Breaking the Mold

Are we becoming allergic to the 21^st century?
CBC Newsworld aired Allergy Planet on The Passionate Eye (Mar. 16/09).
The doc, produced and directed by Naomi Austin, takes you from the most remote inhabited island, where 50% of its 400 residents are affected by asthma, to the impact of industrialization and pollution in L.A.

Narrated by Steven Mackintosh, Allergy Planet's examination of current research demonstrates one clear conclusion of immunologists: allergies are still a mystery.

The CBC doesn't have the episode available online, but I found the BBC airing on YouTube - sorry, it's in 6 segments.
Part 1 is here to get you going.
Here's the page with all segments of the 1-hour documentary.

Tags: [Naomi Austin] [Allergy Planet]
[Steven Mackintosh] [The Passionate Eye]

Update: Billy Nichols' Case

The civil case in Ocala, Fla. involving Billy Nichols, a well known business owner in Ocala, is back in court this week for hearings on several motions.   (more...)

Nichols was charged with DUI Manslaughter in 2007. His defense attorney argued that Nichols' gastroparesis was responsible for an inaccurate BAC test result after the accident. Nichols was acquitted on both counts.

The civil suit was filed by Adrian Cummings, whose wife, Nancy, and daughter, Holly, were victims of the collision. One of Cummings' lawyer's motions relates to accessing Nichols' medical records. In September, 2008 Nichols was ordered by the court to see a specialist at the University of Florida (Shands) for his condition.

Original Post - Gastroparesis Defense Against DUI

Robbery Victim's Day - From Bad to Wurst

Thieves in a Boynton Beach, Fla. Wal-Mart distracted a 79-year old shopper by asking her how to make relish.
As the woman helped them find the ingredients in the store, one of the unsavory bandits took off with her purse. ( more...)

The police haven't been able to ketchup to the perpetrators. They appear to be garden-variety thieves; but I suppose they may be seasoned pros.

Tags: [Relish Thieves] [Boynton Beach]

Scapegoating Masquerading As Science

Dr. Brian Primack, a University of Pittsburgh professor, surveyed 700 teens about their music preferences and sexual behavior. The study, set to be published next month,  links lyrics in rap music to teen sex . Primack avoids declaring a causal relationship - Rap Music Makes Teens Have Sex - but the headlines reporting the research come dangerously close.   Strictly speaking, you'd need to know if the tendency to engage in sexual behavior at age 15-16 led the teens to seek out music with explicit lyrics.  (I suppose you'd also need an adjustment factor to account for any predisposition to have sex at age 15-16.)

The study doesn't say that teenage fans of Daughtry and ColdPlay and U2 aren't having sex. And while the explicit lyrics include describing "degrading sex acts", there's no indication that the teens are engaging in "degrading sex acts."

Then

After interviewing 95 tween-aged girls, researchers at Iowa State University, led by Prof. Douglas Gentile, concluded that cartoon violence leads to acts of aggression in children . "The study also found that youngsters tended to mimic the negative behaviour they saw on TV such as rumour-spreading, gossiping and eye-rolling." Puh-lease!

The research fails to explore the effects of distress one may experience when he discovers that wearing a dress and batting fake eyelashes while holding a lacy handkerchief will not fool his enemy into falling in love and facilitate his escape from said enemy.

Sadly, I still don't know whether it's Rabbit Season or Duck Season.

Tags: [Dr. Brian Primack]
[Explicit Lyrics]
[Professor Douglas Gentile]
[Cartoons & Violence in Society]