Dear Mr Editor, Your Science Reporting Truly Sucks…

Acupuncture Students at NYCTCM
Acupuncture may have benefit: But don't trust shoddy research
A letter to the editor of the British Journal of General Practice (The official periodical of the Royal College of General Practice and leading journal for family medicine in Europe):

Dear Professor Roger Jones,

Last month’s BJGP was noteworthy for several reasons. Most strikingly was the beautiful redesign and compelling headline, “Acupuncture: effective in a randomized trial for patients with unexplained symptoms”. Fantastic, I thought – groundbreaking research! So, it was with much anticipation that I removed the last shreds of cellophane to delve into your esteemed tome.

Sadly, it was wholly disappointing and somewhat incensing to read the actual acupuncture research. Heralded by you as “positive results” from a “randomized controlled trial” revealing “significant and sustained benefit [for patients] who frequently attend [GP clinics] with medically unexplained symptoms”. I fear these comments were more than liberal with the truth… Read more

New Research Asks: Could you hack a night shift?

Just too tired by fmgbainIt’s 5 am and you feel like death. Eight hours down and you’ve still got four more to go. With a mind like sludge, a phone rings and you need to sound attentive and informed. This isn’t going to be easy.

Me – I hate night shifts. Hours of dark, unrewarding loneliness accompanied with the odd things your digestive system does at four in the morning. Finishing means collapsing into bed utterly exhausted as the rest of the world enjoys their Cheerios. It is strange experience. Even stranger, is that so many people actually love working at night.

Some people must be better at it than others. Researchers from Bergen, Norway – a country known for very long, dark winters – compiled over 30 years of research to find out what makes a true ‘night worker’. Could this be you? Read on, to see if you are built to work the night shift… Read more

The Great Atlantic Divide – Why Europeans Riot (but American’s don’t)

A fireball erupts as civilians shriek and run for cover. A security officer burns and a gas mask-wearing man dashes through the smoke. Men beat each another with bats and stones. Shots are fired and grenades hurled as a city centre descends into chaos. Is this a scene from a warzone? No – this is modern-day Europe.

rage by how will i everAs Greek politicians try to balance the books by slashing pensions and cutting welfare, violence spills onto the streets of Athens. Protestors hold fists skyward and chant “Don’t obey the rich – fight back!” Amidst drastic ‘austerity measures’, such scenes are becoming frighteningly commonplace.

Spain, Iceland, Portugal and now Greece have witnessed their populace flooding the streets in protest of such ‘social injustice’. Europeans don’t like to take things lying down it seems; but this would never happen in the good old USA… Read more

Surely not! Is this Energy Drink marketed at Children!?

Children drinking Energy Drinks
Do you find this disturbing? (source totsandgiggles.com)
Sometimes anger gets the better of you. A morning trip to the supermarket left me enraged (and no, it wasn’t anything to do with the queues, car parking or customer service). The source of my fury was what I had seen for sale in the aisles. Were my eyes deceiving me or had I really just seen… an ‘Energy Drink’ for kids?

Concerns over high-caffeine drinks in children are well publicised but this morning I was troubled that one firm had well and truly overstepped the mark with their new drinks can design.

I could be wrong, it might just have been a trick of the light or an innocent oversight of their marketing team. I’ll let you decide whether you think this high-sugar caffeinated drink would appeal to a typical seven year old: Read more

Save the Planet by… Becoming a Vegan! Do I really have to?

Veganism – it’s just something for middle-class ‘hippies’ right? Vegans are those tree-hugging, hemp-wearing festival-goers who say ‘man’ far too much. Well perhaps it’s time for a rethink on that stereotype. At least if you care about environment, that is.

Kale Sandwich (Gone Raw)
Could you fight Climate Change with a Kale Sandwich? It's very tasty (apparently) (Image: GoneRaw.com)
If you had thought you could do your bit to fight global warming by getting an eco-friendly Hybrid car – forget it. You’ll reduce your ‘carbon footprint’ more just by changing what you eat.

