I Speak of Dreams

I Want This Cookbook!

One of these days when I get more time (ha!) I'll post the lesson plans for Candy Science (backstory here here and here).

There's a new cookbook out:

The Hungry Scientist Handbook: Electric Birthday Cakes, Edible Origami, and Other DIY Projects for Techies, Tinkerers, and Foodies

From the Amazon page:

The Hungry Scientist Handbook brings DIY technology into the kitchen and onto the plate. It compiles the most mouthwatering projects created by mechanical engineer Patrick Buckley and his band of intrepid techie friends, whose collaboration on contraptions started at a memorable 2005 Bay Area dinner party and resulted in the formation of the Hungry Scientist Society—a loose confederation of creative minds dedicated to the pursuit of projects possessing varying degrees of whimsy and utility.

Featuring twenty projects ranging from edible origami to glowing lollipops, cryogenic martinis to Tupperware boom boxes, the book draws from the expertise of programmers, professors, and garden-variety geeks and offers something to delight DIYers of all skill levels.

via Boing Boing

Also see Caveman Chemistry.
Also see Order Of The Science Scouts Of Exemplary Repute And Above Average Physique

Also see Howtoons

If You Are Interested in Public Health, Autism, and Public Understanding of Science, Read this Blog

The blog is The ScienceBlogs Book Club.  In October, we're reading and discussing Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine,  and the Search for A Cure.

Autism's False Prophets: Bad Science, Risky Medicine, and the Search for a Cure, by Dr. Paul Offit, describes how the belief that vaccines might cause autism arose and gained popularity during the early years of this decade. The book discusses the scientists, politicians, and parent groups that helped fuel the fears that vaccines, or a mercury-containing preservative in them, accounted for a sharp rise in autism cases worldwide, and the scientific work that later showed these fears ungrounded. Throughout, Offit pays attention to the interplay of a number of concerned parties: doctors and scientists, the parents of autistic children, politicians, personal-injury lawyers, and the media. He argues that the public was seriously and dangerously misled about autism and vaccines, and his analysis aims to understand how a specific piece of scientific misinformation was able to spread widely and obtain great traction.

Joining Dr. Offit to discuss Autism's False Prophets are Kristina Chew, PhD, author of the blog Autism Vox; Kev Leitch, author of the blog Left Brain, Right Brain; Bob Park, PhD, a University of Maryland physics professor and author of the weekly online column, "What's New by Bob Park;" and Orac, the pseudonymous surgeon-scientist author of the blog Respectful Insolence.

I'll be posting my review shortly, and will be active in the comments.

 

Paul Offit's official website

Dolivaxil can't "cure" anything.

(Update 10/29/2004: More on Dolivaxil's effectiveness)

I get a lot of searches for things about homeopathy. Following back this one, I got:

Dolivaxil is our #1 remedy to prevent the flu. Safer than other methods to prevent the flu. Safe to use for all ages. Unlike vaccine, there are no contradictions to prevent safe use of Dolivaxil. Each box of Dolivaxil contains the complete treatment for 1 person. Take 1 vial of tiny pellets once a week for 4 weeks. Wait 3 weeks and take the final vial. That's it! Avoid the dangers of the flu shot. We receive many requests now from many families who used Dolivaxil successfully last year. Think of the savings in doctor visits, missed school and work, and worthless over the counter treatments. Includes 5 vials and instructions on how to use to prevent the flu. Purchase one box per person when using as a vaccination alternative. Homeopathy works with your body and strengthens your immune system!

How many misstatements of truth can you find in that paragraph?

Repeat after me: there is no proof that homeopathy works in any way to do anything other than making your wallet lighter.

The quack homeopathic expensive waterremedy referenced above is a product of the Dolisos group, which is a subsidiary of the French health care giant Pierre Fabre

Creationists Lie

What is with the creationists? They lie, then lie again. According to the good folks at Creation "Science" Debunked Lennie Flanks reveals that the Institute for Creation Research has a pattern of stretching the truth.

Part III--Critique of homeopathy: An Examination of Its Utility in Some Life-Threatening Medical Conditions

Where The Tough Get Going: Homeopathy and Life-Threatening Conditions

Type One Diabetes

Here is conventional Western medicine's description and treatment:

Type 1 diabetes mellitus, more commonly known as type 1 diabetes, is a disease in which the pancreas produces too little insulin to meet the body's needs. Insulin is a hormone that helps control the level of glucose in the blood. Glucose is the main form of sugar in the body.

If a person with type 1 diabetes goes without enough insulin for too long, the glucose level within the cells can fall dangerously low. .When the cells in the body cannot get enough glucose, the body starts to burn fat for energy. This produces waste products known as ketones. High levels of ketones can result in too much acid in the body, called diabetic ketoacidosis. [snip]

Immediate medical attention is needed to prevent coma and death.

Treatment for type 1 diabetes is focused on controlling blood glucose levels. This is done with insulin shots. Insulin can be injected under the skin a certain number of times per day, or may be given with an insulin pump.

