Quickies
Skepchick Quickies 10.1
- Naturopaths warn lack of regulation a risk – “Anyone on P.E.I can call themselves a naturopathic doctor, and practitioners with national certification…say not having any regulation is a serious problem.” From Peregrine.
- UK girl given Glaxo’s Cervarix had tumor, agency says – The autopsy of the UK girl who died after receiving an HPV vaccine shot has found that she had a malignant tumor in her chest which lead to her death. From Steve.
- 2009 IgNobel prize ceremony tonight – There will be a live webcast of the event.
- Tamiflu in rivers could breed drug-resistant flu strains – “The premier flu-fighting drug is contaminating rivers downstream of sewage-treatment facilities, researchers in Japan confirm. The source: urinary excretion by people taking oseltamivir phosphate, best known as Tamiflu.”
I think “UK girl given Glaxo’s Cervarix had tumor, agency says” should link somewhere like
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aYFcjEDEyGBE
@Divergence of B: Whoops, thank you!
Don’t they know they have to fill out the application in the back of the comic book and send in their $10?
I am a Hedge
@Im a Hedge: “If you can draw this mouse, you can become a naturopath!”
I would welcome a Maritime regulatory board for naturopaths, under the auspices of the department of health in all 3 provinces, with legislation in place to ensure that only clinically proven remedies are prescribed unless under a rigorously controlled clinical trial. At the very least, it would expose naturopathic treatment to the scientific scrutiny it so desperately needs, and compel naturopaths to put up or shut up.
But a Maritime regulatory board for naturopaths composed of, and overseen by other naturopaths would be a bad idea. If they go that route, we’ve got problems.
@Im a Hedge: To keep this comic book theme rolling: The naturopathic doctors would be like the scrawny little guy on the beach who gets sand kicked in his face by a muscular stud representing “Big Pharma”. The loser’s hot girlfriend (i.e. the average patient) naturally goes for the stud every time. That’s when you fill out the form, send in the money, and get bulked up, the Kali Simmons way! It’s APD approved!
I would welcome a Maritime regulatory board if it contained sufficient pirates.
@SKrap: OK, good one.
But for those unfamiliar with the region, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, and PEI are known collectively as the “Maritime Provinces” or the “Maritimes”. So a Maritime regulatory board of anything would cover all 3 provinces.
“…performing invasive procedures like colonic irrigation in unsanitary places…”
Uh, by definition…
“UK girl given Glaxo’s Cervarix had tumor, agency saysâ€
You just know that this story will be ignored by the anti-vaxers.
@Imrryr: Further continuing the comic-book theme… Those naturopaths sure save a massive pile of money by purchasing the X-ray Glasses instead of real x-ray machines.
@redsky: COTW to redsky for pointing out rectal redundancy.
@ekimbrough: Rectal Redundancy sounds like something you would rent at the adult store. I think the sequel was Rectal Redundancy 2: Back in the Back.
@SKrap:
COTW
@QuestionAuthority: They’ll pay attention to it. They’ll claim that the chest tumor of unknown origin was caused by the Cervarix.
Amanda, I think you forgot to mention that it’s a Skepchick’s birthday today.
@Elyse: I felt a little strange about announcing my own birthday.
Though now I regret a lost chance to demand sexy pictures.
@Amanda: We do not feel we have lost that chance. We demand sexy pictures!
@Mark Hall: You’ll have to wait for Amy to get around to me. I would want nothing less then the hottest pictures of me for our beloved Skepchick readers.
The Tamiflu article is interesting. This is apparently more of an issue in Japan, because their prescription rates for the drug are so much higher than in Europe or the US, but it’s definitely food for thought.
On a lighter note, did anyone else snicker at the two scientitsts named in the article: Wolf von Tumpling and Jerker Fick.
I’m imagining them meeting at a conference: “Oh, hey. Have you met my colleague? Jerker…Wolf. Wolf…Jerker.”
Check this other link at the Wired site. Lucy got spanked: http://www.wired.com/wiredscience/2009/10/ardi-2/
@Amanda: We will, of course, remind you of this when Amy gets to you.
@SKrap:
COTW