Check the cherries you pick – they might be rotten

My attention was belatedly drawn to the BBC News item in which the President of the Faculty of Homeopathy, Dr Sara Eames, claimed that there were over 100 clinical trials that provide good evidence that it works. Sadly her opponent in the debate was well-meaning but very poorly informed. The reality is that over 200 clinical trials of homeopathy are in the literature, so was Eames picking the 100 best ones? Well she would have to pick far fewer than that.

The Three Amigos

OK, I’m a bit slow in commenting on the second oral evidence session of the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. At least the delay has allowed me to get my thoughts in order – and to calm down. I have seldom seen three people looking less comfortable. They all knew they were on the rack, and I might have expected them to be a bit better prepared. They had the air of someone going to the dentist – something unpleasant, not overwhelmingly important, and to be got out of the way as quickly as possible. Well I hope they will realise that there is a bigger picture than they one they thought they were painting. Again I won’t cover the entire sorry episode, just the bits where I hope I can add some context.

Evidence: It’s whatever you want it to be

I have just sat through the an oral session for the evidence check on homeopathy, called by the House of Commons Science and Technology Committee. Well I wasn’t there in person, I watched it on the excellent video page. You can still see it if you are quick. Before I go on, aren’t we all glad they have reverted to a sensible name for this committee? Anyway, it was almost two hours very well spent. The transcript will be what endures for the public record, but that doesn’t capture all the body language and hesitation that attended so many of the answers to questions. I just want to pick out some bits that I think are worth our attention – in no particular order.

Ancient Poppycock

I write this in the departure lounge of Delhi International Airport, awaiting my flight home after visiting various hospitals around India. This is the third time I have done this, so I feel at least slightly qualified to write about health care in this vast country. It’s a nation of huge contrasts. I don’t for a moment think that there is free and equal access to health care for all, and there is in fact a two-tier system based on public and private hospitals. I don’t intend to focus on that, but on something quite different. I am constantly lectured by the alternative medicine fraternity, to the effect that traditional medicine has passed the test of time. It has been around for thousands of years (no doubt true for some of it but by no means all), and people know what works without all this reductionist science.

Killing her softly……..

I have followed on and off the case of Dale and Leilani Newman who killed their daughter Kara. They did this by refusing to allow treatment for her diabetes. Kara was eleven years old. Her parents are Christians, who believe that the only treatment for illness is prayer. They and their friends prayed as she lay on the floor, and watched her die.

Bending over backwards to mislead…..

Sadly I am a pretty sporadic blogger (classic car ownership is to blame), but again I am driven to add my feeble voice to the case brought by the British Chiropractic Association against Simon Singh. I have known Simon for a couple of years, and been impressed not just by his searing intellect, but by his rock solid integrity.  As half the world seems to know, the BCA is suing Simon for the following article which appeared in The Guardian newspaper last year.

The chiroprats strike back

Coming into this story as late as I am, I don’t have much to add, other than to draw attention to the far more erudite offerings of others. If somehow you have not heard that chiropractors would rather issue legal threats than solid evidence for what they do, here’s a quick summary.

Misleading students – and not even courteous

My good friend David Colquhoun alerted me to the bizarre material being taught to science students at Thames Valley University. So in my capacity as a science writer (perfectly true) I asked the Vice Chancellor Professor Peter John for a statement.

The cheque book is mightier than the pen…..

Science publishing is big business. Ask Robert Maxwell – or rather you should have asked him when you had the chance. He started his business empire by siphoning off Germany’s scientific discoveries after World War 2 and publishing them in a stable of journals under his newly acquired Pergamon Press banner. The world is hungry for knowledge, and people who discover what they think is new knowledge are desperate for an audience. I am of the opinion that however ludicrous your claim, you can get it published somewhere in the world, and probably in a `peer reviewed’ journal.

Michael Dixon caught red-handed!

I’m not sure if people with bizarre beliefs sometimes go out of their way to make an exhibition of themselves, or if they just don’t care. Here we see Dr Michael Dixon OBE, resting his hand on an invisible hat worn by another man.