Until 2011, Dr. Edzard Ernst was the head of one of the few university departments doing real, unbiased research on the effectiveness and safety of alternative medicine techniques. That's important, because you can't just dismiss weird-sounding stuff out of hand, but you also want somebody other than the practitioners of that weird-sounding stuff conducting research and analyzing the data. Now retired, Ernst recently started blogging, and I wanted to point you to his new home on the Internet. He can be a bit snarky and caustic (especially with chiropractic and homeopathy). But in general he's a fair, reasonable, and knowledgeable source on what works and what doesn't. Definitely worth a bookmark.
A useful blog for people interested in alternative medicine
Survey finds 22% of scientists who do media interviews about COVID get violent threats
Nature surveyed 300 scientists who've done media interviews about COVID. The results had some surprisingly positive notes — 85% said "their experiences of engaging with the media were always or mostly positive, even if they were harassed afterwards". But as you might expect, a significant chunk described some ghastly abuse. Fully 15% got death threats,… READ THE REST
Solving the mystery of the boom that rocked New Hampshire on Sunday morning
On Sunday morning, residents of New Hampshire and parts of Massachusetts were rocked by a massive boom that shook homes in the region and understandably freaked people the hell out. Early theories that it was a supersonic aircraft or earthquake were quickly proven wrong. So what was it? Most likely a meteor exploded above New… READ THE REST
WHO approves the first malaria vaccine
Exciting vaccine news that's not about Covid: there's now a WHO-approved vaccine for malaria, a disease caused by a single-celled microorganism of the Plasmodium group— not a bacteria or virus. According to the NYT, this vaccine is "the first developed for any parasitic disease. Parasites are much more complex than viruses or bacteria, and the quest… READ THE REST
Get a good night's sleep and put an end to your snoring once and for all for $65
We all know someone who is a terrible snorer or, maybe, that person is us! Either way, everyone hates snoring. The bad news is, it can be tough to stop because we aren't aware of what may be causing the snoring in the first place. The good news is, the VVFLY Smart Snore Eye Mask… READ THE REST
Give your neck and shoulders the relief they're craving with over $100 off this massager
If you've been recently injured, have chronic issues from arthritis, or are like so many of us dealing with poor posture due to working an office job, neck and shoulder pain can be relentless. While those problems may never go away completely without professional help, there's an easy way to alleviate temporary pain efficiently and… READ THE REST
Get essential courses in computing, coding, business, finance, and life for $10 each
Whatever age we may be, we can always stand to learn something new, even if we're years removed from school. If you're looking to pick up some new skills, consider these 21 courses, which range from coding and IT to essential life skills. Plus, each of these courses goes for $10 a piece. That's a… READ THE REST
