Choose your own science

In the lead up to Australia’s National Science Week this month (don’t forget to sign up for that), the Australia Museum is holding People’s Choice Awards for their Eureka Science Prizes.

GO VOTE. (There are prizes for Australian residents)

I actually have connections with one of these scientists! Squeee! I am like legitimate (or not…). Kathy Belov, nominated for her work regarding the genetics of the Tadmanian Devil facial tumour (DFTD). Marsupial immunology is a small field, so Kathy was one of the collaborators with my ex-supervisor on the launchblock for my research (one of my former lab-mates now has Kathy as a PhD co-supervisor) – near the end of my research our lab received some very useful American marsupial DNA libraries from her.Good luck Kathy.

And if transmissible facial cancer in devils is not cool enough for you there is also:

• a gamer-chick making diamond-based nanodrugs,
• a link between climate change and increasing danger of allergies,
• the discovery of five new species of glow-worms (and a parasitic wasp),
• not to be outdone, the discovery of almost 50 new sharks and rays (or over 100), and
• using radiocarbon dating to investigate what exactly caused cimate and atmospheric changes in the past to better udnerstand what is going on today

There are 6.8 billion reasons why holistic organic tofu farming won’t take off

You may remember I offhandedly posted a link to a new hard-hitting piece of environmnetal investigative journalism “Food Inc” back ago. You can read a bit more about it at ERV (Her non-judgemental words: “a new movie bitching about GMOs and food production in the US”).

Unsurprisingly the US meat/livestock/poultry industries have put together a debunking website: safefoodinc.org which includes an enlightening myths & facts section.

The curious case of the unqualified qualication

According to 6minutes.com.au the Chiropractor’s Association of Australia has asked people to stop practicing chiropract. Well, particular people. Doctors in particular. Because they are not qualified enough.

Oh, wait we are only at the entrance to this rabbit hold.

According to the CAA it takes a minimum of 5-years to become a chiropractor, while a doctor can just upskill with a correspondence course from the RACPG.

The article also suggests that tha CAA candidly admits that there are risks associated with spinal manipulation. I wonder if the wider chiropractic community will accept these risks are potential (and any risk will not be wholly mitigated by the presence of trained ‘professional’).

Now while the CAA almost seems laughable here, they are actually attempting to enforce exactly what the evidence-based medicine community has asked of them: clean up their own house. They are accepting responsiblity for the safe practice of chiropract by all practicioiners, by attempting to get some training standards in place.

Rather then laughing this off perhaps the EBM community should be asking – why are all these actual GPs and MDs engaging in an unproven non-reality based mode of practice with established associated risks, and why is the RACPG encouraging it?

I can think of a couple of weak reasons, can you?