Skip to content

Skeptical Reporter @ 2012-09-28

Published on 278 Comments on Skeptical Reporter @ 2012-09-28

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 9:09 — 7.4MB)

Aboneaza-te! Email | RSS

Skeptical Reporter for September 28th, 2012

Chen Guangbiao, a famous Chinese businessman and philanthropist, has recently launched a line of canned fresh air collected from various parts of China and Taiwan. The product is called “Chen Guangbiao: Nice Guy” and sells for about 80 cents. It’s no secret China has a huge air pollution problem, but while authorities don’t seem to be taking any action to resolve it, billionaire Chen Guangbiao, aka “Brother Biao” is trying to raise awareness in a very original way. He has recently started selling canned fresh air collected from “revolutionary” areas of China, including Jinggang Mountain in Jiangxi Province, some ethnic minority areas and Taiwan. ”One only has to open the can, directly ‘drink’ it or put the nose close to the can to breath deeply,” Chen said. He has mentioned he will be donating part of the proceeds to the Chinese military, to support their effort in defending the Diaoyu Islands.

Fabrizio Freda, Estée Lauder’s chief, recently announced that he intended to make China the company’s “second home market”. Many multinational companies simply create a new product or two specifically for the Chinese market. But the Estée Lauder Company, which already sells 12 of its 28 cosmetics brands in China, is taking that concept further: adding an entirely new brand. Next month, the cosmetics company, known as the maker of popular brands like Estée Lauder, Clinique and Bobbi Brown, plans to introduce a hybrid East-meets-West beauty line called Osiao (pronounced O-Shao). In a nod to consumers who said they believed in the power of medicinal plants, the company developed formulas with ingredients like the Asiaatic Penny wort herb and ganoderma, a type of mushroom. The brand’s in-store counters are designed to emulate traditional apothecaries, with wooden drawers and cabinets. To further that theme, first-time customers will be invited to sit down with a skin care adviser who will take them through a questionnaire and observation process that echoes the diagnostic techniques used by practitioners of traditional Chinese medicine. Afterward, the advisers will give clients suggested skin care regimens customized for their own skin type.

New South Wales is in the midst of the worst outbreak of measles in a decade with 124 cases reported so far this year. NSW Health says the numbers continue to rise and is appealing to people to ensure their family is fully vaccinated. “Anyone with symptoms of measles should not to go school, work or go out in public. Anyone who thinks they might be infected should see a doctor, but call ahead to make sure they don’t infect others at the doctor’s office,” said Dr Jeremy McAnulty, health director for health protection. Numbers began to spike in June in Western and South Western Sydney, two months after a young adult returned home from Thailand while infectious and transmitted the virus. The health authority said there had been clusters of cases at metropolitan Sydney emergency departments, one paediatrics ward, at several high schools and in the community generally. Children aged under five have been worst affected, largely as a result of transmission to babies too young to be vaccinated. There have also been high rates in 15 to 19-year-olds.

Taking Gingko biloba supplements does not improve memory, attention or problem solving in healthy individuals, according to researchers from the University of Hertfordshire. The paper is the first meta-analytic review examining the effects of Gingko biloba on healthy people across all age groups. The researchers led by Professor Keith Laws found zero impact on the cognitive functions whatever the age of the people, the dose taken or the length of time of taking Gingko biloba supplements. Keith Laws explained: “Gingko biloba has been widely used for a number of years to reduce the mental decline associated with aging. But more recently it has been marketed as a memory enhancing supplement for healthy individuals – and it is crucial to establish the validity for such claims. Our findings show that taking Gingko biloba supplements at any age to boost memory have no impact at all – and may be a waste of time and money.”

