Acupuncture fans, pay attention: this post can save you money – £120 to be exact.

The UK ACUPUNCTURE RESEARCH RESOURCE CENTRE (ARRC) is a specialist resource for acupuncture research information; the only such resource in the land. It is funded by the British Acupuncture Council (BAcC) and was established in 1994 by the BAcC in partnership with the Foundation for Research in Traditional Chinese Medicine.

The ARRC organise an annual […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture fans, pay attention: this post can save you money – £120 to be exact.

The German title of 'Doctor of Homeopathy' should be obsolete (because even the most rigorously regulated education in nonsense can only result in nonsense)

Homeopathy has always enjoyed a special status in Germany, its country of origin. Germans use homeopathy more often than the citizens of most other countries, they spend more money on it, and they even have elevated it to some kind of medical speciality. In 2003, the German medical profession re-considered the requirements for carrying the title of ‘Doctor of Homeopathy’. It was decided that only physicians who already were specialists in one medical field were allowed to be certified with this title after a post-graduate education and training programme of 6 months, or 100 hours of case studies under supervision plus 160 hours of course work. Many German physicians seem to find this rigorously regulated programme attractive, opted for it, and earn good money with it; the number of ‘doctors of homeopathy’ has risen from 2212 to 6712 between 1993 and 2009...

>>> The German title of 'Doctor of Homeopathy' should be obsolete (because even the most rigorously regulated education in nonsense can only result in nonsense)

Should we recommend acupuncture for pain relief? … WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Today, the BMJ published our ‘head to head‘ article on the above question. Dr Mike Cummings argues the pro-part, while Prof Asbjorn Horbjardsson and I argue against the notion.

The pro arguments essentially are the well-rehearsed points acupuncture-fans like to advance:

• Some guidelines do recommend acupuncture. 
• Sham acupuncture is not a valid comparator. 
• The largest […]

Read the rest here: Should we recommend acupuncture for pain relief? … WHAT DO YOU THINK?

Homeopathy works? … Yes, provided the trial has enough flaws to produce a false-positive result

Clinical trials are a most useful tool, but they can easily be abused. It is not difficult to misuse them in such a way that even the most useless treatment appears to be effective. Sadly, this sort of thing happens all too often in the realm of alternative medicine. Take for instance this recently published trial of homeopathy […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy works? … Yes, provided the trial has enough flaws to produce a false-positive result

Chiropractors do not seem to know (or ignore) the difference between research and promotion

Do chiropractors even know the difference between promotion and research?

Probably a rhetorical question.

Personally, I have seen them doing so much pseudo-research that I doubt they recognise the real thing, even if they fell over it.

Here is a recent example that stands for many, many more such ‘research’ projects (some of which have […] Read the rest here: Chiropractors do not seem to know (or ignore) the difference between research and promotion

Could/should homeopaths sue me for libel?

Yesterday, I saw a Tweet stating:

Homeopath in Cornwall specialising in Women’s Health #fertility #naturalconception #pcos #pms 

It was followed by a list of specific indications:

• Pregnancy 
• Infertility 
• PCOS 
• PMS 
• Fibroids 
• Depression 
• Anxiety and much more… 

I responded to this Tweet by tweeting: Homeopath in Cornwall specialising in misleading women

Minutes later I received a […] Read the rest here: Could/should homeopaths sue me for libel?

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #9

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

We’ve radically underestimated how vulnerable Americans are to flooding

New research claims that official estimates lowballed the risk by, uh, about a factor of three.

A giant nor’easter — incongruously named Winter Storm Riley, like some Brooklyn kid’s play date — is expected slam into New England coast today, bringing snow, rain, high tides, and damaging winds.

The Boston Globe reports that the National Weather Service has “high confidence” that the eastern coast of Massachusetts is going to experience “moderate to major flooding.” It has “moderate confidence” that heavy rains of two to three inches could cause urban and street flooding throughout southeastern Massachusetts, including Boston.

