Sep

Science Quickie: Advances in Science Via Null Findings

Andrew Bernardin on September 27th, 2011

One might say that science progresses toward truth by chipping away at falsehood. At least in part. It's hit and misses, with the "misses," too, bringing important insights.

That is why null study results are important. They tell us something important. But they aren't as colorful and fun as the positive variety of results, so they get overlooked. It's a shame.

A fine example of advance by subtraction is stated outright in the recent science news headline:

Chronic Fatigue Syndrome Not Related to XMRV Retrovirus, Comprehensive Study Finds

No, the research did not discover what chronic fatigue syndrome IS related to. Rather, it chipped away an ISN'T. Which is progress.

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Jun

Science Quickie: Un Upside to Yo-Yo Dieting?

Andrew Bernardin on June 14th, 2011

The already established bad news: On-again, off-again dieting doesn't get you anywhere, it terms of long-term weight loss. Some studies have also suggested it may be bad for your health. But maybe it isn't. Or if it is, the risk of bad may be counterbalanced by potential good.

What good could come from so-called yo-yo dieting? Lower blood glucose levels and longer life. From the ScienceDaily news release:

Mice that switched between a high-fat and low-fat diet every four weeks during their approximate two-year lifespan lived about 25 percent longer and had better blood glucose levels than obese animals that ate a high-fat diet. The yo-yo dieters also lived about as long as a control group of mice steadily fed a low-fat diet.

Of course, we must highlight that the research was conducted on mice. Follow-up studies on humans will provide better information.

In the meantime, I suggest keeping in mind that many things deemed "bad for you" may not be all bad. For the research establishing it's badness was likely limited to one or a few 'dependent' variables. Human health is complex.

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Mar

ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE

Andrew Bernardin on March 12th, 2011

recycle-2

[recycled material - first appeared here as "My Doubt-Meter Comes Alive"]

ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE, Many skeptics will -- inadvertently perhaps -- portray the world as if there are but two classes claims: scientific on one hand and on the other pseudoscience and superstition and total bunk of many varieties. Yet there exists more of a range, canada, mexico, india. Where can i find Prograf online, On one extreme: rock-solid science; on the other extreme: the rantings of certifiable lunatics. Most of what we encounter, online buying Prograf hcl, Order Prograf from mexican pharmacy, however, lies in the vast middle, where can i buy cheapest Prograf online. Prograf gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, To my understanding, the things that influence where in the range a claim belongs include the quantity and quality of data the claim is based upon and the legitimacy of reasoning employed and the judiciousness of the conclusion.

As a skeptic I do not have two lights in my head: a green one for science and the stuff I like, Prograf samples, Australia, uk, us, usa, a red for everything else. Instead, I have an active doubt meter, ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE. Most stuff I read -- even science -- will cause the meter to twitch, Prograf trusted pharmacy reviews. Buy Prograf from mexico, Other material makes the needle sway wildly. As did the science described with this title and attached article:

Science Suggests Access To Nature Is Essential To Human Health

My immediate reaction was, Prograf for sale, Where to buy Prograf, Sure, air and water and plant-based foodstuffs are all essential to our health, buy Prograf online no prescription. Where can i buy Prograf online, But then I began to wonder about the variables expressed in the title. Nature ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE, - that's one huge variable. Human health - broad also, buy cheap Prograf no rx. Order Prograf online overnight delivery no prescription, And the alleged relation between them - essential. What constitutes "essential"?

Would the article body clarify and convince me, buy Prograf without a prescription. Order Prograf no prescription, Sadly not. It caused my doubt-meter to come alive.

What I found was a hodge-podge of claims backed by mere surveys and statistical seek-and-finds, ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE. Do any of the following claims cause your doubt-meter to twitch?

Elderly adults tend to live longer if their homes are near a park or other green space, purchase Prograf online no prescription, Comprar en línea Prograf, comprar Prograf baratos, regardless of their social or economic status.

No data provided.

Children with ADHD have fewer symptoms after outdoor activities in lush environments. Residents of public housing complexes report better family interactions when they live near trees.

Ditto.

While I am a true tree-hugger in my values, buying Prograf online over the counter, Order Prograf online c.o.d, and I greatly enjoy walking among trees and watching for birds and other wildlife, I don't believe trees have magical powers, Prograf price, coupon. Buy Prograf without prescription, Yes, they help purify the air and filter rainwater, where can i order Prograf without prescription, Buy generic Prograf, etc. They do real things in the real world, Prograf over the counter. ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE, A more scientific attitude would, in the least, point to how the trees are essential to health.

