Joe asks 'Is it me or what?'

More Revelations

Many newspapers, including the Metro where I read it, have reported that the area of the brain which processes music tends to be more active in – wait for it – musicians. A startling revelation I’m sure you’ll agree.

Wonders Of Science

There’s an old science anecdote about how researchers proved that spiders hear through their legs. Spiders were trained to jump at the sound of a whistle but when their legs were removed they remained stationary. Besides being amusing the story has some important information to convey about cause and effect and whether things are correlated, coincidental or unrelated entirely.

I was reminded of this tale by an article telling how butterflies’ navigation systems are located within their antennae rather than their brain as previously thought. When their antennae are removed (how cruel…) they can’t navigate as well. I’ll admit that these finding carry more weight than the deaf spiders experiment but it still made me smile.

Send For Sherlock

Sir Arthur Conan Doyle was a strange chap. As well as writing the famous Sherlock Holmes stories he also believed in fairies and was fooled by so-called psychics and mediums (or should that be media?) using trickery that they could move objects through hidden dimensions and other miraculous tasks.

I was reminded of him today on reading this article on the BBC site about a new species of giant rat that has been found in Papua New Guinea. The reason is that Sherlock Holmes alluded to a story regarding a giant rat in Sumatra, not that far from Papua New Guinea, that the world was not yet ready for. Since then many authors have produced versions of the story in an attempt to fill the gap.

This newly discovered rat is similar to those found in sewers all over the world except that it is considerably larger, one example was 82cm long, not something you want to meet unexpectedly on a dark evening.

Another Healthy Breakfast

Recent reports show that blueberry juiced has helped prevent obesity and diabetes in mice. Obviously scientists want to take this a stage further and are hoping it can work on humans too. I’ll take two blueberry muffins with that coffee, please.

A Predictable Misconception

I worked briefly for the HFEA, who monitor and aid the regulatory process on matters such as egg and sperm donation and the whole fertility treatment process. In general I feel they do a good job in what is a difficult area, packed with religious, ethical and scientific contradictions and view points.

However they have recently had to review one of their policies concerning payment for donors and it’s hard to see how anyone, with even a scintilla of common sense, could not have predicted the outcome when it was introduced.

The amount of people donating, particularly those not related in any way to the recipients, has fallen considerably in the last few years. Two policies that were promoted by the HFEA are directly responsible for this, firstly the decision to make anonymous donations a thing of the past, along with the threat of having to pay child maintenance for the issue. Secondly the stopping of payments for donors other than reasonable expenses. One of the main groups has traditionally been young impoverished men, is it any wonder that this group now sees no point in donating along with a huge financial disincentive?

Now if the HFEA thinks that it has taken the the correct view then fine, but they are reviewing the policies due to shortages. Why is it that virtually anyone in the UK could have predicted the outcome but those paid to do so predicted just a small decrease? It’s worrying that people employed at these organisations, and there’s rarely serious interviews for the top posts, it’s still a case of who you know, seem to have such little understanding of the key issues and people’s mind sets in general.

Who Turned The Lights Out? - More Mystic Meg

Parts of Asia will shortly experience a solar eclipse lasting over six minutes. Solar eclipses are reasonably rare but one of this length is extraordinary and won’t occur again for hundreds of years. It’s a great opportunity for scientists and many sightseers are also travelling there on specially arranged holidays.

Of course there is a lot of astrological nonsense being spouted, my favourite so far is that one of Burma’s Mystic Megs has predicted the eclipse will trigger wars and instability. Given the state of the world and Burma in particular it would have been more impressive if they’d predicted that all war would cease.

Justice Eady – Science’s Coffin Maker

Justice Eady, who has been involved in a larger number of freedom of speech/libel cases, doesn’t just seem to be on Planet of the Judges he seems to inhabit his own satellite of it.

He is well known for favouring the rich, and usually non-UK based people who object when journalists and others write the truth about them. Instead of supporting the ever decreasing right of free speech he seems always to find in favour of the plaintiff and bans the publication, if possible, as well as awarding against them and lumbering the defendant with costs. This happens even when the article can be demonstrated as true and often has not even been published in the UK; there is a growing swell against these rulings in the US and other countries as they value free speech more than we do.

As an example there is the case of journalist Rachel Ehrenfeld who was sued by Sheik Mahfouz and his two sons over references to them in her book investigating the financing of terrorism. This may lead to the dissolution of the agreement between the UK and the US whereby each others libel awards are respected, the principle of comity.

But Sir David Eady has now made an attempt to kill the progress of science with the case of the British Chiropractic Association versus notable scientist Simon Singh. Unfortunately this case has not received much publicity outside of Private Eye and the scientific press.

The basic facts are that Singh claimed, in his co-authored book, Trick or Treatment, that chiropractics claims to treat colic, asthma, ear infections and other, often child related, problems as bogus and without substantiation.

The BCA took exception to this and Justice Eady’s ruling was that Singh could only say what he did if the BCA knowingly told untruths, it was not enough to disprove them per se, to ask for evidence of the claims, or offer a different interpretation of the data. Obviously this is a much more difficult task, and even Singh never stated that they deliberately misled the public, just that he disagreed with their reading of the evidence; one of the founding principles of scientific methodology being review of the data and conclusions by the community.

Singh was also refused leave to appeal and faces financial ruin over the case.

A support group has been started with many scientists feeling that, if this case sets a precedent, it spells the end of serious scientific debate in this country, as well as elsewhere given Justice Eady’s previous far reaching pronouncements.

Simon Singh is a brave man, he has risked a lot in his defence of free speech and scientific freedom and deserves more publicity and our support.

For the Love of Ada

Today, apparently, is Ada Lovelace day. Often cited as the first computer programmer, despite living one hundred years before the first electronic machines were made.

The Sky Really Is Falling

I recently wrote an article decrying the ever increasing restrictions blamed on Health and Safety and comparing them to the famous cry of Chicken Little or Vitalstatistix in the tales of Asterix.

However a recent report by NASA claims that the upper boundary of the atmosphere has fallen dramatically. Apparently this was not entirely unexpected as it varies anyway due to cyclical solar activity but even so it was well below expected levels.

Fertility: Science versus Myth

Two articles caught my eye recently, both concerning fertility. The first was a warning that some perfumes and cosmetics can adversely affect women's fertility. The findings are disputed though.

The second was the apologies of a publisher and subsequent removal of a chapter in a book that encouraged girls to play the didgeridoo, an Australian Aborigine instrument. Apparently playing this instrument is believed by many Aborigines to cause infertility in women and they shouldn't even touch it. Can they offer any facts to back this up?

I find it incredible that such a non-scientific and archaic sentiment can hold such sway in this day and age. If women in Britain were told that could not play the trumpet can you imagine the outcry?

Needless to say in this politically correct climate the publishers backed down, promising new content in the next edition such as how to play netball. Now I've watched my daughter play this and it's a competitive sport but I hardly think it warrants inclusion in a book entitled The Daring Book For Girls.