NWS Boston‏@NWSBoston

[HAZARDS] Updated. Coastal flood warning E MA, advisory S MA & RI; hurricane / storm force wind warnings for the waters; high wind warning & advisory across the interior; flood watch for E MA, RI & CT; winter storm warning for the high terrain ... Mainly Friday through Saturday

So it is somewhat ironic (if that’s the word) that this week also features the publication of a new paper in Environmental Research Letters showing that Americans are at far greater risk from flooding than official estimates reveal — as in, three times the risk.

We’ve radically underestimated how vulnerable Americans are to flooding by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 2, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Feb 25, 2018

• Could More Snow in Antarctica Slow Sea Level Rise? by Shannon Hall, Scientific American, Feb 23, 2018
• Dirty industry undermines push to curb global warming - ex-UN climate chief by Sophie Hares, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Feb 23, 2018
• Himalayas getting warmer, snowfall decreasing due to global warming by Mayank Aggarwal, LiveMint (India), Feb 24, 2018
• Some of the World's Biggest Lakes Are Drying Up. Here's Why. by Kenneth R Wiess, Natioanl Geographic, March 2018 Print Edition
• How To Debunk A Climate Change Skeptic by Rae Johnson, Gizmodo AU, Feb 22, 2018
• Fortified but still in peril, New Orleans braces for its future by John Schwartz & Mark Schleifstein, New York Times/NOLA.com, Feb 24, 2018
• Analysis: BP significantly upgrades its global outlook for wind and solar – again by Jocelyn Timperley, Feb 21, 2018
• Activists fuse together ecology, faith by Andy Stiny, The New Mexican, Feb 22, 2018

Mon Feb 26, 2018

• The terrifying phenomenon that is pushing species towards extinction by David Derbyshire, Climate Change, Observer/Guardian, Feb 25, 2018
• Montrealers won't leave their cars at home by Clothilde Goujard, National Observer, Feb 23, 2018
• Welcome to the Age of Climate Migration by Jeff Goodell, Rolling Stone, Feb 25, 2018
• Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund is almost empty. It shouldn’t be refilled by Ian A. MacKenzie. The Conversation AU, Feb 26, 2018
• Really extreme' global weather event leaves scientists aghast by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 26, 2018
• UN hopes Trump will "reconsider" exit from Paris deal - climate chief by Sophie Hares, Thomson Reuters Foundation, Feb 26, 2018
• A climate scientist talks—respectfully—to climate-change skeptics by Amy Frykholm, The Christian Century, Feb 26, 2018
• Anti-secrecy lawsuits soaring against Pruitt's EPA by Emily Holden, Energy & Environment, Politico, Feb 26, 2018

Tue Feb 27, 2018

• Climate change experts warn of risk to human life in coming years by Greg Russell, The National (Scotland), Feb 22, 2018
• Climate change: 70% of king penguins could ‘abruptly relocate or disappear’ by 2100 by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Feb 26, 2018
• The Complex Interface between the Public and Science by Cary Funk, Observations, Scientific American, Feb 26, 2018
• How to Overcome “Apocalypse Fatigue” Around Climate Change by Jill Suttie, Greater Good Magazine, Feb 23, 2018
• North Pole surges above freezing in the dead of winter, stunning scientists by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Feb 26, 2018
• Scientists have detected an acceleration in sea level rise by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Guardian, Feb 27, 2018
• Mangrove deforestation emits as much CO2 as Myanmar each year by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Feb 26, 2018
• Clean Energy Finance chief raises doubts about 'clean coal' solution by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 27, 2018