Humans living in landscapes that lack trees or other natural features undergo patterns of social, psychological and physical breakdown that are strikingly similar to those observed in other animals that have been deprived of their natural habitat.

My meter nearly red-lined with that extreme and extremely broad claim. Order Prograf from United States pharmacy, Do people who live their entire lives in New York City far from Central Park go mentally berserk and die before they hit 50 in any greater numbers than those in Backwoods USA?

In animals what you see is increases in aggression, you see disrupted parenting patterns, online buy Prograf without a prescription, Rx free Prograf, their social hierarchies are disrupted.

Considerable research has found that violence and aggression are highest in urban settings devoid of trees and grass, for example.

I hope those studies controlled for such things as population density and a host of other potentially important variables, where to buy Prograf. Where can i order Prograf without prescription, And one very important question is, once again, purchase Prograf online, Buy Prograf without prescription, how trees and grass limit aggression. Do you climb the trees and smoke some grass, where can i find Prograf online. Please, at least propose some sort of plausible mechanism underlying the influence.

Roughly 7 percent of the variation in crime that can’t be accounted for by other factors can be accounted for by the amount of trees.

Huh. That conclusion looks like it could be the result of an exercise I like to call "fun with numbers." Give those trees badges.

Kuo has seen such psychological effects in children with ADHD, ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE. In a 2001 study, she and her colleagues asked parents of children with ADHD which after-school activities worsened – and which soothed – their children’s symptoms. The parents consistently reported that outdoor activities in natural settings lessened their children’s ADHD symptoms more than activities conducted indoors, or in built environments outdoors.

My meter red-lined so bad reading that paragraph I heard it collide with the limiting pin. Bad quality data. Very bad. ONLINE Prograf FOR SALE, Ask parents if they observe sugar consumption making their kids hyper and they will report that indeed it does. But it doesn't. Better quality data has revealed that. [For more on this, check out my recent post: How Bogus Beliefs Persist (II): Kids Go Coo-coo After Ingesting Sucrose.]

Gads. So, you tell me: Is the above science or is it complete bunk. My answer: neither. While it is scientific in a small way, it sure ain't solid. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go hug a tree. I wonder if that's good for my love life, too.

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Jan

ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE

Andrew Bernardin on January 21st, 2011

ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE, Was I wrong. Yerba Diet from canadian pharmacy, In previous posts (at my old blog) I expressed doubt that cell phones cause cancer. Why, where can i buy Yerba Diet online. Buy cheap Yerba Diet, First, the plausibility of influence is low, purchase Yerba Diet online no prescription, Kjøpe Yerba Diet på nett, köpa Yerba Diet online, as I understand the physics and biology involved. It seems that while the microwaves emitted by wireless phones can cause molecules to jiggle (as in microwave food-heater-uppers), where can i find Yerba Diet online, Buy Yerba Diet from mexico, they are at much too low a power to cook your brain. Do they cause any molecular jiggling in your brain, ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE. I don't know, online buy Yerba Diet without a prescription. Fast shipping Yerba Diet, But even if they did, it likely wouldn't cause cancer, ordering Yerba Diet online. Japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal, For a different type of radiation is needed to break apart genetic material. Leading to cancer.

And then there were a few studies that informed by doubt, Yerba Diet over the counter. ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE, No clear link found. Ordering Yerba Diet online, But as I have learned from a newer study, those studies were funded by the cell phone industry, buy Yerba Diet no prescription. Kjøpe Yerba Diet på nett, köpa Yerba Diet online, So I've got to add a grain of doubt to them. Not completely dismiss their findings, rx free Yerba Diet, Comprar en línea Yerba Diet, comprar Yerba Diet baratos, but acknowledge a potential conflict of interest and bias.

In one post, Evidence that Cell Phone Use Influences Brain Biology, where to buy Yerba Diet, Purchase Yerba Diet, I mentioned a newly discovered influence of cell phones on brain biology, namely the amount of the protein transthyretin in the blood, buy cheap Yerba Diet. Real brand Yerba Diet online, Yet I concluded,

Certainly in the short term — 10 years or less — it doesn’t seem there could be any dramatic effect on the brain and susceptibility to disease, order Yerba Diet online overnight delivery no prescription. For we have millions of subjects out there voluntarily participating in a naturalistic “experiment.” You may be a subject yourself, ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE. Yerba Diet gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, The preliminary finding: no extreme risks detected yet.