A new documentary called ‘PlanEAT‘ sets out to show the effects our dietary choices have on our health and the environment. Citing a selection of research, the film’s single purpose is encourage us to eat a more ‘plant-based’ diet (that’s the trendy new name for veganism). You could call it the ‘Super Size Me‘ for the animal-loving eco-warrior.

If this film has the impact it hopes to achieve, the future could be one that sees us ditching our hamburger and milkshake for Kale Sandwiches and Lime Mousse (made from Tofu, no less).

Hmm, I think some of us are going to need some very serious persuasion… Read more

Calling all science writers and bloggers… Is anyone listening?

Scientists: Are we producing too many?
Science: Dull, boring and irrelevant?
I considered giving a health warning with this post. Today, I abandon my usual calm demeanour and embark upon a part-rant, part impassioned call to action. As I climb onto my soapbox, be advised, things might get ugly (well, relatively – I am British after all).

Over the past 20 or so years, millions of dollars (pounds, Yen and Euros) have been invested by governments, charities and professional bodies in an attempt to break down misunderstandings about science within the wider public. Much of it has been done in vain and the successes have been small. When you look at actual data, it makes for some quite shocking reading; the general ‘educated’ public remain frighteningly misinformed about the fundamentals of science…

So is anyone to blame and what the Higgs can we do about it? Read more

The Olympics is Coming to London: So Why Won’t Brits be any Happier?

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.orgIt was a shock announcement. Back in 2005, everyone thought Paris had the winning bid to host the 2012 Olympic Games. Unlike the UK’s hastily put together pitch, the French had spent 20 years fine-tuning theirs. When the IOC president declared that the Olympics were coming to London, scenes of jubilant crowds filled the screens of UK TVs. Celebrities, politicians and even the Queen were tripping over each other to enthuse about this ‘great victory’ for Britain. Were they right?

Now in the midst of economic turmoil, UK politicians still desperately cling to the hope that the Olympic Games represents, as if it were a flaming torch to light the way ahead. They continue to boast that it will boost the economy and importantly, the nation’s happiness. If they had they done their homework, they might have been better informed: Research now shows that all this rhetoric is almost certainly very wrong… Read more

Blue Lights Shown to Give a Brain Boost! But is a Better than Coffee?

This post was chosen as an Editor's Selection for ResearchBlogging.org

Can anything possibly beat the first coffee of the day?

It’s 6 am and the alarm sounds. Mornings aren’t a friendly place until you’ve had a coffee.

Loathed by some but loved by many more, caffienated drinks are the world’s most popular drug. Effective as a stimulant, a mood-booster and an learning-enhancer, caffeine is an indispensable part of modern-day living for 90% of Westerners. Coffee consumption has a variety of health benefits but is not without its problems; including addiction, withdrawal symptoms and adverse effects in children.

Now it seems, there could be a new kid on the block that threatens to topple the office coffee machine. It’s safe, legal and cheaper than a Starbuck’s. Move over Mr Drinks Dispenser and make way for invigorating power of the Blue Light Bulb! Read more

Are Wind Turbines Ugly? New Research Gives Answers…

Wind turbines are the icon for the Green Energy Movement, but are they nothing more than an eyesore?
Wind Turbines have come to symbolise hope. The image of a slowly rotating wind turbine on a blue sky represents a rose-tinted future where energy is abundant and free; global warming has been conquered (and bunnies leap gaily around fields).

But who would really want to live near a wind farm? We long for a future without rising sea levels and greenhouse gases, but opponents to wind power say this is not the solution. The most hotly debated wind power issue is ‘Why are they so ugly?” No-one, it seems, would be happy having huge grey windmills spoiling their landscape.

What is the truth? Are wind turbines really that much of an eyesore? Recently published research gives us some clues and reveals that many of our concerns may be unfounded… Read more