Sutton Solves

Homeopathy — nonsense!

admin — Sat, 15 Jan 2011 23:43:05 +0000

Quote from Bob Park’s weekly e-newsletter:

ZICAM: BREAKTHROUGH! AT LAST, A PLACEBO WITH SIDE EFFECTS.

Although marketed as a homeopathic cold remedy, Zicam is not quite homeopathic. The 18th century German inventor of homeopathy, Samuel Hahnemann, believed in “vitalism,” a spiritual essence that goes beyond physics or chemistry. This is by no means unusual; most people believe in spiritual or religious cures even today.

“Medicine is most powerful,” Hahnemann wrote, “when it communicates nothing material.”

Hahnemann’s counter-intuitive solution was to eliminate the cure. This he did by sequential dilution. Alas, Loschmidt had not yet determined Avogadro’s number. To be certain that “nothing material” remained, Hahnemann typically used a dilution of 30C. That is, the substance was diluted to one part in 100, shaken (not stirred) and then diluted one part in 100 again, 30 times. This would exceed the dilution limit of the entire Earth, which is to say it’s a meaningless result.

Not so Zicam; the dilution is given on the package as only 2X; i.e., the X means the active ingredient, zinc, is diluted one part in 10, shaken, and diluted one part in 10 again. Now it’s one part in 100. Compare that to Oscillococcinum, which is also marketed as a homeopathic cold remedy. The active ingredient is an extract of the liver of the Barbary duck at a ridiculous dilution of 200C. That would exceed the dilution limit of the entire visible universe and is thus totally meaningless.

The average consumer is totally unaware that he’s shelling out 10 bucks for a teaspoon of sugar.

Homeopathy is simply nonsense.

The final climate frontiers

admin — Thu, 16 Dec 2010 01:21:26 +0000

Feature article from Science News Dec 4th, 2010.

The final climate frontiers

Scientists aim to improve and localize their predictions

By Alexandra Witze

December 4th, 2010; Vol.178 #12 (p. 24)

Modern explorers have pushed into nearly every nook and cranny of the globe, from polar Antarctica to the depths of the Amazonian jungle. Yet there’s land still to explore, and regularly comes news of unexpected and wondrous findings — a mongooselike carnivore spotted in Madagascar, a massive waterfall discovered in Peru.

Such is the state of climate science today. In some respects its territory has been thoroughly probed. Despite vigorous questioning of the premises and conclusions of research into climate change, reviews of the evidence consistently confirm the basic findings of the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change: The Earth’s rising temperature cannot be explained by natural processes alone. Emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities, like burning fossil fuels, must be included to account for the observed warming.

More here: http://www.sciencenews.org/view/feature/id/65734/title/The_final_climate_frontiers

Climate Change Science

admin — Tue, 14 Dec 2010 01:06:44 +0000

Pass this on to the global climate change deniers you know. Your grandchildren will thank you. These articles summarize REAL SCIENCE being done by REAL CLIMATE SCIENTISTS. Global warming is real, is mostly human caused (directly or indirectly), isn’t in doubt at all among scientists who actually study it, with it’s reality supported by massive evidence. -Harry

http://www.koshland-science-museum.org/exhibitgcc/

US National Academy of Sciences – Global Warming Facts and Our Future

What are the causes of climate change? Find out about the impacts of climate change through interactive science activities and museum exhibits

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/66782/title/World_could_heat_up_4_degrees_C_in_50_years

World could heat up 4 degrees C in 50 years

Immediate and substantial action to reduce emissions would be needed to meet climate negotiators’ goal of holding warming to a 2 degree Celsius increase, a new package of scientific papers concludes.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/67324/title/Clouds_warm_things_up

Clouds warm things up

Satellite data from the last decade put hard numbers on a key and little-understood climate player.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/66902/title/Food_security_wanes_as_world_warms

Food security wanes as world warms

Global warming may have begun outpacing the ability of farmers to adapt, new studies report.

http://www.sciencenews.org/view/generic/id/65231/title/Climate_researcher_speaks_out

Climate researcher speaks out

Michael Mann says scientists have lost control of the public message about climate change

And perhaps most important “It’s the population, stupid”:

http://www.nature.com/climate/2008/0806/full/climate.2008.44.html

The population problem

By 2050, there will be an estimated 9 billion humans on the planet. Kerri Smith asks whether curbing the world’s burgeoning population could help in tackling climate change.

and

http://www.overpopulation.org/globalWarming.html

“Today, for every one of the more than (6.88) billion people on Earth nearly six tons of carbon dioxide are spewed into the air annually. As a result of our activities, the atmospheric concentration of this heat-trapping gas has risen by more than 30 percent.” Environmental Defense Fund

Learn more: http://www.sciencenews.org/

Michael Moore on health care “reform”

Harry — Wed, 17 Mar 2010 18:16:47 +0000

“We’re sorry, America. We didn’t get the job done you sent us here to do. We’re weak and scared and unable to communicate the simplest of messages to the American people. Therefore, our bill will guarantee that 12 million of you will still have NO health insurance. And that’s because we have decided to leave the greedy, private insurance industry in charge of our system. Forgive us for this and for continuing to allow profit to be the determining factor as to whether a patient gets the help she or he needs.”
-Michael Moore, 3/17/10, http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Congress is the problem

Harry — Wed, 10 Feb 2010 23:28:49 +0000

Article from The Nation: Our Democracy No Longer Works and the Problem Is Congress

Solutions:

(1) Citizen-funded elections such as described in the current bill sponsored in the House by Democrat John Larson and Republican Walter Jones, in the Senate by Democrats Dick Durbin and Arlen Specter. That bill is a hybrid between traditional public funding and small-dollar donations.

