17 March 2025
This week I will comment on two articles. The first is an article from Science Advances by Richardson et al. 9 from 13 September 2023. This is a research article with the title “Earth beyond six of nine planetary boundaries”. This article is a collaboration between multiple climate scientists, including those from the renowned Potsdam Institute (Rockstrom et al).
31 July 2023
Recently on facebook a friend posted “Kambo, My first ceremony…” or some such, with an attached photo. Until then I'd not heard of this thing, but it seems it's been around in NZ at least since 2016. It's claimed to be at practice from Amazonian tribes (that's their feeble attempt at an appeal to antiquity). Although no doubt there's truth in that, Brazil banned the sale/marketing of the substance in 2004 so, if you have used genuine Amazonian giant monkey frog poison (yes that's what it is) just know that someone may have committed a crime in Brazil so you could poison yourself and purge though multiple orifaces…you're welcome.
1 August 2013
Hormone supplements derived from plants are widely promoted as more 'natural' than hormones from horses, but they carry the same risks - and some more of their own.
1 November 2007
Some risks in life are distributed throughout a population, others are all-or-nothing. There's a big difference. This article is based on a presentation to last year's Skeptics Conference.
1 August 2000
The risks of third-generation contraceptive pills have been much in the news. But assessing risk can be a tricky business.
1 November 1997
In the first of a new series, Tauranga GP Neil McKenzie comments on recent examples of pseudoscience relating to medicine.
1 November 1991
Most people have great difficulty in conceptualising low frequencies and low concentrations. Pesticide concentrations are reported in parts per million (ppm), parts per billion (ppb) and parts per trillion (ppt). One television personality accused an industrial spokesman of releasing effluent with "15 parts per trillion" (his emphasis, implying a very large, rather than a very small concentration).
1 May 1991
Despite recent claims that "natural" foods are safer, there is evidence that "natural" pesticides can be present at much higher concentrations than residues from synthetic pesticides. These "natural" chemicals are often untested and of unknown toxicity, with little evidence of health benefits.