News From Around The Blogosphere 9.18.08

The new brilliantly titled TV show “The Doctors” at least deserves some credit – A show they filmed and were going to air about vaccine safety that featured anti-vaccinationist Julia Berle of Generation Rescue (who gained her medical knowledge from the Internet and who MIGHT be a $cientologist) has been seemingly postponed indefinitely. I can only guess that the producers discovered this show would be inappropriate because Berle’s a total quack (correction: I didn’t mean to insult the quacks out there. Quacks at least have medical degrees). Of course, like every other anti-vaccinationist when they don’t get their way, Berle’s first and last conclusion is that it must be because of an evil Big Pharma conspiracy. Duh! What else? Obviously Big Pharma has nothing better to do but put pressure on the producers of an insipid daytime talk show to not air an episode that probably cost tens of thousands of dollars.

The case of Woo vs. Woo is over. Ramtha has spoken! – A few days ago I blogged about JZ Knight, a New Age charlatan who claims to “channel” a 35,000 year old Atlantean warrior named Ramtha is suing a former student because she dared to cut in on Knight’s action. The trial is over and Knight won. I think the following advice to the jury from Knight’s attorney says it all:

“In closing arguments, Creatura asked the jury to set aside personal skepticism about Knight or her claim to channel Ramtha, a 35,000-year-old male warrior spirit, and to decide the case solely on legal issues.”

CREATIONIST NEWS:

Virginia Tech just can’t catch a break – A Creation “Science” seminar is coming. This might be the worst thing to happen to Virginia Tech ever!

Finally, creationism proves useful in the classroom – A lesson on homology in evolution led 1 college professor to Conservapedia, ironically subtitled “The Trustworthy Encyclopedia.” I know what you’re thinking: only a really reliable source would feel the need to remind you how reliable it is. But anyway, the professor found a section on the page labeled “Invalidity of the Homology Argument,” which was a little odd considering homology is a method of comparing and reasoning rather than an assertion of truth. (It’s worth reading the professor’s whole blog entry on this here). This all led to a great lesson in class:

“We discussed in class a critical difference between a scientist and a creationist. Creationists think they have THE answer from the beginning, whereas a scientist has only a question in the beginning. While a creationist may accept absurd dogma and simplistic dismissals of rational ideas, a scientist looks for a way to test ideas. That willingness to test and to infer from the results of those tests the best explanations distinguishes the scientific method from the creationist method. [A great untruth of the Conservapedia’s entry on homology was its claim that there are creation ‘scientists’—creationists offer religious explanations and dismiss the results of repeatable scientific studies rather than using a scientific method.]“

And here’s another choice quote from the professor:

“The Conservapedia entry on homology seems more concerned with acceptance of “custom and tradition” as a basis for “truth of religious matters” than with possible comparisons we might make among organisms. Indeed, it seems that the Conservapedia aims to dismiss important scientific approaches through superficial allusions. Perhaps we should be wary of trusting the Conservapedia, despite its subtitle. “

Crows make monkeys out of chimps in mental test – Oh, can’t you 2 crazy kids get along?

FDA & FTC finally going after quacks? – Maybe 1 day I actually might not have to do their jobs for them.

This is what Richard Dawkins’ hate mail looks like:

Sarah Palin wins Rubber Dodo Award (yeah, I misread that headline the first time too):

How To Read People’s Minds:

I can only hope my wedding will one day reunite the cast of Star Trek:

AND NOW FOR A MOMENT OF SCIENCE:

No Such Thing As A ‘Safe’ Suntan? – “The authors of the three review papers – leading researchers in the fields of cell biology, dermatology and epidemiology – have examined the effects on skin of UV radiation, including that from indoor tanning beds. As well as highlighting the need for greater research into this area, they have called for the use of such beds by under-18s to be banned, along with any publicity that claims that tanning beds are safe.

Exposure to UV radiation — for example, from sunbathing or using an indoor tanning bed — affects the skin in a number of ways, including causing DNA damage, photoaging (damage to the skin from chronic exposure to sunlight) and skin cancer. UV radiation is the most ubiquitous carcinogen (cancer-causing agent) for humans, in whom skin is the organ most commonly affected by cancer.”

Early Whales Used Back Legs For Swimming – “The crashing of the enormous fluked tail on the surface of the ocean is a “calling card” of modern whales. Living whales have no back legs, and their front legs take the form of flippers that allow them to steer. Their special tails provide the powerful thrust necessary to move their huge bulk. Yet this has not always been the case.

Reporting in the latest issue of the Journal of Vertebrate Paleontology, paleontologist Mark D. Uhen of the Alabama Museum of Natural History describes new fossils from Alabama and Mississippi that pinpoint where tail flukes developed in the evolution of whales.”

Skin Cells Turned Into Insulin-producing Cells – “Researchers at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill School of Medicine have transformed cells from human skin into cells that produce insulin, the hormone used to treat diabetes.”

Researchers Suppress ‘Hunger Hormone’ In Pigs – “Johns Hopkins scientists report success in significantly suppressing levels of the “hunger hormone” ghrelin in pigs using a minimally invasive means of chemically vaporizing the main vessel carrying blood to the top section, or fundus, of the stomach. An estimated 90 percent of the body’s ghrelin originates in the fundus, which can’t make the hormone without a good blood supply.”