> From: What's New <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
> To: Akira Kawasaki <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
Date: 7/2/2004 9:55:22 AM
Subject: WHAT'S NEW Friday, July 02, 2004
WHAT'S NEW Robert L. Park Friday, 2 Jul 04 Washington, DC
1. THE OTHER NASA: THE LONG AND THE SHORT OF SPACE EXPLORATION.
There were two NASA stories in the news this week: 1) Now almost
a billion miles from Earth on its incredible voyage of discovery,
Cassini deftly slipped through the gap between Saturn's F and G
rings, and fired its main rocket to slow down. In the next four
years Cassini is scheduled to orbit Saturn 76 times, using 18
instruments provided by 17 nations to study the planet and its
moons. On Christmas Eve, Cassini will deploy the Huygens probe,
which will parachute onto the moon Titan. 2) Meanwhile, about
one hundred miles from Earth, the entire International Space
Station crew (a Russian cosmonaut and an American astronaut in a
borrowed space suit) went outside to replace a gyroscope circuit
board. Alas, housekeeping chores leave little time for science.
No matter, the science planned for the ISS will never be missed.
2. SPINOFFS: WHAT'S NEW CREDITED WITH INVENTING THE FLUSH TOILET.
In an effort to defend $100 billion flushed down the toilet for
missile defense, the Pentagon claims in today's Washington Post
that its missile technology could lead to advances in breast
cancer detection. Exaggerated spinoff stories are a spinoff from
NASA, which admitted its spinoff claims were wildly exaggerated
http://www.aps.org/WN/WN93/wn012293.cfm . Claims that breast
cancer treatment technology could lead to better missiles should
also be disregarded, as should Saddam Hussein's claims that the
invasion of Kuwait inspired the invention of the mouse-pad.
3. MEDICINE: WITH FRIENDS LIKE PRINCE CHARLES WHO NEEDS ENEMAS?
When the Prince of Wales can spare time from warning about the
dangers of "grey goo", http://www.aps.org/WN/WN03/wn050903.cfm ,
he promotes the use of alternative medicine. He now recommends
that cancer patients abandon chemotherapy in favor of Gerson
Therapy, a controversial alternative treatment. In addition to
vitamin injections and a fruit juice diet, Gerson Therapy calls
for "coffee enemas", but the American Cancer Society warns that
coffee enemas have been associated with infections, constipation,
colitis, and even death. Gerson therapists claim it strips
harmful bacteria and pollutants from the colon, which suggests
what Charles should do with this nonsense.
4. PRAYER THERAPY: UNRELENTING INQUIRY INTO A FRAUDULENT STUDY.
Time Magazine this week has a scathing account of a study by
researchers at Columbia published in a prestigious journal three
years ago. It claimed intercessory prayer helped infertile women
conceive http://www.aps.org/WN/WN04/wn060404.cfm . The case is a
growing embarrassment for Columbia, the Journal of Reproductive
Medicine, the authors, one of whom was chair of obstetrics and
gynecology, and even media outlets like ABC Good Morning America
and the New York Times, who embraced the story without checking.
Time credits exposure of the fraud to the persistence of Bruce
Flamm, a clinical professor of obstetrics at UC Irvine.
THE UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND.
Opinions are the author's and not necessarily shared by the
University of Maryland, but they should be.
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