Sometimes I run into new information about a story I’ve previously posted that has changed my mind. This post is an example. I previously wrote about three cancer myths that I concluded were wrong, including that vitamin C is a potentially useful anti-cancer agent. I’ve now read some work that has changed my mind: I think that vitamin C may have anti-cancer activity, and certainly that it should be investigated further. So this post is a changed version of the earlier one, which appeared in June, 2019.… Read the rest “Three cancer myths revisited”
mistakes
The Death of Ponte Morandi
Ponte Morandi, Genoa. The tower on the left, and the adjacent roadway, collapsed on August 14, 2018. Picture attribution: Salvatore1991
A terrible tragedy occurred in Genoa, Italy on August 14, 2018. A suspension bridge in that city, part of the A10 motorway, collapsed into the bed of the Polcevera River, 150 feet below. Forty-three people who were driving over the bridge were killed.
The cable-stayed bridge
The bridge in Genoa, called the Ponte Morandi after its designer, Riccardo Morandi, was opened in 1967.… Read the rest “The Death of Ponte Morandi”
The Fading Memory of Water
Samuel Hahnemann, father of homeopathic medicine.
A paper published in the June 30, 1988 issue of the high-profile scientific journal Nature shocked the biomedical research world. Its anodyne title, “Human Basophil Degranulation Triggered by Very Dilute Antiserum Against IgE”, probably didn’t cause any non-scientists to choke on their breakfast cereal. But in the eyes of the mainstream scientific world, the article made a radical claim: Pure water, admittedly with a special history, could generate an immune reaction in a test tube.… Read the rest “The Fading Memory of Water”
Why there is so much talk about Epigenetics
In April 2017 I published a post titled “Why is there so much talk about Epigenetics?”. I think I did a pretty decent job explaining what Epigenetics is, and why it is such a critically important part of biology. The gist is, that the regulated output of our genomic information depends on Epigenetics. This is achieved by specific chemical groups and protein along the chromosomes that control their expression into the proteins and other products needed for the life of a particular cell.… Read the rest “Why there is so much talk about Epigenetics”