Wed Feb 28, 2018

• Arctic stronghold of world's seeds reaches one million mark by Helen Briggs, BBC News, Feb 26, 2018
• European Council approves carbon market reform by Robert-Jan Bartunek. Reuters, Feb 27, 2018
• After rising for 100 years, electricity demand is flat. Utilities are freaking out. by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Feb 27, 2018
• Arctic warmer than much of Europe is a worrying sign of climate change by Stuart Braun, Deutsche Welle (DW), Feb 27, 2018
• Arctic heat spasm caused by stratosphere warming has a southern cousin by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 28, 2018
• Deep Bore Into Antarctica Finds Freezing Ice, Not Melting as Expected by Douglas Fox, National Geographic, Feb 16, 2018
• Passionate Moms Take On Scott Pruitt, Air Pollution and Climate by Niina Heikkinen, ClimateWire/Scientific American, Feb 28, 2018
• Study: Climate Change Threatens Major Crops in California by Amel Ahmed, KQED Science, Feb 27, 2018

Thu Mar 1, 2018

• Why Build Kenya’s First Coal Plant? Hint: Think China by Somini Sengupta, Climate, New York Times, Feb 27, 2018
• Why scientists have modelled climate change right up to the year 2300 by Dmitry Yumashev, The Conversation UK, Feb 27, 2018
• After the 'sunrush': what comes next for solar power? by Adam Vaughn, Environment, Guardian, Feb 28, 2018
• Another 'bomb cyclone' — with a huge flood risk — is aiming for the Northeast by Jennifer Gray, CNN, Mar 1, 2018
• They're Here to Fix Climate Change! They’re College Republicans. by Robinson Meyer, The Atlantic, Feb 28, 2018
• Ancient carbon is coming from Arctic soil. It might be fine, but it might be terrible. by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Mar 1, 2018
• Companies are talking more about their climate-change risks, but it’s not much help to investors — so far by Ciara Linnane, MarketWatch, Mar 1, 2018
• Arctic warming: scientists alarmed by 'crazy' temperature rises by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Guardian, Feb 27, 2018

Fri Mar 2, 2018

• The scientists planning to get stuck in the ice to plug a climate gap by Peter Hannam, Environment, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 28, 2018
• Awaiting Day Zero: Cape Town Faces an Uncertain Water Future by Adam Welz, Yale Environment 360, Mar 1, 2018
• Washington State Is Set to Vote on a Carbon Tax. For the Governor, It’s a Gamble. by Coral Davenport, Climate, New York Times, Mar 1, 2018
• Once-in-a-generation flooding possible in Boston — for the second time this year by Matthew Cappucci, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Mar 1, 2018
• 'Bomb cyclone' forms as flood threat sparks 'LIFE & DEATH' warning by Faith Karimi & Joe Sterling, CNN, Mar 2, 2018
• Explainer: The polar vortex, climate change and the ‘Beast from the East’ by Robert McSweeney, Carbon Brief, Mar 1, 2018
• A dangerous nor’easter storm could bring record floods to Boston. Here’s how they work. by Brian Resnick, Science & Health, Vox, Mar 2, 2018
• The future of climate policy is being decided in the Pacific Northwest by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 1, 2018

Sat Mar 3, 2018

• OECD: Fossil fuel subsidies added up to at least $373bn in 2015 by Jocelyn Timperley, Carbon Brief, Feb 28. 2018
• Hydropower supply dries up with climate change by Irene Banos Ruiz, Deutsche Welle, Mar 1, 2018
• GOP Pushes 80 Anti-Environment Riders, Dark Money Rule Changes in Spending Bill by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Mar 2, 2018
• Slow-moving nor'easter kills 5, knocks out power in several states by Nicole Chavez, CNN, Mar 3, 2018
• What role did climate change play in this winter’s US freezes, heat, and drought? by Dana Nuccitelli & Doug Sinton, Citizens' Climate Lobby, Feb 26, 2018
• How America's clean coal dream unravelled by Sharon Kelly, Environment, Guardian, Mar 2, 2018
• Actions today will decide Antarctic ice sheet loss and sea level rise by Dana Nuccitelli, Cimate Consenus - the 97%, Guardian, Mar 1, 2018
• We’ve radically underestimated how vulnerable Americans are to flooding by David Roberts, Energy & Environment, Vox, Mar 2, 2018

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‘Functional Cranial Release’ = ‘kind’a like an orgasm’

A friend recently sent me the link to a video about ‘FUNCTIONAL CRANIAL RELEASE’ (well-worth watching, particularly, if you need cheering up) and when I heard a patient after the treatment exclaim: “kind’a like an orgasm”, I needed no further convincing; I just had to look into this extraordinary and little-known jewel of an alternative therapy.

