Skeptical reporter @ 2013-02-22

Skeptical Reporter for February 22nd, 2013 Announcement. Registrations for this years Amaz!ng Meeting have begun. The Amaz!ng Meeting or TAM is the leading conference focused on scientific skepticism. People from all over the world come to TAM each year to share learning, laughs, and the skeptical perspective with their friends and a host of distinguished guest speakers, panelists, and workshop presenters. The theme of this year’s program is “Fighting the Fakers,” focusing on scientific skepticism. The Amaz!ng Meeting will take place in Las Vegas, US, from the 11th to the 14th of July, this year. And now for some skeptical news. Australian Skeptics are again organising a major test of water divining, repeating an exercise last undertaken 11 years ago at the Mighty Mitta Muster in northern Victoria. Organised by the Borderline Skeptics with input from Australian Skeptics Inc and the Victorian Skeptics, diviners putting themselves up for the test will, depending on their results, be in the running for the Skeptics $100,000 challenge. The Mighty Mitta Muster is an annual event, held on the Victorian Labour Day weekend, featuring the usual range of events at rural shows – woodchopping, tent pegging, stunt riding and egg throwing – but it hasn’t had a water divining test since the last time the Skeptics rolled up in 2002. At the 2002 event, 30 diviners put their skills to the test, but out of 20 bottles containing either water or sand (a 50/50 chance of being correct), the highest score was only 13, which is well within the realms of chance alone. The excuses used post-trial to explain away the failures were many and varied. A video report on the event by Richard Saunders can be seen on YouTube. The 2013 divining challenge will be held on March 10, and will again be conducted by placing water in plastic containers covered by paper bags. The Medicines and Healthcare products Regulatory Agency (MHRA) in the UK warned people not to buy or use potentially dangerous unlicensed Chinese medicines sold online after some products were found to contain excessive levels of mercury or lead. Health authorities in Hong Kong told the MHRA that various products are being recalled and they should not be used by people in the UK because of an increased toxic poisoning risk. The toxic effects of lead include abdominal pain, anaemia, changes in blood pressure, reproductive disorders such as miscarriage, weakness, concentration problems, weight loss, insomnia, dizziness, kidney and brain damage. The toxic effects of mercury include irritability, tremors, memory loss, insomnia, concentration problems, kidney and brain damage. There is no evidence that these products are available on the UK market but they could have been purchased over the internet or by people traveling to Hong Kong. MHRA Head of Herbal Policy, Richard Woodfield said: “We would advise any one who has taken these products to seek GP advice immediately. This highlights the dangers of buying unlicensed herbal medicines and the risk to people’s health. These medicines contain toxic impurities and the side effects can be serious”. The James Randi Educational Foundation has announced it is publishing a book series on Science-Based Medicine. This is what the representatives of the foundation explained: “In cooperation with the Science-Based Medicine blog, which is an invaluable source of expert information on all manner of medical topics, JREF is publishing a number of books on the topic. Led by executive editor Dr. Steven Novella, who heads JREF’s Science-Based Medicine Project, the blog’s team of writers regularly shine the light of good science on spurious health claims, and these new books anthologize their best writing on issues ranging from vaccines and naturopathy to homeopathy and nutritional supplements. Their science-based and skeptical treatment of these issues are of interest to skeptics, non-skeptics, and educated medical consumers alike”.