Junk Science: Poor science, pseudoscience, errors, and fraud

Advances in the investigation of the physical universe we live in.
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Nonc Hilaire
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Nonc Hilaire »

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-h ... z2j2YzrKuT
Science has lost its way, at a big cost to humanity.

Researchers are rewarded for splashy findings, not for double-checking accuracy. So many scientists looking for cures to diseases have been building on ideas that aren't even true.

A few years ago, scientists at Amgen set out to double-check the results of 53 landmark papers in cancer research and blood biology. Only six could be proved valid. . . .
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

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Nonc Hilaire
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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The American Council on Science and Health bills itself as an independent research and advocacy organization devoted to debunking "junk science." It's a controversial outfit—a "group of scientists…concerned that many important public policies related to health and the environment did not have a sound scientific basis," it says—that often does battle with environmentalists and consumer safety advocates, wading into public health debates to defend fracking, to fight New York City's attempt to ban big sugary sodas, and to dismiss concerns about the potential harms of the chemical bisphenol-A (better known at BPA) and the pesticide atrazine. The group insists that its conclusions are driven purely by science. It acknowledges that it receives some financial support from corporations and industry groups, but ACSH, which reportedly stopped disclosing its corporate donors two decades ago, maintains that these contributions don't influence its work and agenda.

Yet internal financial documents (read them here) provided to Mother Jones show that ACSH depends heavily on funding from corporations that have a financial stake in the scientific debates it aims to shape. The group also directly solicits donations from these industry sources around specific issues. ACSH's financial links to corporations involved in hot-button health and safety controversies have been highlighted in the past, but these documents offer a more extensive accounting of ACSH's reliance on industry money—giving a rare window into the operations of a prominent and frequent defender of industry in the science wars.
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/201 ... undraising
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

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YMix
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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The sweet sound of science:

oCyzKzKf7ns
American Family Association radio host Bryan Fischer attempted on Thursday to justify the conservative case denying the very existence of trans men and women, saying the Bible backed up those “operating in the realm of science.”

“The people that are pushing this transgender bathroom deal, they’re the ones that are anti-science,” Fischer said, alluding to the California law allowing trans students to use locker rooms and restrooms according to their gender identity. “They’re the ones that have closed their minds to biology, have closed their minds to anatomy, have closed their minds to everything we know about genetics.”

Without mentioning Fox News’ Keith Ablow’s recent column by name, Fischer suggested that Christianity backed Ablow’s “scientific” reasoning, because a person’s DNA is assigned to them “by a creator God who doesn’t make those kind of mistakes,” and that trans people can reaffirm the “truth” about themselves” through prayer, since thinking otherwise is a lie “just coming from Satan.”

“If we embrace the truth that we find in the Scriptures — that you are either male or female, DNA does lie, anatomy doesn’t lie — and you take authority over any lie that comes into your mind, then you eventually will be thinking straight about your sexual identity,” Fischer said. “So we’re the ones that are operating in the realm of science here.”
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Miss_Faucie_Fishtits
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Science..... it isn't what you decide to say it is.....'>.........

EDITED: everything you thought you knew was a lie.....;0...........
She irons her jeans, she's evil.........
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Azrael
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Azrael »

Unreliable Bio-medical Research

An American drug company, Amgen, that tried to replicate 53 landmark studies in cancer was able to reproduce the original results in only 6 cases—even though they worked with the original researchers!

That’s not all. Scientists at the pharmaceutical company Bayer were able to reproduce the published results in just a quarter of 67 studies!
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Nature | Publishers withdraw more than 120 gibberish papers
Conference proceedings removed from subscription databases after scientist reveals that they were computer-generated [using SCIgen].
120 papers is a tiny percentage of what IEEE publishes, however, it looks like a few enterprising individuals have put SCIgen to publication padding use.
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Dail B | Whole Foods: America’s Temple of Pseudoscience
Americans get riled up about creationists and climate change deniers, but lap up the quasi-religious snake oil at Whole Foods. It’s all pseudoscience—so why are some kinds of pseudoscience more equal than others?
If you want to write about spiritually-motivated pseudoscience in America, you head to the Creation Museum in Kentucky. It’s like a Law of Journalism. The museum has inspired hundreds of book chapters and articles (some of them, admittedly, mine) since it opened up in 2007. The place is like media magnet. And our nation’s liberal, coastal journalists are so many piles of iron fillings.

But you don’t have to schlep all the way to Kentucky in order to visit America’s greatest shrine to pseudoscience. In fact, that shrine is a 15-minute trip away from most American urbanites.

I’m talking, of course, about Whole Foods Market.
A few years ago, when I was visiting the Midwest there was a Whole Foods beside the rental apartment where I was staying.

The first thing that caught my attention was how much more expensive everything was compared to a regular supermarket.
Even though a large corporation was picking up the bill, decided to hike over to the Jewel/Osco, get some exercise, and pay reasonable prices.

