|
Not the typical butterfly – but this is the protein folding structure from a South American hemorrhagic fever – the Machupo virus. The article was found on Science Daily. A striking resemblance to a butterfly, maybe even a Hesperiidae (photo from Leptiri u Americi).
Podijelite ovu!Uhvatio sam kratak emitiranja TV emisiji “Liječnici“, današnja epizoda je pod nazivom “Hitne medicinske usluge ne možete ignorirati”. Za veći dio su povratiti pozitivne medicinske zdravstvene afirmacije. Oni također brbljaju o o “zdrav” hrana i stvari koje su dobre za vas i “opasnosti” svih vrsta uobičajenih bakterija/kemikalija u kućanstvu i svega ostalog. Uglavnom ništa apokrifno. Ali tada je dr. Lisa Masterson otvorila je usta ovim savjetom za ljude koji žele prestati pušiti (parafrazirano po sjećanju) “Možete probati ove, naziva se EZ-Quit sprej. Oni su HOMEOPATSKI … Ipak biste se trebali posavjetovati sa svojim liječnikom jer, znaš, neki od ovih sastojaka mogu biti jaki”. Popis sastojaka je “Antimon sirovi 5C, Caladium seguinum 5C, Ignacija 5C, Lobelia inflata 5C, Nux vomica 5C, Tabacum 5-7-9C. Neaktivni sastojci: Pročišćena voda, alkohola 20%.” Prvo, shvatimo “C” ljestvica mjerenja potencije. Potentnost 1C jedan je sastojak razrijeđen 100 dijelovi vode, a 1:100 omjer. Otopina 5C ekvivalentna je razrjeđivanju snage 10^-10 ili .0000000001mg od “aktivan” sastojak. Pa popij, trebali biste popiti jedan od ovih da biste dobili dovoljno aktivnog sastojka: Ali to je cijela poanta! U homeopatiji, jedna molekula sastojka koja dolazi u dodir s vodom MAGIČNO prenosi svoju moć na molekule vode. Na upit da to objasne većina se homeopata poziva na kvantnu mehaniku. Dobro je znati da potpuno ne poznaju znanost. Osnovni princip homeopatije kaže da VIŠE razrijeđeno postaje JAČE moćno. Standardno razrjeđivanje je 30C ili 10^-60 , ali ide do 10^-1500. Doslovno biste morali potrošiti sferu vode veličine našeg Sunčevog sustava two milijardu puta za jednu molekulu sastojka. I hvala bogu da postoji .0000000001mg od Nux vomica u otopini jer je to općenito poznato kao strihnin, nevjerojatno snažan alkaloidni toksin s LD50 od 10 mg. U dozama manjim od 5 mg djeluje kao snažan stimulans, a povijesno su ga sportaši koristili za prehranu želuca, pa čak i za doping. Strihnin se ne koristi od izuma sigurnijih lijekova. Homeopatija je apsolutno sranje. Nema nužnih popratnih dokaza, zapravo su u Velikoj Britaniji napokon pristali zaustaviti financiranje ovo ludilo; što ne čudi jer bi svaka inteligentna osoba koja razumije prave principe homeopatije trebala znati bolje. Zapravo, svatko tko stvara homeopatski lijek koji je znanstveno dokazan, mogu se prijaviti za JREF -ov izazov u iznosu od milijun dolara. Je li iznenađenje što ostaje nezahtjevan? Dr.. Lisa je potpuni debil i šarlatan. Zastrašujuće je pomisliti da širi te dezinformacije na javnoj televiziji, ali nije sve toliko iznenađujuće. Trebala bi se ispričati zbog preporuke homeopatije, a liječnički odbor Kalifornije trebao bi razmotriti disciplinske mjere ili povući licencu. Naravno da se to neće dogoditi… Ali razmislite o mogućim opasnostima, razmotrite slučaj roditelja koji ubio njihovu kćer s homeopatijom. Sada, uživajte u Jamesu Randiju objašnjavajući homeopatiju: [youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v = BWE1tH93G9U] Podijelite ovu! Komentari su zatvoreni  Skepticizam  Alternativna medicina, Loša znanost, Homeopatija, JREF, Gakanje, Prijevare i prijevara, Skepticizam Dobro, I bet if I was selling something it would show up pretty damn low on this chart. U nastavku možete vidjeti različite alternativne lijekove rangirane prema njihovoj znanstvenoj učinkovitosti. Slijedite poveznicu za opsežnije objašnjenje ocjena, ali se lijekovi rangiraju na temelju svake tvrdnje – green tea for instance rates very poorly for cancer but very well for cholesterol. Take notice of just how much is below the “worth it” line.