And now let's look at some news in science

The same "green revolution" concepts that have revolutionized crop agriculture and helped to feed billions of people around the world may now offer similar potential in forestry, scientists say, with benefits for wood, biomass production, drought stress and even greenhouse gas mitigation. Researchers at Oregon State University recently outlined the latest findings on reduced height growth in trees through genetic modification, and concluded that several advantageous growth traits could be achieved for short-rotation forestry, bio-energy, or more efficient water use in a drier, future climate. This approach runs contrary to conventional wisdom and centuries of tree breeding, which tried to produce forest trees that grow larger and taller, the researchers note. But just as the green revolution in agriculture helped crops such as wheat and rice produce more food - on smaller, sturdier plants, the opportunities in forestry could be significant. "Research now makes it clear that genetic modification of height growth is achievable," said Steven Strauss, an OSU professor of forest genetics.

NASA's Curiosity rover mission has found evidence a stream once ran vigorously across the area on Mars where the rover is driving. There is earlier evidence for the presence of water on Mars, but this evidence -- images of rocks containing ancient stream-bed gravels -- is the first of its kind. Scientists are studying the images of stones cemented into a layer of conglomerate rock. The sizes and shapes of stones offer clues to the speed and distance of a long-ago stream's flow. "From the size of gravels it carried, we can interpret the water was moving about 3 feet per second, with a depth somewhere between ankle and hip deep," said Curiosity science co-investigator William Dietrich of the University of California, Berkeley. The rounded shape of some stones in the conglomerate indicates long-distance transport from above the rim, where a channel named Peace Vallis feeds into the alluvial fan. The abundance of channels in the fan between the rim and conglomerate suggests flows continued or repeated over a long time, not just once or for a few years.

Physicians and environmentalists alike could soon be using a new class of electronic devices: small, robust and high performance, yet also bio compatible and capable of dissolving completely in water or in bodily fluids. Researchers at the University of Illinois, in collaboration with Tufts University and Northwestern University, have demonstrated a new type of biodegradable electronics technology that could introduce new design paradigms for medical implants, environmental monitors and consumer devices. "We refer to this type of technology as transient electronics," said John A. Rogers, Professor of Engineering, who led the multidisciplinary research team. Three application areas appear particularly promising. First are medical implants that perform important diagnostic or therapeutic functions for a useful amount of time and then simply dissolve and resorb in the body. Second are environmental monitors, such as wireless sensors that are dispersed after a chemical spill, that degrade over time to eliminate any ecological impact. Third are consumer electronic systems or sub-components that are compostable, to reduce electronic waste streams generated by devices that are frequently upgraded, such as cellphones or other portable devices.

The point of no return: In astronomy, it's known as a black hole, a region in space where the pull of gravity is so strong that nothing, not even light, can escape. Black holes that can be billions of times more massive than our sun may reside at the heart of most galaxies. Such supermassive black holes are so powerful that activity at their boundaries can ripple throughout their host galaxies. Now, an international team, led by researchers at MIT's Haystack Observatory, has for the first time measured the radius of a black hole at the center of a distant galaxy -- the closest distance at which matter can approach before being irretrievably pulled into the black hole. The scientists linked together radio dishes in Hawaii, Arizona and California to create a telescope array called the "Event Horizon Telescope" that can see details 2,000 times finer than what's visible to the Hubble Space Telescope. These radio dishes were trained on M87, a galaxy some 50 million light years from the Milky Way. M87 harbors a black hole 6 billion times more massive than our sun; using this array, the team observed the glow of matter near the edge of this black hole -- a region known as the "event horizon."

And in local news from Romania we learn that

Over 200 researchers working in foreign countries and in Romania are demanding that a conference organized under the auspices of prime minister Victor Ponta on "Diaspora in Scientific Research" be boycotted. The conference was announced from the 25th of September to the 28th of September. Cristian Dogaru, scientific researcher at the University of Bern is the person who created a petition to boicot the event. So far over 200 researchers have signed it. The petition specifies that Romanian researchers will not condone minster Ponta's behavior in the academia, after he has been accused of plagiarism.

