Ne tipisks tauriņš – bet tas ir proteīns locīšanas struktūra no Dienvidamerikas hemorāģisko drudzi – Machupo vīruss. Raksts tika atrasti Science Daily. Pārsteidzoša līdzība ar tauriņš, varbūt pat Hesperiidae (foto no Tauriņi of America).
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Es noķēru īsu TV pārraides pārraidi “Ārsti“, šodienas epizodei bija nosaukums “Ārkārtas medicīniskās palīdzības gadījumi, kurus nevar ignorēt”. Lielākoties viņi atgrūž pozitīvus medicīniskās veselības apstiprinājumus. Viņi arī pļāpā par “vesels” pārtikas produkti un lietas, kas ir noderīgas jums un “briesmas” no visādām parastajām sadzīves baktērijām/ķimikālijām un visu pārējo. Pa lielam nekas apokrifs. Bet tad Dr. Liza Mastersone atvēra muti ar šo padomu cilvēkiem, kuri vēlas atmest smēķēšanu (pārfrāzēts no atmiņas) “Jūs varat izmēģināt šos, to sauc par EZ-Quit aerosolu. Viņi ir HOMEOPĀTISKS … Jums joprojām jākonsultējas ar savu ārstu, jo, tu zini, dažas no šīm sastāvdaļām var būt spēcīgas”. Sastāvdaļu saraksts ir “Neapstrādāts antimons 5C, Caladium seguinum 5C, Ignatia 5C, Lobelia inflata 5C, Nux vomica 5C, Tabakum 5-7-9C. Neaktīvās sastāvdaļas: Attīrīts ūdens, alkohols 20%.” Vispirms, sapratīsim “C” potences mērīšanas skala. 1C iedarbība ir viena sastāvdaļa, kas atšķaidīta 100 daļas ūdens, a 1:100 attiecība. 5C šķīdums ir līdzvērtīgs 10^-10 jaudas atšķaidījumam vai .0000000001mg no “aktīvs” sastāvdaļa. Tāpēc dzer, Jums vajadzētu izdzert vienu no tiem, lai iegūtu pietiekami daudz aktīvās vielas: Bet tā ir visa būtība! Homeopātijā, viena sastāvdaļas molekula, kas nonāk saskarē ar ūdeni, MAĢISKI piešķir savu spēku ūdens molekulām. Kad tiek lūgts to izskaidrot, lielākā daļa homeopātu atsaucas uz kvantu mehāniku. Labi zināt, ka viņi pilnīgi nezina zinātni. Homeopātijas pamatprincips nosaka, ka jo VAIRĀK kaut kas atšķaidīts, kļūst jo spēcīgāks. Standarta atšķaidījums ir 30C vai 10^-60 , bet tas pieaug līdz 10^-1500. Jums burtiski vajadzētu patērēt ūdens sfēru mūsu Saules sistēmas lielumā two miljardus reižu vienai sastāvdaļas molekulai. Un paldies Dievam, ka ir .0000000001mg no Nux vomica šķīdumā, jo to parasti sauc par strihnīnu, neticami spēcīgs alkaloīdu toksīns ar LD50 10 mg. Devās, kas mazākas par 5 mg, tas darbojas kā spēcīgs stimulants, un to vēsturiski lietoja kuņģa pārtikā un pat sportisti dopinga lietošanā.. Strihnīns nav izmantots kopš drošāku zāļu izgudrošanas. Homeopātija ir pilnīga muļķība. Nav nekādu apstiprinošu pierādījumu, patiesībā Apvienotajā Karalistē viņi beidzot piekrita pārtraukt finansējumu šis ārprāts; Tas nav pārsteigums, jo jebkuram inteliģentam cilvēkam, kurš saprot patiesos homeopātijas principus, būtu jāzina labāk. Faktiski, ikviens, kas rada zinātniski pierādītas homeopātiskās zāles, var pieteikties uz JREF miljonu dolāru izaicinājums. Vai tas ir pārsteigums, ka tas paliek nepieprasīts? Dr.. Liza ir pilnīga debīla un ķekata. Ir biedējoši domāt, ka viņa izplata šo dezinformāciju sabiedriskajā TV, bet ne tik pārsteidzoši. Viņai ir jāatvainojas par homeopātijas ieteikšanu, un Kalifornijas medicīnas padomei jāapsver disciplinārsods vai jāatņem viņas licence.. Protams, tas nenotiks… Bet padomājiet par iespējamām briesmām, apsveriet vecāku gadījumu nogalināja viņu meitu ar homeopātiju. Tagad, izbaudiet Džeimsu Rendi, kurš izskaidro homeopātiju: [youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BWE1tH93G9U] Dalīties! Komentāri ir slēgti  Skepticisms  Alternatīvā medicīna, Slikti Zinātne, Homeopathy, JREF, Quack, Izkrāpšanu un krāpšanu, Skepticisms Labi, I bet if I was selling something it would show up pretty damn low on this chart. Below you can see different alternative remedies ranked in accordance to their scientific efficacy. Follow the link for a more comprehensive explanation of the ratings, but the remedies are ranked based on each claim – 