What's New Robert L. Park June 4, 2010

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L. Park   Friday, May 4 Jun 2010   Washington, DC

1. NATIVIS INC.: HAUNTED BY THE GHOST OF JACQUES BENVENISTE.
A start-up in La Jolla expects to transform the way medicine is delivered=
. =20
The company says it=92s based on the work of several Nobel physicists=20
including Paul Dirac and Richard Feynman.  A video of Feynman giving a ta=
lk=20
on QED is posted on its website.  Based on QED, Nativis claims=20
pharmaceuticals have electromagnetic signatures that convey the same effe=
ct=20
as the drug itself.  It's homeopathy done backwards. Homeopathy starts wi=
th=20
medicine and dilutes it sequentially until it=92s just water.  Nativis, b=
y=20
contrast, starts with pure water and exposes it to very low frequency=20
electromagnetic radiation, which of course does nothing at all to the=20
water.  However, Nativis is convinced that the ordinary water would now=20
behave like medicine. This is lunacy, and not even original lunacy.  In=20
1988 Jacques Beneveniste, a French biochemist, convinced himself that wat=
er=20
can be made homeopathic by exposing it to low-frequency electromagnetic=20
waves.  I challenged him publicly in the May 17, 1999 issue of Time=20
magazine to an Intercontinental test involving an exchange of samples.=20
Benveniste agreed but said he needed a little time. Weeks grew into month=
s.=20
Months into Years. He died five years later without completing the test. =
I=20
think I know why.  Homeopathists, see ordinary water and convince=20
themselves it=92s magic water.  Nativis must do the same.=20

2. ACUPUNCTURE:  GIMPY MICE BAMBOOZLE NATURE MAGAZINE.
A team at Rochester University led by neuroscientist Maiken Nedergaard=20
studied the production of adenosine when pain is inflicted on the hind pa=
w=20
of a mouse. Adenosine is a neuromodulator that reduces pain. If the mouse=
=20
is then stuck with an acupuncture needle, the production of adenosine=20
persists for a longer time. I suppose it might last longer still if the=20
mouse=92s tail is pulled.  Nedergaard says her study may open the way to=20
making acupuncture more effective. Even Daniel Cressy writing in Nature=20
said the study "makes acupuncture seem less alternative," but I can=92t s=
ee=20
how. The acupuncture needle was inserted just below the knee in the Zusan=
li=20
point, which is for the stomach, not for paws.  This study does nothing t=
o=20
answer the basic scientific questions: what is the evidence for the=20
meridians or for the mysterious qi, and how are acupuncture points=20
determined? Pressed on these points, acupuncturists fall back on the Yell=
ow=20
Emperor=92s Classic of Medicine, but that book is at least 2000 years old=
. =20
No matter, they freelance a lot..

3. CELL PHONES: DO THE LAWS OF NATURE TRUMP EPIDEMIOLOGY?
I don't like cell phones and I don't like writing about cell phones but t=
he=20
damned issue just won't go away. It generates more mail than any other=20
issue. I have explained in irrefutable detail why individual microwave=20
photons do not create mutant strands of DNA. Yes, but microwaves do cook=20
meat even though they can=92t break chemBonds directly.. They start them=20
vibrating, which means the atoms get hot.  How hot? Not very. First of al=
l,=20
cell phones do not emit a lot of energy. Secondly, evolution found ways t=
o=20
keep our brain cool even if we go hatless under a summer sun, and run=20
marathons besides. Heatstroke is rare. We hardly even run a fever. We hav=
e=20
a great coolant called blood and capillaries that quickly expand to=20
increase the flow rate if needed.

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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