What's New Robert L. Park August 2012

WHAT=92S NEW   Robert L Park   Friday, 17 Aug 2012   Washington, DC=20=20=
=20

1. EPIDEMIOLOGY: IT'S NOT "BAD SCIENCE," IT'S NOT SCIENCE AT ALL.
Childhood obesity in industrialized nations of the world has reached=20
epidemic portions. Diet and sedentary lifestyle are not enough to explain=
=20
the steep increase, according to a Nature Scientific Report: "A Prospecti=
ve=20
Study of In-utero Exposure to Magnetic Fields and the Risk of Childhood=20=

Obesity."  The study reveals the shocking truth: mom was overdosing on he=
r=20
cell phone during her pregnancy. Women participating in the study carried=
 a=20
meter during pregnancy that measured magnetic field levels; 733 of their=20=

children were followed for 13 years. According to the report, prenatal=20=

exposure to high magnetic field level was found to be associated with=20
increased risk of being obese. The article concluded: "Maternal exposure =
to=20
a high magnetic field during pregnancy may be a new and previously unknow=
n=20
factor contributing to the world-wide epidemic of childhood obesity." It'=
s=20
clear from the time involved, including the 13 year follow-up, that the=20=

study was initiated sometime in the mid-1990s, before the National Academ=
y=20
of Sciences released of its exhaustive three-year review of health effect=
s=20
of residential electromagnetic fields in 1996. The NAS review effectively=
=20
ended the foolish power-line/cancer scare, but the fear of electromagneti=
c=20
radiation has worked its way up the spectrum to microwaves, including cel=
l=20
phones, smart meters, Wi-Fi etc. Perhaps epidemiologists thought they cou=
ld=20
add to their publication count by labeling this long-since discredited wo=
rk=20
as "prospective."  Who knows how many other faded manuscripts will reemer=
ge=20
as "prospective" studies. (Thanks to Robert Cahn and Jay Benesch for=20
calling my attention to this paper.)

2. CARBON DIOXIDE: AS LONG AS THERE'S MONEY TO BE MADE.
According to Kevin Begos in this morning's New York Times, the amount of=20=

carbon dioxide being released into the atmosphere in the United States ha=
s=20
fallen to its lowest level in 20 years. Power plant operators are switchi=
ng=20
from coal to cheaper natural gas. Worldwide, however, atmospheric carbon=20=

levels will continue to increase due to industrial expansion in China.=20=


3. MARTIN FLEISCHMANN: DIED AUGUST 3, 2012 AT AGE 85.
This is what I wrote in What=92s New, 24 March 1989, the day after Cold=20=

Fusion was announced. "The remarable report from the University of Utah=20=

that researchers had achieved deuterium fusion in an electrolysis cell wa=
s=20
initially provided only to the Financial Times of London and the Wall=20
Street Journal. From what little is known, the claim seems to be that=20
deuterium ions from heavy water diffuse into the lattice of a palladium=20=

cathode at sufficient concentration to fuse. Palladium is well known for=20=

its ability to take up large quantities of hydrogen. Indeed, solid-state=20=

storage of deuterium in metals such as titanium and scandium is standard=20=

practice in nuclear weapons, where dihydrides and even trihydrides do not=
=20
result in fusion. Whatever the technical merits of the Utah claim, howeve=
r,=20
serious questions of scientific accountability will certainly be raised.=20=

The press statement is devoid of any details that might enable other=20
scientists to judge the strength of the evidence.=20

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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