Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
The title is not a metaphor, this is a posting that is quite literally about Coffee. Be aware that it is a substance that I consume lots of on a regular basis, so I may indeed be a tad biased. The news is that a meta-analysis of many Coffee studies has declared it to be … Read more
Whenever I encountered somebody who explained that they are on a Gluten free diet (and it is common) then I have always assumed that they had a specific diagnosed reaction to Gluten and had adopted the diet for medical reasons. It turns out that this is not strictly the case for many people. There is … Read more
Once again the time of year when the most prestigious award, the Nobel Prize, spotlights individuals who have contributed to our understanding. Yesterday Mon 2nd Oct, the Medicine award was revealed. The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine 2017 was awarded jointly to … Jeffrey C. Hall, Michael Rosbash and Michael W. Young “for their … Read more
Meet Dene Shulze-Alva and her daughter Sage, age 5. The above is a picture of her that was highlighted within an NPR article about vaccine denial. The backstory here is that she is a hardcore vaccine denialist who has not only refused to have her daughter vaccinated, but takes time out to fly right across the … Read more
There is a healthcare game to play here via the New York Times, but first a bit of preamble. Because I live in the UK and have personally experienced the UK’s National Health Service I have a rather obvious bias. This perhaps also comes with strong feelings of hostility towards UK conservative political wet-dreams that … Read more
When we started vaccinating for measles back in the 1960s it had the intended effect; the decline and obliteration of Measles. We might think of it as a harmless childhood illness, but its eradication is truly a big deal. The prognosis for measles is that complications such as bronchitis, sensorineural hearing loss, and panencephalitis (which is fatal), can occur, so eradicating it … Read more