In other words, the CWM treatment, from a homeopathic point of view, ignores the underlying cause (the pancreas's inability to produce glucose), and (wrongly) focuses on treating the symptom: providing the missing insulin. Now, according to what we have learned about the theory of homeopathy, diabetes type 1 surely should be a disease in which the homeopathic approach would excel. Remedies would be used to return the pancreas to health and proper function of excreting insulin.

Here is what I was able to find about homeopathic treatment of diabetes type I:

Nightingale Health Centers: Homeopathy in Conditions

Diabetes, Type-I (Juvenile onset)

There are not any known cases of Type-I diabetes ever having been successfully cured by homeopathy or related global systems of natural medicine.

Part II Critique of Homeopathy: The Foundations and Background

Why It Is Hard to Think About Homeopathy And Why It Is Health Fraud part 2

The Background to Homeopathy

Homeopathy's founder is considered to be Samuel Hahnemann (1755-1843), a German physician, who began formulating homeopathy's basic principles in the late 1700s. We should honor Hahnemann for what he he accomplished in his milieu, as we honor other great medical thinkers such as Lister or Pastuer. Hahnemann worked before the germ theory of disease was well established, before the mechanisms of infections disease were well understood. before the understanding of public health, and before the scientific method and more advanced testing of hypothoses, such as double-blind testing were established. Hahneman, as a physician, noticed that the common treatments of the day, such as bloodletting, leeching, purging, and the administration of toxic remedies, did far more harm than good. As a good healer, and scientist, he went in search of remedies and theories.

Part I Critique of Homeopathy: An Overview of Why Homeopathy is Cannot Be Effective And Is More Like A Religion

What is Fraud and Quackery?

Dr. Steven Barret, over at, Quackwatch offers the following definition:

"Quackery" derives from the word quacksalver (someone who boasts about his salves). Dictionaries define quack as "a pretender to medical skill; a charlatan" and "one who talks pretentiously without sound knowledge of the subject discussed." These definitions suggest that the promotion of quackery involves deliberate deception, but many promoters sincerely believe in what they are doing. The FDA defines health fraud as "the promotion, for profit, of a medical remedy known to be false or unproven." This also can cause confusion because in ordinary usage -- and in the courts -- the word "fraud" connotes deliberate deception. Quackery's paramount characteristic is promotion ("Quacks quack!") rather than fraud, greed, or misinformation.

Are homeopaths, and the big homeopathic remedy companies, quacks or medical frauds? This is sincerely a difficult question for me to answer. I believe that most persons who provide or promote homeopathic remedies sincerely believe in what they are doing. I am less sure about the large companies in Europe and the United States. In this essay I propose to examine the philosophical and economic aspects of homeopathy.

Resources for Parents of Very Challenging Children

If your child is very challenging, you might want to check out a few of these resources.

Foster Cline, Hope for High Risk and Rage Filled Children is the Primer on treatment of Attachment Disordered Children. Written for therapists and foster and adoptive parents who work with disturbed children, this book covers, in everyday, concise and clear language both the reasons for development of Reactive Attachment Disorder and gives, in detail, the treatment needed. Treatment examples include both examples from the literature and transcripts of treatment from the Evergreen clinic.

This book is available through Evergreen Press and can be obtained by ordering directly from Foster Cline. The web site also has some other

There is a woman Nancy Thomas who has specialized in being a therapeutic foster parent. Her web site has many great articles and materials there to learn from.

I am less intrigued by a woman named Diane Craft, who seems to believe that a lot of problems can be "cured' by adding specific nutrients to the child's diet.

"I have received hundreds of reports from parents telling me of wonderful changes they have seen in their child's behavior, memory ability, learning ability and physical health using these very simple nutritional interventions. Children have regularly been able to reduce or totally eliminate stimulant medications using natural supplements. Bed wetting has stopped. Stomach aches cease. Behavior has greatly improved. Headaches are reduced or totally eliminated. Mood swings are gone. Sleep comes more easily. Concentration is much better. Temper tantrums turn into rarities. The child is calmer and much happier. These are common occurrences with the use of the proper diet and nutritional supplementation for a child. God has many ways to heal a child. We just need to find the one for you!"

There is also the Pfeiffer Treatment Center, a not-for-profit organization specializing in treating symptoms associated with behavior, learning, mood, and thought disorders. Our innovative approach to treating an individual’s biochemistry has helped thousands of patients over the past 14 years. We use vitamins, minerals, amino acids, and hormones prescribed in individualized and appropriate dosages to achieve a balance in body biochemistry.

There are many theories which attempt to define the factors that cause Autism. Each of these deal with the communication and behavioral problems that Autistic/PDD children exhibit. Unfortunately, many of these theories are based on limited studies that do not meet the requirements for validity as defined by the American Statistical Association (ASA). This is not to say that these theories are not valid. It does not say that they are not correct. What it does say is that they are yet unproven to the level needed to satisfy the ASA guidelines.