Monthly Archives: June 2002

Increasing Life Span, Wealth Is Killing Westerners

As the media regularly remind us, the West faces an “epidemic of cancer.” Why is it that Europe, the United States and other countries have such high rates of cancer while people in places like Africa or Eastern Europe have … Continue reading

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Is Organic Agriculture Viable? Probably Not

Ronald Bailey took a look at the inconvenient parts of a Swiss study that the media largely covered as offering proof that organic farming was viable and efficient. A close look at the study, however, finds that it is neither. … Continue reading

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Chernobyl Hysteria In Great Britain

A British statistician created a fresh headline grabbing health issue when he told New Scientist that birth defects and infant mortality in Great Britain increased between 1986 and 1989. The cause? According to statistician John Urquhart, radiation from the Chernobyl … Continue reading

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Salon.Com Debunks John Edward

Shari Waxman has a short but sweet debunking of John Edward. Waxman writes about probability and how “Crossing Over” is set up such that something would be really wrong if Edward’s vague statements didn’t apply to one dead relative or … Continue reading

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The Horrors of For-Profit Hospitals

The BBC recently published an unintentionally hilarious article on a study published in the Canadian Medical Association Journal. The headlined blared, ‘More die in private hospitals’ – researchers. After supposedly studying the medical records of nearly 40 million people over … Continue reading

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Study Finds No Radon Cancer Link

A British study of almost 6,000 children found that home radon levels had no effect on cancer incidence. The study took 2,226 children with cancer and 3,773 healthy children and measured radon and gamma ray levels in bedrooms and living … Continue reading

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British Review Finds MMR Dangerous — To Measles Virus

A British review of research into the MMR vaccine from 180 countries has found that the vaccine is in fact dangerous — at least to the measles virus. In humans, though, it is safe. Dr. Anna Donald and Dr. Vivek … Continue reading

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Government Officials Charge That MMR Researcher Refuses to Allow Claims to Be Verified

Dr. Andrew Wakefield kicked off anti-vaccine hysteria in Great Britain with his claim that he found measles in the gut of children who never contracted the disease. Wakefield and collaborator John O’Leary just last week announced that they had found … Continue reading

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BBC to Broadcast Anti-GM Drama

The BBC generated a bit of controversy in the UK recently with its planned broadcast of a two-part drama called “Fields of Gold” which is offers up a nightmare scenario where genetically modified foods end up threatening the very survival … Continue reading

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