(2) Ban members of Congress from working in any lobbying or consulting capacity in Washington for seven years after his or her term. Better yet would be banning them from employment of any kind with any corporation doing business with or lobbying the government.

(3) Overturn the recent Supreme Court decision allowing corporations unlimited political contributions. Some of this could be done by legislation but ultimately a Constitutional Amendment will be necessary and Congress will never write one, so the people must, by convening a Constitutional Convention (as provided for in the Constitution). This could be dangerous as a convention could make ANY changes to the Constitution (but they would still need 38 states to ratify), but the much greater danger is the status quo as the article link above makes clear.

My next effort here will go one step further.

Skepdoc: Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine: #10

Harry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:25:34 +0000

#10: Detoxify This!
People who want to “detoxify” often don’t have any idea what ‘toxins’ they’re talking about. They may vaguely believe that modern life contaminates us with lots of bad things that we ought to get rid of. It’s reminiscent of religious fasting and purification rites. Orthodox Jewish women go to a ritual bath (Mikveh) that restores them to purity after childbirth or menstruation. Shamans used smoke for purification. Numerous religions observe periods of fasting. American Indians used sweat lodges for purification and sacred ceremonies. It’s mysticism, not science. Or bodies come equipped with livers, kidneys, stomachs, intestines, enzymes, and metabolic processes that deal with toxins efficiently with no outside help. There is no medical evidence to support any other methods or benefits of “detoxification.”

Skepdoc: Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine: #9

Harry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:08:53 +0000

#9: But It’s Natural, and Natural is Good!
When you really stop to think, is there any reason a remedy SHOULD be better just because it’s natural? There are plenty of natural poisons, from hemlock to strychnine. Plants have to protect themselves from predators, and they have invented quite an array of chemical defenses. We go organic out of concern for artificial pesticide residues in our food, but natural pesticides make up 99.99% of the pesticides in our diet. Plants have no intention of helping us. If there’s a chemical in a plant that’s medically useful to us, it’s not natural: it’s unnaturally good luck.

Skepdoc: Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine: #8

Harry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 23:01:53 +0000

#8: Acupuncture.
There were originally 360 acupuncture points (based on the number of days of the year rather than on anatomy). Currently more than 2,000 acupuncture points have been ‘discovered,’ leading one wag to comment that there was no skin left that was not an acupuncture point. There were either 9, 10 or 11 meridians–take your pick. Any number is as good as another, because no research has ever been able to document the existence of acupuncture points or meridians or chi. Acupuncture has been shown to ‘work’ to relieve pain, nausea, and other subjective symptoms, but it has never been shown to alter the natural history of the course of any disease. Studies have shown that acupuncture releases natural opioid pain relievers in the brain: endorphins. Veterinarians have pointed out that loading a horse into a trailer or throwing a stick for a dog also releases endorphins. Probably hitting yourself on the thumb with a hammer would release endorphins too, and it would take your mind of your headache.

Skepdoc: Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine: #7

Harry — Thu, 04 Feb 2010 22:50:09 +0000

#7: What to Eat: Food. Not Too Much. Mostly Plants.
“Organic” has become a meaningless buzzword; I flinch when I see it on a label: it inclines me not to buy that product. What we really want is sustainable agriculture that does minimal damage to the environment and produces food that is nutritious, tastes good, and has no unnecessary contaminants. “Organic” food as currently defined doesn’t necessarily achieve those goals. Produce may have been trucked long distances using up fossil fuels and making it less fresh than local produce; it may cost more and not look as pretty. It may not use land efficiently. Absent pesticides, plants may produce higher levels of natural pesticides for self-defense–could that be bad for us? Sometimes locally grown foods that are not technically “organic” are a better choice. We should ask questions rather than reflexively buy “organic”.

Skepdoc: Top 10 Things You Should Know About Alternative Medicine: #6

Harry — Wed, 03 Feb 2010 05:56:28 +0000

#6: Homeopathy: Still Crazy After All These Years:
Homeopathy was invented by Samuel Hahnemann in the late 1700s. It is based on the now-outdated principle that “like cures like”, and the more dilute the dose the better in homeopathy. How dilute? Serious dilution, as in comparable to one drop diluted in all the water on Earth. When they realized that no molecules of the original substance were left in most homeopathic dilutions, homeopaths rationalized that the water must “remember” what it had come into contact with–as in clusters of water molecules somehow holding the memory of their encounters with the allegedly curative substances. Unfortunately, homeopaths have failed to explain how water can remember what it’s supposed to remember, and forget all the other memories of coming into contact with various trace contaminants, elements, bacteria, and whatever else happened to float by a the time.

I’m rather fond of my recipe for the homeopathic Oscillococcinum from my “Curing the Common Cold” column: “start with duck liver, dilute the duck out of it, and hope the the water remembers the duck.” In my opinion, all that leaves is a “quack.”