Monthly Archives: March 2011

A fishy tale: Omega-3, Alzheimer’s, and IQ

Posted on March 30, 2011 | 1 Comment

The Irish Times’s tolerance for pseudoscientific health claims has been discussed here before. This week, as if responding to an impulse, the Times again published a controversial health story under the guise of grassroots health activism. On this occasion, the Times are promoting the claim that omega-3 fish oils have significant positive effects on cognitive function. Filtering out the elements of text that are framed to flatter fish oil guru Frank Ryan (a man who derides as capitalism the role of the pharmaceutical industry in healthcare, while nonetheless appearing in the national media to promote sales of his book), we are left with three major substantive claims: firstly, that consumption of fish oil “will reduce your risk of a cognitive decline”; secondly, that fish oil “[will] reduce the risk of Alzheimer’s disease by almost 50 per cent”; and thirdly, that “you can never be too young to take omega-3”. Ryan asserts that each of these claims reflects the latest scientific research. Actually, none of them do. Continue reading →

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Posted in Authority appeals, Dodgy advertising, Food, Health, Irish Times, Naive optimism, Newspapers & Magazines, Pharmaceuticals, Science

Superfast “supermoon” U-turn by the Daily Mail

Posted on March 24, 2011 | Leave a comment

I realise that the rolling news agenda can change extremely quickly in today’s media saturated world, but even this is slightly dramatic…

Daily Mail, 9 March 2011:

Daily Mail, 11 March 2011: Continue reading →

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Posted in Astrology, Daily Mail, Environment, Newspapers & Magazines, Private Eye, Science

“Radiation is good for Japan”: Coulter’s case dissected

Posted on March 23, 2011 | 5 Comments

Have a listen to Ann Coulter talking to Bill O’Reilly on Fox News last week (the show aired on St Patrick’s Day, hence O’Reilly’s green tie). Coulter is a social conservative columnist and lawyer, well known in the US for her right-wing diatribes. Here she is talking about recent events in Japan, regarding which she takes the somewhat unusual position of claiming that, actually, a meltdown at Fukushima would not be that problematic at all. This is because, contrary to common opinion, exposure to the levels of radiation emitted during nuclear accidents is actually good for you. Literally, she is saying that people in Japan will benefit from radiation exposure. It says something about the rashness of her claims that even a conservative climate-change equivocator like Bill O’Reilly appears to be a little sceptical about them.

One interesting aspect of the clip is that Coulter explicitly attempts to back up her claims by citing relevant mainstream science. It is always difficult to counter research-based arguments without access to the primary sources, and clearly Bill O’Reilly is in little position to question her on the specifics. Given that Coulter’s claims have found a wide-ranging online audience in recent days, it is important that each of her research-based arguments be scrutinised for accuracy. After all, conspiracy theorists and climate-change deniers are always at their most incorrigible when they are able to cite reference after reference to published research studies. And anyway, given that Coulter’s studies sound pretty persuasive, might she actually be right? Continue reading →

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Posted in Authority appeals, Cancer, Celebrities, Conservatism, Environment, Fox News, Health, Naive optimism, New York Times, Radiation, Science, Scientific literacy, Television, Video

Reiki, cancer, and the problem of informed consent

Posted on March 18, 2011 | 1 Comment

Reiki is a complementary therapy in which a therapist’s hands are placed on — or simply near — a patient’s body, with the intention of redirecting what are purported to be vital energy flows in order to enhance the patient’s physical health and well-being. The main problem with Reiki is that no evidence for the existence of such energy flows has ever been found, rendering claims that therapists can redirect them using their hands (without even touching the patient) immediately implausible. Unsurprisingly, the evidence for any medicinal effect for Reiki is sorely lacking. In reality, Reiki involves a lot of lying down, relaxation, and nice interactions with a Reiki practitioner, and as such has acquired a reputation for making people feel pleasant (as would any regime of rest, relaxation, and gentle social interaction). So what’s the problem? Well, the problem is that proponents also claim that Reiki should have a role in cancer treatment. Yes, cancer treatment. Continue reading →

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Posted in Alternative/Complementary Medicine, Cancer, Health, Naive optimism, Newspapers & Magazines, Reiki, Wall Street Journal

When is a nuclear meltdown not a nuclear meltdown?

Posted on March 15, 2011 | 3 Comments

The horror of human suffering caused by the catastrophe in Japan is vicariously traumatic, and only compounded by the fearful prospect of mass radioactivity contamination. News organizations have a pivotal role when reporting such events in both informing and, if appropriate, reassuring a frightened public. In reality, of course, the news industry is always pulled by the influence of market forces and the need to attract more readers or viewers. This overall context can produce some questionable front pages. One example is that from today’s Irish Daily Mail (the Irish-tailored version of the regular Daily Mail). Its headline is as close to Ali G’s “WAR BEGINS (…with a ‘w’)” spoof as I can recall ever seeing in reality. Continue reading →

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Posted in Cancer, Daily Mail, Environment, Health, Jargon, Newspapers & Magazines, Physics, Radiation, Scientific literacy