If you watched the video, you might think FCR is simply pumping some air up your nostrils, but you are wrong: it is much more, and it is very scientific! […]

Read the rest here: ‘Functional Cranial Release’ = ‘kind’a like an orgasm’

My ‘ideological biases’ !?!

Yesterday, I received the following interesting tweet from my friend Natalie Grams:
Edzard, YOU are just influenced by ideological biases (they told me so yesterday – so it must be true;-) 
If I understand it correctly, Natalie was a guest in a public discussion about homeopathy somewhere in Austria during which my name must have […]

Read the rest here: My ‘ideological biases’ !?!

What chiropractors call ‘research’ often looks like promotion to me

The question whether spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) has any specific therapeutic effects is still open. This fact must irritate ardent chiropractors, and they therefore try everything to dispel our doubts. One way would be to demonstrate a dose-effect relationship between SMT and the clinical outcome. But, for several reasons, this is not an easy task.

This […]

Read the rest here: What chiropractors call ‘research’ often looks like promotion to me

Visceral osteopathy is implausible and does not work … SO, LET’S FORGET ABOUT IT ONCE AND FOR ALL

Lock 10 bright people into a room and tell them they will not be let out until they come up with the silliest idea in healthcare. It is not unlikely, I think, that they might come up with the concept of visceral osteopathy.

In case you wonder what visceral osteopathy (or visceral manipulation) is, one […]

Read the rest here: Visceral osteopathy is implausible and does not work … SO, LET’S FORGET ABOUT IT ONCE AND FOR ALL

Anthroposophic Medicinal Products (AMPs) are truly mysterious

The ‘European Scientific Cooperative on Anthroposophic Medicinal Products‘ claim that there is a need for a regulatory framework for anthroposophic medicinal products (AMPs) in Europe. The existing regulatory requirements for conventional medicinal products are not appropriate for AMPs. Special registration procedures exist in some countries for homeopathic products and in the European Union for herbal […]

Read the rest here: Anthroposophic Medicinal Products (AMPs) are truly mysterious

Random thoughts about the ‘LIES’ clinicians tell their patients

“MDs do not make false claims HAHAHA.”

This is from a comment I recently received on this blog.

It made me think. Yes, of course, MDs do not always reveal the full truth to their patients; sometimes they might even tell lies (in this post, I shall use the term ‘lies’ for any kind of […]

Read the rest here: Random thoughts about the ‘LIES’ clinicians tell their patients

No, Dr. Timothy Cunningham did not say that the flu vaccine caused this year’s epidemic, and other anti-vaccine lies

“Your News Wire” is a fake news site. It’s fake and it promotes fake news. That doesn’t stop them from spreading some very preposterous lies about many things, including the influenza vaccine. Most recently, they’re pushing the story that a scientist at CDC — who has gone missing since February 12 — said (not wrote, […]

Read more at: No, Dr. Timothy Cunningham did not say that the flu vaccine caused this year’s epidemic, and other anti-vaccine lies by Reuben

2018 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #8

A chronological listing of news articles posted on the Skeptical Science Facebook page during the past week. 

Editor's Pick

Seas Will Rise for 300 Years

And the longer it takes to reduce carbon emissions, the higher they will go

 

Credit: Erika Maldonado Flickr (CC BY 2.0)

It's a given of climate change that greenhouse gases emitted today will shape the world for future generations. But new research underscores just how long those effects will last.

A striking new study published yesterday in the journal Nature Communications suggests that sea-level rise—one of the biggest consequences of global warming—will still be happening 300 years from now, even if humans stop emitting greenhouse gases before the end of the current century.