Continue reading Buy Chris’s all new healing tonic! Podijelite ovu! Komentari su zatvoreni Skepticizam Alternativna medicina, Ateizam, Ishrana, Pseudoznanost, Skepticizam Jer bih bio podvrgnut ovaj. Razgovarajte o okrutnosti prema životinjama! u redu, Samo se šalim, ali ova priča je malo smiješno. U članku se navodi da su znanstvenici koristili glas Limbaugh, jer je to bilo “dostupne”, Ne zato što su ga mrzili. Pa to ispada da ne bi bilo istinito, odabrali su Rush jer je to bio “najiritantniji zvuk [oni] mogao smisliti”. Nije previše iznenađujuće da liberalna entomološka agenda mrzi Rusha (vic), ali znam da sigurno želim. Kad bi me sat vremena izbrbljao taj laprdač, ja bih osobno Plath. Međutim, pokazalo se da su ovi momci bili na pravom putu. Dok Limbaugh možda predvidljivo nije imao nikakav učinak na insekte, snimljeni zvukovi potkornjaka. Kad su snimke zvukova kornjaša u njihovim tunelima ispaljene natrag u drveće, promatrali su kukce kako bijesno lete i ubijaju jedni druge. Zvuči kao da bi to mogao biti koristan alat ako mogu pronaći način da to isporuče stablima bez povezivanja svakog sa zvučnicima. Ne mislim da je miniranje ovih snimaka Stil Apokalipse danas u šume bit će uvjerljivi ili učinkoviti pa se nadamo da će smisliti nešto drugo pametno. Priča bi mogla biti zabavna, ali mislim da čini lošu uslugu njihovoj stvari općenito. Korištenje Rusha nije bilo ništa drugo nego pokušaj osvajanja tiska, koji očito radi. Bi li inače netko čitao priču o potkornjacima? Vjerojatno ga ne bih ni pogledao. Na kraju, priča za ponijeti za mene je da mislim u sebi “zanimljiv, pronašli su potencijalno korisno sredstvo protiv potkornjaka”. Ali oni manje znanstveno pismeni ili politički motivirani vjerojatno misle “Sjajno, liberalniji znanstvenici troše naše porezne dolare puštajući glazbu bubama”. Znamo već kakvi republikanci razmišljati o znanosti. Molim, nemojmo bacati više hrane nazadnim umovima anti-znanstvene republikanske agende (u redu, doduše, temeljna republička fiskalna politika je nešto što mogu razumjeti… ali oni su čopor morona ostatak vremena). Ne vjerujem da je Limbaugh komentirao ovu konkretnu priču, ali je li teško zamisliti što on ima za reći? Podijelite ovu!Rivers Cuomo wrote me a song. Not bad, but now I think I want that mantis costume for Halloween. And of course I am obliged to point out that earthworms are not insects… [vimeo=14822451] Podijelite ovu!Came across ovaj article today care of Doug Yanega at UC Riverside, which spurred the search for further information. Who can tell me what those “flowers” zapravo are? 10 points to the first to guess correctly… or maybe some awesome prize?
