The next time someone tells you that science takes all of the wonder out of the world with it’s cold insistance on answering all our questions, you can direct them to this list of 7 man-made substances which defy your understanding of physics. Here’s a teaser, it’s a video of an incredible substance known as ferrofluid.
Awesome, Hey? Now check out the rest of the list on Cracked.com
As an active member of the South African Skeptics, I will reproduce here an open letter to the Pharmacisits of South Africa which has been (and will continue to be) distributed to our local pharmacies by the community of skeptical activists in South Africa. We are a small group and our impact is slight, but we’ll take whatever difference we can make. (This letter was adapted from the similar letter issued be the Australian skeptics).
An Open Letter to The Pharmacists of South Africa
South Africans trust Pharmacies and Chemists’ shops. As pharmacists, you play an important role in the health of the South African public by functioning as a conduit between doctors and prescription or pharmacy drugs. You also have a respected role as a first resource for medical advice for many people in our community. We are all familiar with the slogan “Ask your Pharmacist”.
When we ask our Pharmacist, what kinds of answers do we want? Not quack products like ear candles that do nothing except pose a hazard.
We now ask our South African pharmacists: What standards do you set for yourselves? You sell a growing number of products for which there is little or no scientific evidence of efficacy. Calling them “alternative” does not make them work. Examples include homeopathic preparations, magnetic pain relief devices, detox programmes, dodgy weight loss products and ear candles. Such products commonly appear in a “Natural Medicine” section of pharmacies but are sometimes displayed alongside real medicines whose benefits are scientifically proven.
Ear candles are of particular concern. There are reports of serious injuries from them including temporary hearing loss, burns, ear canals blocked by dripping wax and punctured ear drums.1 Health Canada has banned them in Canada.2 Even the first professor of alternative and complementary medicine at Exeter University, Edzard Ernst, called for them to be banned.3 Despite this, many South African pharmacies are selling them.
“Ear candling is one of those CAM modalities that clearly does more harm than good… its mechanism of action is first implausible and second, demonstrably wrong… in my view, therefore, it should be banned.”3
What next, will you start selling cigarettes like the supermarkets, who you do not want to be allowed to sell pharmaceuticals because they do not have qualified staff? What standards do you set for yourselves for staff? We see a growing trend of so-called “practitioners” with little or no scientific training being brought in as “consultants” including iridologists, homeopaths and naturopaths. Iridology is a discredited way of diagnosing the dysfunction of internal organs via the markings on the iris. There is no evidence that it works but some pharmacies promote the fact that customers can get “readings” in their stores.
Your customers rely on you and anyone in a professional capacity within your store to provide sound medical advice and products. We fear that in some cases they are receiving what amounts to little more than magical sugar pills and spurious health advice. Pharmacies need to make a profit, but this should not be done through quack products and bad advice. To regain the status a pharmacy should have – a place to get sound advice and effective medicine, supported by scientific and clinical evidence – we implore our pharmacists to stick to worthy products sold by knowledgeable staff.
South African Sceptics
1. Seely DR, Quigley SM, Langman AW. Ear candles – efficacy and safety. Laryngoscope. 1996; 106(10): 1226-9.
2. http://tinyurl.com/87wxcl. last accessed February 24, 2009.
3. Ernst, E. Ear candles: a triumph of ignorance over science. The Journal of Laryngology and Otology. 2004; 118: 1-2.
I have been away for a long time! And right now I have nothing to write about. So I will start off by showing you some lovely pictures. I love space, the galactic kind that is. And I am a fan of The Big Picture and I now present to you some recent images snapped by the ISS (That’s the International Space Station), enjoy 
**OK, I promise the next post will be more substatial!**
Of the many advances of modern medicine, none seems to evoke as much emotion as childhood vaccines. I’m a mom (that’s my son on the left) and like so many parents I had to decide whether or not I would vaccinate my child. Luckily for me there was far less public debate, especially in South Africa, when I was considering the question and the decision was an easy one for me to make. I decided to vaccinate my son, I had been vaccinated and so had my parents and I had not even heard of the alleged risk of autism.
In the past few years there has been a disturbing increase in activity by people urging us to stop vaccinating our children. I am not going to re-hash the arguments from either the pro-vaccination or anti-vaccination spokesmen. These arguments have been made too often and they are always the same. So I will provide you with two links;
Firstly the anti-vaxxers have a website which promotes their position and wants you to look at 14 studies which supposedly show a link between vaccines and autism. That straining sound you can hear is me NOT tearing into all the fallacious arguments presented on this website. I would like you to have a look at a blog post which handles the problem far better than I could, Science-Based Medicine is a blog which deals with medical issues. Mark Crislip is a hospital based Infectious Disease doctor and in his article “14 Studies Later” he analyzes the evidence put forward by the anti-vaccinationists.
All of this verbal sparring with big words and inflamed ego’s can get a little overwhelming for the concerned parents who simply want to do the very best for their children. That is where the CDC steps in and produces a great video which answers a few of the most pertinent questions in a simple and concise way. Thanks CDC guys! (watch to the end – it’s really cute)
July 20th 1969 was a day which our civilisation will never forget. Everyone withing viewing distance of a television (by that I mean an estimated 500 million people worldwide) was transfixed by the spectacle of mankind’s first step onto an alien world, our moon. Unfortunately I was not born until 13 years after the space race was sorted out by Neil Armstrong’s intrepid boot, and as such I view the episode with awe and have always wondered what it might have been like to live through this incredibly exciting moment in human history.
Well, in a little over a month I will be transported 40 years back in time when I load the “Moonwalk One” DVD into my PC and watch in awed silence as I relive the glory-days of manned space exploration. I can’t wait to see for myself in digitally restored glory. Are you as excited as I am?
SkepticDetective on Twitter