What's more, the longer it takes to start reducing global emissions, the higher those future sea levels will be. The study suggests that for every additional five years it takes for emissions to peak and start falling—for instance, if emissions were to reach their maximum levels in the year 2030, as opposed to 2025—sea levels will rise an additional 8 inches by the year 2300.

Seas Will Rise for 300 Years by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 21, 2018

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Links posted on Facebook

Sun Feb 18, 2018

• Alaska's Bering Sea Lost a Third of Its Ice in Just 8 Days by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Feb 17, 2018
• Acidification could leave oceans ‘uninhabitable’ for cold-water corals by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Feb 12, 2018
• For Failing to Act on Climate Crisis, 13 Young Plaintiffs Just Sued the State of Washington by Andrea Germanos, Common Dreams, Feb 16, 2018
• We’re witnessing the fastest decline in Arctic sea ice in at least 1,500 years by Brian Resnick, Energy & Environment, Vox, Feb 16, 2018
• Small drones could be better for climate than delivery trucks, says study by Zeke Hausfather, Carbon Brief, Feb 13, 2018
• Trump’s Science Advisor, Age 31, Has a Political Science Degree by Scott Waldman, Climate Wire/Scientific American, Feb 14, 2018
• Denying climate change spells doom for Louisiana's coast, Opinion by Bob Marshall, NOLA, Feb 18, 2018
• Carbon emissions from Amazon wildfires could ‘counteract’ deforestation decline by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Feb 13, 2018

Mon Feb 19, 2018

• Salonga park sits on peatlands that scientists say could release massive quantities of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere if disturbed by Aaron Ross, Reuters, Feb 13, 2018
• Animals with white winter camouflage could struggle to adapt to climate change by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Feb 15, 2018
• Deforestation in the Peruvian Amazon dropped 13 percent in 2017 by Yvette Sierra Praeli, Mongabay, Feb 16, 2018
• The story behind the satellite that Trump wants dead, Opinion by John Timmer, Ars Technica, Feb 13, 2018
• OECD says energy taxes in developed economies too low to fight climate change by Nina Chestney, Reuters, Feb 14, 2018
• 'First hint' of a puzzling change in Southern Ocean revealed by CSIRO by Peter Hannam, Sydney Morning Herald, Feb 19, 2018
• Coal’s Continuing Decline, Opinion by Jeff Nesbitt, New York Times, Feb 19, 2018
• ‘It’s not fast enough. It’s not big enough. There’s not enough action.’ by Brady Dennis & Chris Mooney, Health Science, Washington Post, Feb 19, 2018

Tue Feb 20, 2018

• New research, February 5-11, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Feb 16, 2018
• Pollen data shows humans reversed natural global cooling by John Abraham, Climate Consensus - the 98%, Guardian, Feb 19, 2018
• Two Unusual Tropical Cyclones Affect Australia and New Zealand by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, Jan 19, 2018
• Greenwashed Timber: How Sustainable Forest Certification Has Failed by Richard Conniff, Yale Environment 360, Feb 20, 2018
• Scientists Can Connect with Skeptics over Shared Risks of Climate Change by Becky Ham, American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), Feb 18, 2018
• The next five years will shape sea level rise for the next 300, study says by Chris Mooney, Energy & Environment, Washington Post, Feb 20, 2018
• What climate change means for glaciers, storms, fires, clouds and more by Adam Voiland, Earth Right Now, NASA's Earth Observatory, Feb 20, 2018
• Sloppy and careless': courts call out Trump blitzkrieg on environmental rules by Oliver Milman, Environment, Guardian, Feb 20, 2018

