One of our favorite cell biology-based joke comics. If you know the source, let us know!
The bad science: Miracle Autism Cures
What do they claim? They claim to “cure” Autism
Are they trying to sell you something? Of course they are…
Is any of this true? Nope. Let’s start out by making it clear that there is no cure for autism. Anyone telling you they have a cure is lying. It’s also important to note that autism is an extremely varied condition. Symptoms can range from mild difficulties with social interaction to repetitive or obsessive behaviors, all the way to severe communication issues. Curing any one of these symptoms is generally not possible, let alone curing the entire constellation of autistic behaviors.
The Bad Science: Negative Ion Bracelets
What Do They Claim? Wearing a bracelet will cure your seasonal affective disorder (ironically termed “SAD”)
Are they trying to sell you something? All manner of bracelets – some more fashionable than others.Continue reading…
Glaciers in almost every part of the world are getting smaller, often at jaw-dropping rates. That seems like a pretty clear sign that the world is warming, right? It’s good enough for most people, but at long last, there is paper to tell you exactly what ‘good’ and ‘enough’ mean.
Let’s back up for a minute. A glacier is a big piece of ice that slowly flows downhill. If it collects more snow in the winter than it loses to melt in the summer, it gets thicker, and, eventually, grows longer, and if the opposite happens, it thins and shrinks. Because it takes years for glaciers to grow or shrink, their changes tell us not so much about the weather this year or last year, as about how the climate has changed over the last few decades. What’s more, glaciers are big and easy to measure, so even in places where we don’t have great long-term records about weather, we often know how the glaciers have changed for centuries.
Recently, NBA star Kyrie Irving shocked the sports world (and the world in general) by saying in a post-game interview that he believes the world is flat. Shortly thereafter, Shaquille O’Neil, former NBA star and noted actor/pitchman/rapper/monotonic NBA analyst agreed with Irving, before quickly changing his tune, “I’m joking, you idiots”, he quipped. It’s not entirely clear if Irving was really serious, but Neil deGrasse Tyson found it necessary to respond to Irving’s statement. Like all things deGrasse Tyson does, this was awesome*.
Welcome to Bad Science on the Internet! Here, we highlight some of the crazy and sometime dangerous stuff people post online, and then give you the facts.
The bad science: The Alkaline Diet
What do they claim? Increased longevity, lower risk of heart disease and cancer, among other things.
Are they trying to sell you something? $10-20 for a diet book.
Is any of this true? No. None of it.
The Internet Asks: What is zero minus any number?
Source: Yahoo Answers
Science’s Answer: It’s the negative of that number. For example: 0 – 7 = -7, 0 – 223 = -223, 0 – (-462) = 462, or a boy has zero apples and the bank repossesses his apple orchard containing 50 trees, each with 100 not-quite-ripe apples on them, then he has -5000 apples, and some very angry investors.
The Internet Asks: “What is the penalty for blowing up the moon?”
Source: Yahoo Answers
Science’s Answer: Please don’t blow up the moon. Keep in mind that the moon is held in place by the earth’s gravity, so some of the pieces of the moon (those that are accelerated towards the earth’s surface after you blow it up) will shower down on all of us. If the human race survives, I think it’s fair to say you will be in a lot of trouble.
