A mouse leukemia retrovirus, xenotropic murine leukemia virus-related virus (XMRVretrovirus), has been under consideration as a possible cause of chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS, and also prostate cancer). In a study published in Science in October 2009, Lombardi et al. found XMRV in 67% of CFS patients and 3.7% of controls. Several subsequent studies in the
The term evidence-based medicine (EBM) first appeared in the medical literature in 1992. There were two previous EBMs: Expert-Based Medicine and Experience-Based Medicine. In the 4th century BCE, Aristotle said men have more teeth than women. He was the expert, and for many centuries his error was perpetuated because no one dared question his authority
Severe calorie restriction has been shown to effectively prolong life in almost every species that has been studied so far. Science hasn’t yet shown whether it will work for humans, but preliminary evidence suggests that it might. Human calorie restrictors have lower weight, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels. Despite those indicators, Marshall Deutsch apparently thinks
The Internet is a wonderful new medium for communicating ideas and information in a rapid and interactive way. Many articles are followed by a “comments” section. Like so many things in this imperfect world, comments are a mixed blessing. They can enhance the article by correcting errors, adding further information, and contributing useful thoughts to
I am getting very annoyed with antioxidants. Like Pavlov’s dogs, I’m becoming conditioned to flinch when I hear the word “antioxidant” because it is so often followed by oversimplifications, distortions, and partial truths. The hype is everywhere, in magazines, on the Internet, on the radio, in books, in stores. Antioxidants promise to prevent heart disease, cancer,
The scientific method is a toolkit that provides the only reliable way to learn how things work in the real world. But some people have come to distrust it because science keeps changing its mind. It’s supposed to tell us “The Truth” in black and white and capital letters, but instead it’s all grey and
The “News of the Weird” recently reported that a man had turned himself in to the police for a crime he thought he must have committed because he didn’t remember doing it! He claimed to have a split personality. He remembered becoming angry at a waiter in a Chinese restaurant and the next thing he
Words from physics, such as “energy,” “frequency,” “fields,” and “quantum,” used to be respectable, well-defined concepts used in the clear light of science by real physicists to study how the world works. In recent years they have been kidnapped, disguised, and forced into prostitution in the dim back alleys of alternative medicine and commercial scams.
One of our readers suggested that I review the book The Great Influenza: The Epic Story of the Deadliest Plague in History, by John M. Barry. It’s not a new book (it was published in 2004) but it is very pertinent to several of the issues that we have been discussing on this blog, especially
Myths and misconceptions about cancer abound. Oncologists are frequently criticized for torturing patients by burning, cutting and poisoning without making any real progress in the war against cancer. Siddhartha Mukherjee, an oncologist and cancer researcher, tries to set the record straight with his new book The Emperor of All Maladies: A Biography of Cancer. It
