- Six of Italy’s top seismologists are being investigated for manslaughter for not warning about an earthquake. (From Samuel.)
- UK doctors call for a ban on homeopathy. (From Dan.)
- Does a woman’s touch increase risk-taking? (From Michael.)
- New evidence says fetuses feel no pain before 24 weeks. And probably not after, either.
An in related news, Italian seismologists have decided to spend their time developing a time-travel machine. So the residents of L’Aquila can re-experience the major 1958, 1786, 1703, 1349, and 1315 earthquakes.
Seismologists may not be able to predict the exact time, location and intensity of an earthquake, but anyone can look at a map and realize they are living in a town that’s a well-recorded seismological death trap.
Amazing how the human race refuses to accept that in the lottery of life, bad things do happen and no amount of blaming makes them less bad or less frequent. And as Chasmosaur points out, there are predictably higher odds depending on time and space.
I am surprised that after the 1958 earthquake, there were no stricter building codes put into place.
I would spend my energy lobbying for better buildings if I lived there. You can’t stop an earthquake, so you might as well adapt to the best of your ability.
What NonBeliever said.
If anybody read the Homeopathy Article and raged as much as I did at the anecdote from Helen Llewelyn at the end, you might find the following link interesting.
http://www.britishhomeopathic.org/media_centre/case_studies/endometriosis_case.html
Here is the essential bit from that article.
“My operation to drain and remove the cyst and laser treatment to burn off all the cells that they could see, has been successful – it took me about a year to feel the physical benefits. There is a risk my organs will be damaged in the longer term, but for now I can appreciate manageable pain levels, with the help of the contraceptive pill. But my mental state is no better and I don’t really want anti-depressants. I want to deal with this, not just cover it up.”
Funny how in the independent article makes it sound like the surgery didn’t help at all, and neither did all the antidepressants. When in reality her physical symptoms disappeared and she simply refused Anti-depressants in favor of dilute tiger lily.
Face palm I say. Epic Face Palm.
Ugh. “Gender specific names.” The comments on that mental floss article really chap my hide. Yay for heteronormative assholes!!
My Uncle’s name is Shannon (though most call him Lee). It was originally a boy’s name, but it’s more common now as a girl’s name.
Same goes for Kelly — it’s normally seen as a female name, now, but was originally a male name and there are still some males named Kelly (not just from the older generation!).
@marilove:
Stacy, Jamie, Shirley, and Madison too. Madison even means “son of Maude”, but now it’s a girl’s name.
@marilove: I LOVE Shannon and Kelly for a boy and HATE them as girls names. I also love Ashley for a boy (I think that was how it was originally too?)
Jen, I find it odd that you would link to anything by the Australian, since it is well known as a supporter of global warming denialism. Tim Lambert has documented this with his Deltoid blog.
http://scienceblogs.com/deltoid/the_war_on_science/
So the credibility of the Australian is questionable, to say the least.
@Dale Husband: We don’t only post links that we agree with 100%. That’s not the point. The point is to read, consider and discuss. In this case, the link was submitted by a reader, and I think that refusing it because the same site published something else wrong completely unrelated to this particular article is unnecessary.
@marilove: Don’t forget Kim. That was a mans name, too.