Links:

278 thoughts on “Skeptical Reporter @ 2012-09-28”

  5. BrandonPobia

    viagra india online purchase [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] indian viagra

    Reply ↓
  10. BrandonPobia

    sildenafil pharmacy [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] sildenafil coupon

    Reply ↓
  14. BrandonPobia

    viagra generic without prescription [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]where can i purchase viagra[/url] can you purchase viagra online

    Reply ↓
  19. BrandonPobia

    best price brand viagra [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]viagra for sale no prescription[/url] can you buy generic viagra

    Reply ↓
  23. BrandonPobia

    viagra paypal australia [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] viagra prescription uk

    Reply ↓
  29. BrandonPobia

    viagra best buy india [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] generic viagra for sale in canada

    Reply ↓
  32. BrandonPobia

    viagra 100mg online buy india [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]buy viagra no prescription online[/url] viagra 50mg uk

    Reply ↓
  38. BrandonPobia

    how much is over the counter viagra [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] brand viagra canada

    Reply ↓
  42. BrandonPobia

    buy viagra australia paypal [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] can you buy viagra in australia

    Reply ↓
  47. BrandonPobia

    150 mg viagra [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]viagra online without prescription[/url] viagra soft tabs 50 mg

    Reply ↓
  51. BrandonPobia

    viagra 50mg online in india [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]generic viagra otc[/url] sildenafil canada price

    Reply ↓
  56. BrandonPobia

    viagra tablet 25 mg price [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]real viagra no prescription[/url] how to buy generic viagra

    Reply ↓
  61. BrandonPobia

    generic female viagra 100mg [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]sildenafil 25 mg daily[/url] cost of viagra 50mg

    Reply ↓
  66. BrandonPobia

    generic viagra 50mg online [url=https://vgrsources.com/#]VGR Sources[/url] 100mg sildenafil price

    Reply ↓
  70. AlbertoChicy

    metformin and atorvastatin [url=https://lipipharm.com/#]Lipi Pharm[/url] lipitor side effects in elderly

    Reply ↓
  75. AlbertoChicy

    can you take ozempic and rybelsus together [url=https://semaglupharm.shop/#]SemagluPharm[/url] what is the highest dose of rybelsus

    Reply ↓
  79. AlbertoChicy

    SemagluPharm [url=http://semaglupharm.com/#]Online pharmacy Rybelsus[/url] Rybelsus 3mg 7mg 14mg

    Reply ↓
  84. AlbertoChicy

    Semaglu Pharm [url=https://semaglupharm.com/#]SemagluPharm[/url] Online pharmacy Rybelsus

    Reply ↓
  91. AlbertoChicy

    rybelsus 25 mg [url=https://semaglupharm.com/#]switching from tirzepatide to semaglutide[/url] Semaglu Pharm

    Reply ↓
  95. AlbertoChicy

    200 mg prednisone daily [url=https://prednipharm.com/#]buy prednisone online fast shipping[/url] PredniPharm

    Reply ↓
  99. AlbertoChicy

    Safe online pharmacy for Crestor [url=https://crestorpharm.shop/#]Crestor Pharm[/url] crestor 5 mg price

    Reply ↓
  103. AlbertoChicy

    should you take crestor at night [url=https://crestorpharm.shop/#]crestor medication and alcohol[/url] Crestor Pharm

    Reply ↓
  107. AlbertoChicy

    does rosuvastatin cause memory loss [url=http://crestorpharm.com/#]Crestor Pharm[/url] Crestor 10mg / 20mg / 40mg online

    Reply ↓
  115. AlbertoChicy

    LipiPharm [url=https://lipipharm.shop/#]Order cholesterol medication online[/url] Lipi Pharm

    Reply ↓
  117. AlbertoChicy

    prednisone pill [url=http://prednipharm.com/#]prednisone without prescription medication[/url] PredniPharm

    Reply ↓
  130. AlbertoChicy

    CrestorPharm [url=https://crestorpharm.com/#]Crestor mail order USA[/url] side effects of crestor 10 mg tablets