Podijelite ovu![youtube = http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHdKEhFM7mY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0] Podijelite ovu!This is something I’ve never seen before. Growing up I have always had someone give me some kitsch object with insects on them, even playing cards. Well even last year I got another insect themed tie. (I don’t have the whimsey of PZ Myers and his awesome tie.) Ali, they were all printed images of course. New this year from Upper Deck, entomology cards! If you scroll down the page you notice something striking – they aren’t pictures, but actual insects. Here is an image from the link above:
wow- and follow this link to Facebook to see more of what is to come. I guess these are a modern version of the “tobacco card”, which was an extra collectors card inserted into regular card packs. Last year the company passed out redemption cards that would allow it to be returned for the real thing seen above. According to ESPN, these cards are going for over $100 to people who have no idea what insect they may get. A quick look on e-bay found one currently bid to $87.00. Idi lik. In all, Upper Deck plans to release 30 different types of insects. On the back of each card there is an old-timey “range map” and short blurb about the insect. They are also “certified” as being genuine, whatever that means. Do they have a taxonomist consulting? I bet my hourly rates would be less than whoever they have now… The butterfly ones crack me up, they are just closed specimens laid on their side. I would think a spread specimen would be more appealing, but maybe no one at Upper Deck realizes this is how they should be prepared. Whoever is giving them their mantids though are taking lots of time to make them look fancy. I really wonder how many of these are being made, obviously this could not be sustained in any large number. I guess in the end this makes a very interesting conversation starter among people who might never look twice at an insect, and especially as something collectible. I wonder what PETA thinks… u redu, we know that much already. Podijelite ovu!I came across ovaj article today and it put a smile on my face. Putovanja malarija istraživač naišli “Elektronički repeller komaraca” Prodaje se u svom katalogu tijekom leta. Biti inteligentan čovjek, shvatio je to bio ukupno i izustiti BS. He also realized this product probably sells best while in-route to malaria ridden countries; and that there were naive tourists walking around with $23 worthless pieces of crap on their belts feeling protected. The airline, KLM, had likely been selling the item with no second though whatsoever, just part of the standard issue crap-on-a-plane shopping selection. So as soon as Bart Knol returned home he began to dig deeper. He contacted KLM and tried to figure out why they were selling this item. Politely, the airline offered a response from the manufacturer backing up the efficacy of the device – and stated that they sell over 1,000 a month. Clearly that couldn’t be acceptable – in fact there has been research conducted to test just this sort of machine – all of which showed zero effect. Again Knol informed KLM of this fact, with evidence in hand, and received a surprising reply. “The product will no longer be for sale on KLM aircraft from March onwards“. Son-of-a-bitch. He confronted a company that was selling a scientifically falsified device. Instead of blowing this scientist off – they looked at the evidence – and acted logically. Within 2 months Knol had KLM pulling the product from its shelves. The airline should give Knol a lifetime supply of vouchers for his suggestion. Imagine if you will: a gullible tourist headed to Africa for your first safari. Wanting desperately to avoid the sometimes horrible side effects of anti-malaria medication they see this miracle product that will keep them safe instead. Dobro, the product failed to work, and he contracts malaria while running from elephants in Kenya. Attempts to sue the company failed since they were based in Sri Lanka – but not to worry, KLM has vast and deep pockets. 10,000,000 euro later, KLM pulls the product form the shelf and the dead tourists kids replace everything they own with gold. But no, instead, a vigilant skeptic stepped up and saved the day! Thanks for your skepticism Knol, you get a high-five. The action he took provided KLM with evidence they were conducting a wrongdoing. Had the airline been sued in the future and this prior knowledge had come to light, they would have lost. I wish KLM could appreciate it just as much as I do, but at least they took the proper action. Fly KLM. It’s always nice to see a story like this because this is certainly not how things usually happen. Take for instance the “dowsing for bombs” scandal brought to our attention by the JREF. I guess it’s a bit difficult to call it a scandal because the press only briefly covered it here in the US. Quickly: A British based company was selling dowsing rods, that consisted of nothing more than metal rods and handles, as bomb, gun, knife, drug and even body detectors. The major buyer was the Iraqi government in around tens of millions of dollars. People bet their life on this machine; and it failed, 100% od vremena. Even today the Iraqis swear by this device. But let’s not forget the history of this detector, which is basically the same as the “Quadro Tracker” bought by OUR government in the late 90’s. At least in the QT issue we only purchased 1,000 units and quickly tested them to discover the fraud. The result – the FBI issued a warning against it. The company promptly picked up shop and moved to the UK to re-invent this device sold to Iraq (amongst other countries). Thankfully the scammer, Jim McCormick, was recently arrested in Britain for fraud and the item has been banned for export. Go find your own MozStope, Pest Repellers, SunBeams and SOLAR powered mosquito repellers (hey you can be green while being a sucker) and take that store to task! Seriously, this crap is everywhere and it’s 100% fraud. Podijelite ovu! 2 Komentari - (Komentari su zatvoreni) Entomologija, Skepticizam Rašljarenjem, JREF, Malarija, Mosquitos, Pseudoznanost, Prijevare i prijevara, Skepticizam |
Skepticizam |
