Category Archives: Science Communication

Posted on February 16, 2011 by | Comments Off on

I found this article on the illegal trafficking of kidney organs to be very interesting, since in 2010 about 88,000 individuals required a kidney transplant.

The article begins with an elaborate and engaging story about a man from Athens, Greece traveling to Delhi, India in order to save his life by receiving a kidney transplant. The story continues by explaining how the man ended up in what basically was a kidney hospital/hotel, with entertainment for patients for the duration of their stay. He was initially on dialysis until the operation eventually got scheduled. If you have kept up with the show ‘Desperate Housewives’, you would know that one of Susan Delfino’s kidneys had to be removed due to a trampling incident that caused her kidneys to burst, and she too had to go on dialysis.

The kidney is a vital organ that allows us to filter out the excess water and toxins from our blood. When the kidney fails, often from the result of other problems such as diabetes and high blood pressure, western medicine suggests a treatment method called dialysis. Dialysis allows the blood to go through a cleansing process at least three times a week. The treatment includes side effects such as itching, fatigue, and risk of infection.

The article continues by explaining that the head surgeon, Amit Kumar who doesn’t have a formal training degree in western medicine, built the worlds largest kidney trafficking rings. His clients come from Greece, Turkey, the Middle East, Canada and the US. According to CBI investigator Rajiv Dwivedi, Kumar is India’s foremost kidney surgeon. He has made so much money that he has been able to finance Bollywood movies and fend off extortion threats from the Mumbai mafia.

I have very conflicting feelings about this article. I don’t know whether to feel happy that people in need are getting kidneys, or to feel upset about the corruption in India. The article went on about Kumar’s trial in court and how there was not sufficient evidence to detain him longer. It was interesting to learn about the politics of scientific practices, and I feel that the health care system needs to be more efficient in order to provide this service openly rather than through underground organ trafficking.

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Posted in Science Communication, Science in the News

Shaking up what we knew about shaken baby syndrome

Posted on February 16, 2011 by | 2 comments
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Keeping infants safe is important.

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But is shaking as harmful as it is made out to be?

When infants arrive in emergency with spinal injuries and bleeding in the brain, doctors are often quick to point the finger at the caregiver. Recently more and more evidence supports mechanisms other than shaken baby syndrome as the cause of such injuries in infants.

The cover story of The New York Times Magazine from Feb 2 2011 explores the issue and the implications for people who have been charged under these circumstances.

NYTMag cover

New York Times Magazine cover image

When caregivers are on trial for child abuse, lawyers use doctors to testify how the injuries of the child were inflicted. More and more doctors are testifying for the defense and in turn exposing the prosecution doctors to the validity of these alternative explanations (such as infant stroke caused by and infection).

This article is not discounting shaken baby syndrome as a real problem, but claims that some people have been wrongly accused because the diagnosis was made too hastily.

Some important issues are brought up regarding the use of science in the courtroom.

First of all doctors can be paid for their testimony. I think the outcome should not be reflective of the doctor the accused can afford. When monetary value is placed on the information presented in the courtroom the facts given to the jury can be skewed. Even worse the picture of scientific knowledge presented is not limited to the courtroom; news and media coverage of high profile cases will pass biased scientific information on to the rest of the world.

A particularly relevant point is that jurors may have difficulty understanding the science presented to them, and this can hinder their ability to properly decide on a verdict. What we learn in Scie 300 can have significant impacts on how effectively science is used in the courtroom.

This issue also points out a flaw in the scientific method; conventionally scientists come up with hypotheses which then raise new questions to be tested. Unfortunately when dealing with the law, a hypothesis that is rejected years after it was formulated can have a major impact on those who were wrongfully accused according to the knowledge at the time. Here we have a tradeoff between putting innocent people away and letting a child abuser continue putting children in harms way.

The bottom line still is: never shake a baby.

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Posted in Biological Sciences, Course Reflections, Issues in Science, New and innovative science, Science Communication, Science in the News

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13th Zodiac Sign: Ophiuchus….?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by | 2 comments

“I will not settle for being a PISCES!! I’m so sad! I want to stay an ARIES!!”