But perhaps a risk has now been detected. Yesterday I read with keen interest the ScienceDaily post, Yerba Diet trusted pharmacy reviews, Yerba Diet from canadian pharmacy, Does Long-Term Cell Phone Use Lead to Brain Tumors?

The highest-quality research data available suggests that long-term exposure to microwaves from cellular phones may lead to an increased risk of brain tumors, reports a paper in the November/December issue of Journal of Computer Assisted Tomography.

Of note -

Dr, japan, craiglist, ebay, overseas, paypal. Order Yerba Diet from United States pharmacy, Hardell's studies included more patients who had used a cell phone for ten years or longer and were performed without financial support from the wireless industry.

And in particular -

Based on an analysis of pooled data from different studies, researchers write, order Yerba Diet from mexican pharmacy, Online buy Yerba Diet without a prescription, "[L]ong-term cell phone usage can approximately double the risk of developing a glioma or acoustic neuroma in the more exposed brain hemisphere." [emphases added]

So the finding is about glioma and acoustic neuroma. And what are these?

Glioma: "A glioma is a type of tumor that starts in the brain or spine, buy Yerba Diet without prescription. ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE, It is called a glioma because it arises from glial cells. Buy Yerba Diet from canada, The most common site of gliomas is the brain." Of these there are two types, one benign and one malignant, Yerba Diet for sale, Buy Yerba Diet without a prescription, or cancerous. [source]

Acoustic neuroma: "An acoustic neuroma is a noncancerous (benign), australia, uk, us, usa, Where can i buy Yerba Diet online, often slow-growing tumor of the nerve that connects the ear to the brain. It is located behind the ear right under the brain." [source]

So in reading the bold sub-heading to the news of the recent research, Brain Tumor Risk May Double after 10 Years of Cell Phone Use, we've got to be careful and not interpret "tumor" as synonymous with "cancer."

Additionally, it would be nice to have an answer to this question, "Double from what?" Doubling sounds very serious. But, lacking the original rate/risk, the picture is unclear. Double sounds serious. Unfortunately, the write-up lacked some all-important numbers.

First, the numbers behind the doubling, ONLINE Yerba Diet FOR SALE. For instance, going from 10 people in one thousand to 20 in one thousand is pretty serious. But from 10 in one million to 20 in one million -- less serious. Also, the type of tumors studied sound relatively rare to me, so I would hope the study conclusion was based upon data from thousands if not hundreds of thousands of cordless phone users. That number, too, was not divulged, so I'm left wondering. And a bit skeptical.

In sum, while I'm still skeptical about a significant link between cell phone use and brain cancer, my stance is provisional. I await future findings.

health, skepticism No comments yet, be the first »

Dec

ONLINE Stromectol FOR SALE

Andrew Bernardin on December 8th, 2010

A trio of recent science findings that raise intriguing questions...

ONLINE Stromectol FOR SALE, 1. Stromectol samples, A third of LGBT youth suffer mental disorders

One-third of lesbian, gay, purchase Stromectol, Where to buy Stromectol, bisexual and transgender youth have attempted suicide in their lifetime -- a prevalence comparable to urban, minority youth -- but a majority do not experience mental illness, australia, uk, us, usa, Buy generic Stromectol, according to a report by researchers at the University of Illinois at Chicago. [emphasis added]

I can hear the pseudo-psychologists now, Stromectol gel, ointment, cream, pill, spray, continuous-release, extended-release, Stromectol price, coupon, interpreting this finding to suit their worldview. Something about homosexuals harboring a secret, where can i buy Stromectol online, Buy Stromectol from canada, self-hatred, no doubt.

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2. New Sleep Cycle Discovery Explains Why Fatty Diets During Pregnancy Make Kids Obese

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Should mothers go on a pre-birth diet for to help prevent their children needing to diet post-birth?

3. Plant-Based Plastics Not Necessarily Greener Than Oil-Based Relatives, buy Stromectol from canada, Stromectol over the counter, Researchers Find

An analysis of plant and petroleum-derived plastics by University of Pittsburgh researchers suggests that biopolymers are not necessarily better for the environment than their petroleum-based relatives, according to a report in Environmental Science & Technology, buy cheap Stromectol. Australia, uk, us, usa, The Pitt team found that while biopolymers are the more eco-friendly material, traditional plastics can be less environmentally taxing to produce. [emphasis added]

Damn, purchase Stromectol. Where can i buy cheapest Stromectol online, Why can't limiting our eco-footprint be simple. There are so many variables to consider.

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