    Reply ↓
  138. AlbertoChicy

    Affordable Rybelsus price [url=https://semaglupharm.com/#]SemagluPharm[/url] FDA-approved Rybelsus alternative

    Reply ↓
  143. AlbertoChicy

    prednisone steroids [url=https://prednipharm.shop/#]Predni Pharm[/url] Predni Pharm

    Reply ↓
  147. AlbertoChicy

    LipiPharm [url=https://lipipharm.com/#]atorvastatin and erectile dysfunction[/url] Lipi Pharm

    Reply ↓
  153. AlbertoChicy

    Online statin therapy without RX [url=https://crestorpharm.shop/#]when should i take rosuvastatin 5 mg[/url] rosuvastatin 5 mg vs atorvastatin 10 mg

    Reply ↓
  156. AlbertoChicy

    50 mg prednisone from canada [url=http://prednipharm.com/#]prednisone 54899[/url] buy prednisone no prescription

    Reply ↓
  162. AlbertoChicy

    buy prednisone 10mg [url=http://prednipharm.com/#]prednisone buy no prescription[/url] prednisone 50 mg prices

    Reply ↓
  170. Samuelgaill

    Meds From Mexico [url=https://medsfrommexico.com/#]Meds From Mexico[/url] Meds From Mexico

    Reply ↓
  175. Samuelgaill

    canada drugs reviews [url=http://canadapharmglobal.com/#]canada rx pharmacy[/url] canadian pharmacy 24h com safe

    Reply ↓
  180. Samuelgaill

    india pharmacy [url=https://indiapharmglobal.shop/#]India Pharm Global[/url] Online medicine home delivery

    Reply ↓
  184. Samuelgaill

    Meds From Mexico [url=https://medsfrommexico.com/#]Meds From Mexico[/url] mexican rx online

    Reply ↓
  189. Samuelgaill

    canadian family pharmacy [url=https://canadapharmglobal.shop/#]best canadian pharmacy[/url] canadian pharmacy com

    Reply ↓
  195. Samuelgaill

    India Pharm Global [url=https://indiapharmglobal.shop/#]India Pharm Global[/url] India Pharm Global

    Reply ↓
  200. Samuelgaill

    best online pharmacies in mexico [url=https://medsfrommexico.com/#]mexico pharmacies prescription drugs[/url] mexican mail order pharmacies

    Reply ↓
  204. Samuelgaill

    online pharmacy india [url=http://indiapharmglobal.com/#]reputable indian online pharmacy[/url] top 10 pharmacies in india

    Reply ↓
  209. Samuelgaill

    indian pharmacy paypal [url=https://indiapharmglobal.shop/#]cheapest online pharmacy india[/url] India Pharm Global

    Reply ↓
  218. Josephled

    apotek hГҐrtap [url=http://raskapotek.com/#]Гёke forbrenning apotek[/url] vanndrivende uten resept apotek

    Reply ↓
  226. Josephled

    apotek med fri frakt [url=https://svenskapharma.shop/#]honungssalva apotek[/url] köpa online

    Reply ↓
  236. Josephled

    a cosa serve il fucidin [url=https://efarmaciait.shop/#]EFarmaciaIt[/url] pigitil bambini

    Reply ↓
  265. Williamblerm

    digoxin pharmacy protocol [url=https://pharmaconnectusa.com/#]clozapine pharmacy registration[/url] anastrozole online pharmacy

    Reply ↓
  269. Williamblerm

    caremark online pharmacy [url=https://pharmaconnectusa.shop/#]mexican pharmacy valtrex[/url] antibacterial

    Reply ↓
  274. Williamblerm

    solde parapharmacie [url=https://pharmaconfiance.com/#]Pharma Confiance[/url] Pharma Confiance

    Reply ↓
  278. Williamblerm

    dutch apotheek [url=https://medicijnpunt.shop/#]apteka amsterdam[/url] apotheek bestellen

    Reply ↓

Leave a Reply to BrandonPobia Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *