Promoting Science and Critical Thinking
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
If we proceed with a business-as-usual scenario and fail to take truly meaningful decisive action to address Climate Change then there is about a 50 percent possibility that global temperatures will rise by 4 degrees celsius. This is an actual existential threat for our species and would be quite deadly. Where are I getting this from? … Read more
Each September the #IgNobel awards, a parody of the Nobel Prize, gives out awards to the weirdest bit of real research that has taken place in the past year. While the award itself is satirical social criticism and not a real award, the research it highlights is quite real. It’s also not new, this has … Read more
Last February Mail journalist David Rose penned one of his Climate change denial articles for the Mail on Sunday and the Daily Mail. I blogged about it at the time and explained exactly why it was nonsense. The claims presented within his article entitled “Exposed: How world leaders were duped into investing billions over manipulated … Read more
As a rather blatant slap in the face for the anti-vaccine movement there is a new study that illustrates the profoundly positive and deep impact that vaccines have, and will continue to have. Vaccines save 20 million lives, $350 billion in poor countries since 2001 It is the one medical intervention that stands out from … Read more
The Antarctic is of course glaciated and very very cold, that is well understood. What is new is the realisation that it is not all a barren lifeless landscape, but instead contains niches where life has potentially gained a foothold in a rather surprising way. Hidden under the ice are Geothermal ice caverns. This is because Antarctic … Read more