” acts that lead[s] […]

Read the rest here: The real danger of yoga!

American Loon #2101: Mike Pence

A.k.a. A disturbingly good reason to be hesitant about wanting President Trump impeached even if the opportunity were to arise. Mike Pence, the 48th Vice President of the US and formerly Governor of Indiana, radio show host and Represenative from Indiana’s 6th District, is a fundamentalist science...

Read the full lunacy: #2101: Mike Pence Encyclopedia of American Loons

American Loon #2100: John Peloza

John Peloza is – or at least was – a California high school teacher. Peloza is also a creationist, and very unhappy that lying about science while trying to manipulate public school students into adopting his religious beliefs is illegal in the US. (Peloza did for instance give a student a Bible...

Read the full lunacy: #2100: John Peloza Encyclopedia of American Loons

A new and despicable low for homeopathy

Yesterday was the 80th anniversary of the Kristallnacht, the infamous start of the Nazi holocaust. For Cristian Becker, a German PR man who is currently spending much of his time promoting homeopathy and attacking critics of homeopathy, it was the occasion to publish this tweet: I will try to translate it for you: Today, on […]

Read the rest here: A new and despicable low for homeopathy

Integrative oncology is based on wishful thinking and lies

The Clinic for Complementary Medicine and Diet in Oncology was opened, in collaboration with the oncology department, at the Hospital of Lucca (Italy) in 2013. It uses a range of alternative therapies aimed at reducing the adverse effects of conventional oncology treatments. Their latest paper presents the results of complementary medicine (CM) treatment targeted toward […]

Read the rest here: Integrative oncology is based on wishful thinking and lies

Boiron: why are they allowed to make false claims?

Boiron is the world’s largest manufacturer of homeopathic products. The 2016 sales figures of the company amounted to 614 489 000 Euro [http://quote.morningstar.com/stock-filing/Annual-Report/2016/12/31/t.aspx?t=XPAR:BOI&ft=&d=0aa104b35ccf3ccacc8053e9833f0bff]. Boiron has recently been very active promoting its products, not least on Twitter where I note about 10 of their promotional tweets every day. I saw the following tweet yesterday: Acidil temporarily relieves […]

Read the rest here: Boiron: why are they allowed to make false claims?

American Loon #2099: Meghan Pearson

Meghan Pearson is a reiki practitioner and wellness blogger who primarily writes about vegan food. Though perhaps not a big name on the quack scene, Pearson does have a bit of a profile, insofar as her rants have been published by the Huffington Post. An example is her post titled “My...

Read the full lunacy: #2099: Meghan Pearson Encyclopedia of American Loons

OSTEOPATHY – NOT ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE

This is an unusual post: it is by an osteopath who sent it to me for publication but insists he does not want to be named because he is still working in the profession. I think he has an interesting story to tell and therefore agreed to publishing his article, even though its author has […]

Read the rest here: OSTEOPATHY – NOT ALL IT’S CRACKED UP TO BE

Acupuncture: it is time to stop redundant, foolish, wasteful and unethical pseudo-science.

Acupuncture is a branch of alternative medicine where pseudo-science abounds. Here is yet another example of this deplorable phenomenon. This study was conducted to evaluate the efficacy of acupuncture in the management of primary dysmenorrhea. Sixty females aged 17-23 years were randomly assigned to either a study group or a control group. The study group […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture: it is time to stop redundant, foolish, wasteful and unethical pseudo-science.

American Loon #2098: John Pearrell

John Pearrell is pastor of Gateway Community Church in Covington, Georgia, which is affiliated with the Southern Baptist Convention. Pearrell is a young earth creationist, and has spent quite some efforts promoting his creationist views in letters to the editor of outlets like Rockdale...

Read the full lunacy: #2098: John Pearrell Encyclopedia of American Loons

Herbal medicines for the induction of labor? No, definitely not!

I regularly scan the new publications in alternative medicine hoping that I find some good quality research. And sometimes I do! In such happy moments, I write a post and make sure that I stress the high standard of a paper. Sadly, such events are rare. Usually, my searches locate a multitude of deplorably poor […]

Read the rest here: Herbal medicines for the induction of labor? No, definitely not!

American Loon #2097: Vinnie Paz

A.k.a. Vincenzo Luvineri (real name) Vincenzo Luvineri, or Vinnie Paz, formerly Ikon the Verbal Hologram, is an Italian American rapper for the hip hop group Jedi Mind Tricks (JMT) and frontman of the supergroup Army of the Pharaohs. JMT is primarily known for some pretty outspoken...

Read the full lunacy: #2097: Vinnie Paz Encyclopedia of American Loons

Universal Medicine follower's daughter hopes jury verdict stops 'dangerous cult' recruitment - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

A neuroscientist who tried in vain to claw back part of her mother's dying gift of $1.4 million to an unproven spiritual healer says she has been vindicated by a jury verdict that the breast cancer victim was exploited by a "socially dangerous cult"... Universal Medicine follower's daughter hopes jury verdict stops 'dangerous cult' recruitment - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Medlab - just a little prick | Plague of Mice

Now, of all the companies worldwide calling themselves Medlab – and they are legion – this appears to be the only one flogging an “at-home finger prick blood test”. My initial reaction was “live blood analysis scammers”. I was wrong.

