The Daily Mail recently produced a list of questions commonly asked of parents by their naturally curious children about science and the world around them. Rather unsettlingly, the answers provided weren’t completely terrible. The questions ranged from the impressively complex: “What is a prime number?”, “What is infinity?” and “What is time?” (do children really wonder about these things?); to the classics: “How do planes fly in the sky” and “Where does the wind come from?”. I must say I was shocked to learn that wind was not caused by trees sneezing.
Tag Archives: Daily Mail
IPSO FACTOID: Of Mice and Men- Sensationalized ‘journalism’ has got it all wrong
Following all the hoo-ha we’ve seen recently over the cervical cancer vaccination, it was with some interest I noted that the Daily Mail hailed “Cervical cancer wiped out by pioneering use of ‘amazing’ osteoporosis drugs“. Journalist Fiona MacRae went on to excitedly tell us that “Cervical cancer can be destroyed by drugs used to treat breast cancer and osteoporosis, a study suggests. In results described as ‘amazing’ by researchers, one of the treatments eliminated the cancer in 11 out of 13 cases”. It almost sounds too good to be true, and indeed eight paragraphs into the article Ms MacRae mentions that “The initial results come from experiments in mice”. The actual study abstract can be found here.
Nobody Expects the Nazi Inquisition
The recent sacking of Professor David Nutt, head of the Advisory Council on the Misuse of Drugs, marked a moment of extreme importance in our society, as it provided journalists the perfect opportunity to demonstrate how spectacularly witty they are. Of some secondary importance was the implication that science and politics do not make for happy bed-fellows. Something about all that evidence getting in the way of real politicking.
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