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! Dalīties!Because I would have been subjected to šis. Talk about animal cruelty! Labi, just kidding, but this story is a bit ridiculous. The article states that the scientists had used the voice of Limbaugh because it was “readily available”, not because they hated him. Well that turns out not to be true, they chose Rush because it was the “most annoying sound [viņi] could think of”. Not too surprising that the liberal entomology agenda hates Rush (joke), but I know I sure do. If you blared that blabbering buffoon at me for an hour I’d Plath myself. It turns out these guys were on the right path however. While Limbaugh perhaps predictably had no effect on the insects, sounds recorded of the bark beetles did. When recordings of the sounds made of the beetles in their tunnels were fired back into the trees they observed the insects flying into a fury and killing each other. Sounds like it may be a useful tool if they can find a way to deliver this to trees without wiring each one with speakers. I don’t think that blasting these recordings Apocalypse Now style into forests will be plausible or effective so hopefully they can think of something else clever. The story might be amusing but I think does a disservice to their cause in general. Using Rush was nothing but an attempt to grab press, which is clearly working. Would anyone have read a story about bark beetles otherwise? I probably wouldn’t have even given it a look. In the end the takeaway story for me is that I think to myself “interesting, they found a potentially useful tool against bark beetles”. But to the less science literate or politically motivated they likely think “lieliski, more liberal scientists wasting our tax dollars playing music to beetles”. We already know what republicans think about science. Lūdzu, let’s not throw more fodder into the backwards minds of the anti-science republican agenda (Labi, admittedly, fundamental republican fiscal policy is something I can understand… but they are a pack of morons the rest of the time). I don’t believe that Limbaugh has commented on this specific story, but is it difficult to imagine what he has to say? Dalīties!Rivers Cuomo uzrakstīja man dziesmu. Nav slikti, bet tagad es domāju, ka es gribu, ka mantis kostīms par Halloween. Un, protams, es esmu pateicīgs norādīt, ka sliekas nav kukaiņi… [vimeo=14822451] Dalīties!Nāca pāri šis raksts šodien aprūpe Doug Yanega pie UC Riverside, kas veicināja meklēt papildu informācija. Kurš var man pateikt, kas tiem “ziedi” faktiski ir? 10 norāda uz pirmo uzminēt pareizi… vai varbūt kādu laba balva?
Dalīties![youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LHdKEhFM7mY&hl=en_US&fs=1&rel=0] Dalīties!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.) Bet, 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:
Oho- 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. Go figure. 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… Labi, we know that much already. Dalīties!I came across šis article today and it put a smile on my face. A traveling malaria researcher came across an “electronic mosquito repeller” for sale in his in-flight catalog. Being an intelligent man, he realized this was total and utter 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. Labi, 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% Laikā. 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 MozStops, Pest Repellers, SunBeams and SOLAR powered mosquito repellers (hey you can be green while being a sucker) and take that store to task! Nopietni, this crap is everywhere and it’s 100% fraud. Dalīties! 2 komentāri - (Komentāri ir slēgti) Entomoloģija, Skepticisms Dozēšana, JREF, Malārija, Odiem, Pseidozinātne, Izkrāpšanu un krāpšanu, Skepticisms |
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