It’s a completely different kind of scam... Medlab - just a little prick

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #44

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... SkS in the News... SkS Spotlights... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week...

Story of the Week...

Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming

A post-sunset swimmer at Moonlight Beach in Encinitas, Calif., this month. (Mike Blake/Reuters) 

The world’s oceans have been soaking up far more excess heat in recent decades than scientists realized, suggesting that Earth could be set to warm even faster than predicted in the years ahead, according to new research published Wednesday.

Over the past quarter-century, Earth’s oceans have retained 60 percent more heat each year than scientists previously had thought, said Laure Resplandy, a geoscientist at Princeton University who led the startling study published Wednesday in the journal Nature. The difference represents an enormous amount of additional energy, originating from the sun and trapped by Earth’s atmosphere — the yearly amount representing more than eight times the world’s annual energy consumption.

In the scientific realm, the new findings help resolve long-running doubts about the rate of the warming of the oceans before 2007, when reliable measurements from devices called “Argo floats” were put to use worldwide. Before that, differing types of temperature records — and an overall lack of them — contributed to murkiness about how quickly the oceans were heating up.

The higher-than-expected amount of heat in the oceans means more heat is being retained within Earth’s climate system each year, rather than escaping into space. In essence, more heat in the oceans signals that global warming is more advanced than scientists thought. 

Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming by Chris Moody & Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Oct 31, 2018 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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SkS in the News...

In his Op-ed, In praise of 'real' science, published in the Times Colonist (Victoria, BC), Geof Johnson wrote:

In the online journal Skeptical Science, John Cook, a research assistant professor at the Centre for Climate Change Communication at George Mason University, writes: “The assertion that humans are, one way or another, at the root of global warming is the position of the academies of science from 80 countries.” 

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Quote of the Week

 “We thought that we got away with not a lot of warming in both the ocean and the atmosphere for the amount of CO2 that we emitted,” said Resplandy, who published the work with experts from the Scripps Institution of Oceanography and several other institutions in the United States, China, France and Germany. “But we were wrong. The planet warmed more than we thought. It was hidden from us just because we didn’t sample it right. But it was there. It was in the ocean already.”

Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming by Chris Moody & Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Oct 31, 2018  

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SkS Spotlights...

Climate Action 100+ is a five-year initiative led by investors to engage systemically important greenhouse gas emitters and other companies across the global economy that have significant opportunities to drive the clean energy transition and help achieve the goals of the Paris Agreement. Investors are calling on companies to improve governance on climate change, curb emissions and strengthen climate-related financial disclosures.

Investor representatives from AustralianSuper, California Public Employees’ Retirement System (CalPERS), HSBC Global Asset Management, Ircantec and Manulife Asset Management have helped to lead the design and development of Climate Action 100+. The initiative is coordinated by five partner organisations: Asia Investor Group on Climate Change (AIGCC); Ceres; Investor Group on Climate Change (IGCC); Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change (IIGCC); and Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI). It builds on the successful investor engagement programmes coordinated by the partner organisations over a number of years. 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• How (not) to talk about climate change (Climate Adam)
• Climate sensitivity uncertainties leading to more concern (Greenman)
• Climate change science comeback strategies: 'In it for the money' (Karin Kirk)
• What the US midterm election means for climate change (Dana)
• New research this week (Ari)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #45 (John Hartz)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #45 (John Hartz)

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Climate Feedback Reviews

Washington Post accurately describes ocean warming study with potential implications for future carbon budget

Climate Feedback asked a team of scientists to analyze the article, Startling new research finds large buildup of heat in the oceans, suggesting a faster rate of global warming by Chris Moody & Brady Dennis, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Oct 31, 2018

Three scientists analyzed the article and estimate its overall scientific credibility to be 'high'.

A majority of reviewers tagged the article as: Accurate, Insightful, Sound reasoning.

Review Summary 

This article in The Washington Post covers a new study estimating the amount of heat energy that has accumulated in the ocean in recent decades. Such estimates have been limited because the most complete network of ocean temperatures did not exist until the 2000s. The new study uses an indirect method, instead relying on changes in atmospheric gases caused by warmer oceans. This method leads to a larger estimate of the ocean warming that resulted from human activities.

Scientists who reviewed the article found that it did a good job of describing the study, while noting that the study’s conclusions (and implications) require additional investigation. In particular, discussion among scientists has focused on clarifying what impact this study’s results have on our understanding of climate sensitivity (how much warming occurs from a given amount of greenhouse gas emissions) and, consequently, how much the world can emit before reaching 2 °C warming. 