“Eww I’m a Taurus!!! NOOOOOO!!!

          These were just a couple of the status updates that we saw all across the social web on January 14th, when news started to come out of the addition of a 13th zodiac sign. The new sign was called Ophiuchus. Now for some this may not matter, but for those people who avidly check their horoscope or even have a tattoo of their zodiac sign this was bad news because it initially meant a shift in zodiac signs for everyone.

So why do we have the new zodiac sign?

             According to the initial comments made by an astronomer by the name of Parke Kunkle from Minnesota, the Earth has been wobbling slightly on its axis due to the gravitational pulls from the Moon; thereby changing its position with relation to the Sun. According to him the change has been enough to change the dates of zodiac signs and has also made it necessary to add a 13th sign, Ophiuchus.

So is this really “new” news? Does this mean we have different horoscopes readings/signs?

        No, because according to popular astronomers such as Susan Miller as well as the more recent clarified statements made by Parke Kunkle stated that  none of this is actual new information, and according to them “astronomers have known this since 130 B.C”. Furthermore, this has no effect on our horoscope readings here in the West because Western astrologers use the Tropical zodiac where as Vedic astrologers, such as those based in India use the Sidereal zodiac. “The Tropical zodiac is based on the movement of the seasons where as the Sidereal zodiac is based on the actual positioning of the stars.” This is important because as the Earth shifts Vedic astrology changes along with it. So while this 13th sign might be important to Vedic astrologers, to us in the West nothing changes and our zodiac signs and dates stay intact.

              Hopefully this will clear up any concerns that you may have had about your sign. I also think this serves as a great reminder for all of us on the importance of always doing our research before we get caught up in all the media hoopla that surrounds us.

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Posted in Fun!, Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science in the News

What to trust in making decisions; Cognitive thinking or Sientific methods?

Posted on January 28, 2011 by | Comments Off on What to trust in making decisions; Cognitive thinking or Sientific methods?

We have all evolved to associate one thing to the other. We associate by thinking; finding and looking for meaningful patterns in our surroundings. Another reliable way to associate one thing to the other is by the use of scientific methods. The problem over  here is what to trust in  making a decision, our cognitive thinking or the scientific method?

In recent years, there has been a seeming connection between autism and MMR-vaccines. The parents of the children diagnosed of Autism, are trying to look for a causal link between this complex developmental disability and vaccines that the children had received.

In 1998, a British surgeon, Andrew Wakefield, published a paper claiming that the MMR-vaccine had a causal link to Autism. He proposed that the measles virus traveled to the children’s intestines causing intestinal damage. This damage then allowed brain damaging proteins to enter their blood stream. Dr.Wakefield used stories of 8 children who had developed symptoms of autism within a month of receiving the vaccines.

Here is the article from Wall street Journal that i came across Junk Science Isn\’t a Victimless Crime.

These findings fueled the debate over vaccine safety and lead many people to a general distrust in vaccines.

This type of study has been replicated many times around the world and each time no causal  link has been found. The following two articles from New Scientist proves that MMR-vaccine has no causal link to Autism; Autism rises Despite MMR Ban in Japan and MMR and Autism not linked, finds giant study.

I do not think Dr. Wakefield’s paper was statistically right. He based his conclusion on a very small sample size (about 12 children). He should have used  a way larger sample size as in the other two studies disproving the existence of a causal link (more than 30,000 or half a million children).

Overall, What do we believe; Is there a causal link between MMR-vaccine and Autism? In spite of knowing that the research linking MMR-vaccine to Autism has some discrepancies, we still feel that there is a link. Do not forget we have the ability to overcome our feelings in a situation and replace them with a logical and scientific reasoning that would serve us better and help us advance in life.

If further interested, here is part 1 of 10 of Dr. Andrew Wakefield’s interview on his MMR study by Dr. Mercola.

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Posted in General, Issues in Science, Science Communication, Science in the News

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