Tip of the hat to Whole Foods for their skill in marketing bullsh*t:

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Nonc Hilaire
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Whole Foods has the best steaks I have ever found in a grocery store.
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

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Doc
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Nonc Hilaire wrote:Whole Foods has the best steaks I have ever found in a grocery store.
Try a local meat market. One with local beef.
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Azrael
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Azrael »

Doc wrote:
Nonc Hilaire wrote:Whole Foods has the best steaks I have ever found in a grocery store.
Try a local meat market. One with local beef.
Good advice.
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Azrael
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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cultivate a white rose
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Doc
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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This just came out few days ago:
http://zeenews.india.com/news/health/he ... 73613.html
High-fat milk products reduce diabetes risk

Last Updated: Sunday, April 5, 2015 - 12:28

London: Consumption of high-fat dairy products is associated with reduced risk for Type-2 diabetes, says a study.

The new findings are in line with previous studies that indicated a link between high consumption of dairy products and a reduced risk of Type-2 diabetes.

"Those who ate the most high-fat dairy products had a 23 percent lower risk of developing Type-2 diabetes than those who ate the least.

And this from today

http://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle ... upplements
Vitamin D deficiency has been inconclusively linked to numerous conditions, including breast, bowel, lung and prostate cancers, heart disease, type 2 diabetes, dementia and rheumatoid arthritis. In fact, research on the topic was recently described by a Harvard medical professor as “the wild, wild west”. Amid the fog of conflicting studies, the big news story that doctors in the UK were expecting last month has been postponed until after the election. The government’s Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) was due to release its first report on vitamin D since 2007. The consensus is that the volume and ever-changing nature of the research to be waded through has rendered their job almost impossible, although some believe that this most recent delay (not the first) is political – perhaps an expensive mass supplementation programme is on the cards.
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Because of ongoing confusion about nutrition, I've long stopped worrying about it.

It is a contemporary version of self-flagellation.

My view is that we have evolved over millions of years to eat protein, fat, complex carbohydrates, minerals, vitamins, etc. in our food.

So I avoid all the artificial low fat, sugar, butter, etc., substitutes and try to eat the original keeping three thing in mind:

1/ balanced meals;

2/ don't overeat; and

3/ get some exercise every day
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Nonc Hilaire
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Nonc Hilaire »

The problem is all these relational surveys which are presented as scientific fact. If all you read is " X gives you a Y% greater chance of developing symptom Z" you are reading a preliminary exploration designed to see if there is any real world support for a real scientific inquiry.
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

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Yukon Cornelius
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Yukon Cornelius »

Quote from Chef Tim Love:

Whenever you see the words "fat-free" or "low-fat" think of the words "chemical sh!t storm."
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Doc
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Nonc Hilaire wrote:The problem is all these relational surveys which are presented as scientific fact. If all you read is " X gives you a Y% greater chance of developing symptom Z" you are reading a preliminary exploration designed to see if there is any real world support for a real scientific inquiry.
There was once a Larson Far side cartoon about the average family with their one and one half kids. I tried to find it to no avail But it seems to me that pointed out the problem with all these health scientific facts. Everything they say relates to the average person. But there is a large standard deviation. What works for the average in any given scenario does not work for all. With me personally I have found that some pharmaceuticals have no effect on me or the opposite effect they are supposed to have. Some people can eat like crazy and never gain weight others can't keep the weight seemly no matter what they do.

This guy makes some good points about the cult of the average. He is pretty funny as well.
fLJsdqxnZb0
"I fancied myself as some kind of god....It is a sort of disease when you consider yourself some kind of god, the creator of everything, but I feel comfortable about it now since I began to live it out.” -- George Soros
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Azrael
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

Post by Azrael »

Has Vitamin D deficiency been conclusively linked to any serious disease?

I'm on supplements for very low Vitamin D blood level.
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Azrael wrote:Has Vitamin D deficiency been conclusively linked to any serious disease?

I'm on supplements for very low Vitamin D blood level.
Rickets

Vitamin D deficiency (Beyond the Basics)
May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Azrael
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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Typhoon wrote:
Azrael wrote:Has Vitamin D deficiency been conclusively linked to any serious disease?

I'm on supplements for very low Vitamin D blood level.
Rickets

Vitamin D deficiency (Beyond the Basics)
Thanks.
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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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Nonc Hilaire
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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The reason medical research is often so inaccurate is not because the level of significance is too low. It is because the subjects are unique, the dependent variable is not identical, the dv is not normally distributed and subjects are not truly selected at random.

When the basic assumptions of statistics are violated like this increasing the level of significance is not even wrong. Medicine does a good job of wide scale public health studies at .01, but you can't translate wide scale studies to individuals. To do that you need to test a specific MOA in a clinical N=1 double reversal design.

Physicists have the luxury of waiting to confirm veridical truth. They can refuse to make a decision for Physicians must make command decisions based on less than ideal data. It's an entirely different logical paradigm.
“Christ has no body now but yours. Yours are the eyes through which he looks with compassion on this world. Yours are the feet with which he walks among His people to do good. Yours are the hands through which he blesses His creation.”

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Typhoon
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Re: Junk Science: Unintentional errors and outright fraud

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May the gods preserve and defend me from self-righteous altruists; I can defend myself from my enemies and my friends.
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