Washington Post accurately describes ocean warming study with potential implications for future carbon budget, Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, Nov 3, 2018

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #44 by John Hartz
• New research, October 22-28, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki
• Climate impacts, Guest Post by And Then There's Physics (ATTP) 
• China's Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Riduna
• A eulogy to Guardian's Climate Consensus - the 97% by Dana1981
• Canada passed a carbon tax that will give most Canadians more money by Dana Nuccitelli (Climate Consensus - the 97%, environment, Guardian)
• 2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #43 by John Hartz

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Poster of the Week...

from Skeptical Science
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The Moral Outrage of the Anti-Vaccine Movement – VAXOPEDIA

It doesn’t take much to outrage folks these days.

It seems like there is always someone, someplace that is outraged about something.

Ironically, the latest faux outrage comes from anti-vaccine folks... The Moral Outrage of the Anti-Vaccine Movement – VAXOPEDIA

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The post is followed by a recommended reading list that would fill a small library, and it wouldn't be a bad thing if it did. Enjoy.

Woman Dies After Trusting “Black Salve” Fake Cancer Cure Over Real Medicine | David Gee

Cancer is a tough diagnosis for anyone, but recovery is even more difficult if you put your faith in dangerous and unproven “cures” instead of in modern medicine.

That’s what happened to one woman, who we will refer to simply as “Theresa.” She was diagnosed with cancer in early 2017 and, by the end of that year, she was applying a topical paste that eats away skin tissues... Woman Dies After Trusting “Black Salve” Fake Cancer Cure Over Real Medicine | David Gee

Warning: includes photos that may upset you. As they damn well should.

How to kill a few asthma patients with homeopathy

The ‘CANADIAN COLLEGE OF HOMEOPATHIC MEDICINE’ has posted an interesting announcement: Homeopathic Treatment of Asthma with Homeopath Kim Elia www.wholehealthnow.com/bios/kim-elia In asthma, bronchial narrowing results in coughing, wheezing, shortness of breath, and a sense of tightness in the chest. Traditional treatments, such as bronchodilator and steroidal inhalers, reasonably control the condition, but cure is elusive. Side effects […]

Read the rest here: How to kill a few asthma patients with homeopathy

American Loon #2096: Anne Paulk

Anne Paulk is the executive director of Restored Hope Network, an ex-gay ministry largely consisting of former members of the now defunct Exodus International. Paulk, who identifies as an ex-lesbian, has some rather confused ideas about homosexuality. Apparently, she has even, uh, written a...

Read the full lunacy: #2096: Anne Paulk Encyclopedia of American Loons

Medlab – just a little prick

Messing about on Twitter in between playing games as I waited fruitlessly for DHL to show up with an urgent package, may they rot in a cold rainy Hell with no available sustenance other than soggy supermarket sandwiches and Kia-Ora fruit drinks (9-5 only, closed on Sundays)… Hang on, I got distracted there. So, fuck DHL for wasting my entire day, but at least Twitter came up with some magnificent jiggeryfuckery from some Spawn of Shkreli. This lot, in fact: Now, of all the companies worldwide calling themselves Medlab – and they are legion – this appears to be the only one flogging an “at-home finger prick blood test”. My initial reaction was “live blood analysis scammers”. I was wrong. It’s a completely different kind of scam. You may have seen, at the pharmacy, DIY test kits for anything from pregnancy (fair enough) to hypothyroidism to a few pathologies that … Continue reading →

The post Medlab – just a little prick appeared first on Plague of Mice.

Bernard L. Ginsborg (1925 – 2018). A tribute.

Jump to follow-up If you are not a pharmacologist or physiologist, you may never have heard of Bernard Ginsborg. I first met him in 1960. He was a huge influence on me and a great friend. I’m publishing this here because the Physiological Society has published only a brief obituary. Bernard with his wife, Andy (Andrina). You [...]

DC's Improbable Science: Truth, falsehood and evidence: investigations of dubious and dishonest science

Read the rest at: Bernard L. Ginsborg (1925 – 2018). A tribute.

Chiropractic = the area of (bogus) healthcare where pseudo-research keeps on coming

On this blog, I have repeatedly discussed chiropractic research that, on closer examination, turns out to be some deplorable caricature of science. Today, I have another example of what I would call pseudo-research. This RCT compared short-term treatment (12 weeks) versus long-term management (36 weeks) of back and neck related disability in older adults using […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractic = the area of (bogus) healthcare where pseudo-research keeps on coming

American Loon #2095: Rand Paul

He probably needs no introduction, but Rand Paul is in any case the junior United States Senator from Kentucky, serving since 2011. Son of Ron, Rand Paul’s main qualification for an entry here is the fact that he is one of DC’s most prominent antivaccine apologists (after Congressman Bill...

Read the full lunacy: #2095: Rand Paul Encyclopedia of American Loons

Spain no longer tolerates quackery

According to the 2014 European Social Survey, Spain is relatively modest when it comes to using alternative therapies. While countries such as Austria, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Lithuania, Sweden and Switzerland all have 1-year prevalence figures of over 30%, Spain only boasts a meagre 17%. Yet, its opposition to bogus treatments has recently become acute. […]

Read the rest here: Spain no longer tolerates quackery