Wed Feb 21, 2018

• Broome smashes annual rainfall record in less than two months as Cyclone Kelvin caps big wet by Rebecca Dollery, ABC News (AU), Feb 20, 2018
• Singapore Budget 2018: Singapore's carbon tax to start at S$5 a tonne by Andrea Soh, Energy & Commodities, The Busines Times, Feb 20, 2018
• Climate Rulebook Likely Done This Year, With or Without U.S. by Jonathan Tirone, Climate Changed, Bloomberg News, Feb 19, 2018
• Fluctuating Rainfall Could Hurt Grazing Regions by Daniel Cusick, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 20, 2018
• How Crushed Volcanic Rock in Farm Soil Could Help Slow Global Warming — and Boost Crops by Georgina Gustin, InsideClimate News, Feb 20, 2018
• Arctic temperatures soar 45 degrees above normal, flooded by extremely mild air on all sides by Jason Samenow, Capital Weather Gang, Washington Post, Feb 21, 2018
• Environmentalists Say They’re Averting Climate Disaster. Conservatives Say It’s Terrorism. by Alexander C. Kaufman, Environment, HuffPost, Feb 20, 2018
• Documents reveal UK push to water down EU biomass regulations by Arthur Neslen, Climate Home, Feb 21, 2018

Thu Feb 22, 2018

• Oilsands pollution on collision course with Canada's climate plan by Barry Saxifrage, National Observer, Feb 20, 2018
• 236 Mayors Urge EPA Not to Repeal U.S. Clean Power Plan by Sabrina Shankman, InsideClimate News, Feb 21, 2018
• How Six Americans Changed Their Minds About Global Warming by Livia Albeck-Ripka, Climate, New York Times, Feb 21, 2018
• East Coast Shatters Temperature Records, Offering Preview to a Warming World by Sabrina Shankman, Inside Climate News, Feb 21, 2018
• Standing Rock is everywhere: one year later by Chief Arvol Looking Horse, Climate Consensus - the 97%, Washington Post, Feb 22, 2018
• The evolution of a one-time climate 'skeptic' by Bud Ward, Yale Climate Connections, Feb 20, 2018
• The Facts About Trump’s Solar Tariffs – Who Gets Hurt? Who Gets Helped? by John Rogers, Union of Concerned Scientists, Feb 21, 2018
• Seven climate change myths that big oil continues to perpetuate by George Ferns, The Conversation UK, Feb 21, 2018

Fri Feb 23, 2018

• India in for harsh climate this year due to global warming, Hans India, Feb 22, 2018
• West Coast Wetlands Could Nearly Disappear in 100 Years by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 22, 2018
• New category 6 may be added to cyclone classifications due to climate change by Leith Huffadine, Environment, Stuff.Co.NZ, Feb 22, 2018
• Why countries with biggest renewable reserves will become superpowers of tomorrow by Andrew Barron, Environment, The Independent, Feb 21, 2018
• It’s a steamy 80 degrees in New England. In February. That’s bad. by Eric Holthaus, Grist, Feb 21, 2018
• We Can’t Engineer Our Way Out of Climate Change, Opinion by Mark Buchanan, Climate Change, Bloomberg News, Feb 22, 2018
• What Land Will Be Underwater in 20 Years? Figuring It Out Could Be Lucrative by Brad Plumer, Climate, New York Tiems, Feb 23, 2018
• Crazy floods hit the Midwest when hardly anyone was looking by Kate Yoder, Grist, Feb 23, 2018
• Keystone XL Pipeline Ruling: Trump Administration Must Release Documents by Georgina Gustin, Inside Climate News, Feb 22, 2018

Sat Feb 24, 2018

• New research, February 12-18, 2018 by Ari Jokimäki, Skeptical Science, Feb 23, 2018
• How ‘enhanced weathering’ could slow climate change and boost crop yields, Guest Post by David Beerling & Stephen Long, Carbon Brief, Feb 19, 2018
• Trump Takes Aim at Obama-Era Rules on Methane Leaks and Gas Flaring by Marianne Lavelle, InsideClimate News, Feb 23, 2018
• Could More Snow in Antarctica Slow Sea Level Rise? by Shannon Hall, Scientific American, Feb 23, 2018
• Seas Will Rise for 300 Years by Chelsea Harvey, E&E News/Scientific American, Feb 21, 2018
• Climate change could cause more severe droughts in ‘98% of European cities’ by Daisy Dunne, Carbon Brief, Feb 21, 2018

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