/oss/taxonomy/term/2184/all en /oss/article/medical-pseudoscience/donors-organ-donors-personality-lets-approach-sensibly <p>It’s a story that would make the publishers of the <i>Kama Sutra </i>blush with envy. A 25-year-old graduate student’s sex drive suddenly surged and his technique apparently improved overnight. “I make love like I know exactly how the woman’s body feels and responds,” he told researchers, “almost as if it is my body.” His girlfriend concurred: “He’s a much better lover now.” She also noticed other changes. Her boyfriend was now a hugger, and he loved to go shopping, and he carried a purse with him. And going to museums? “He would never, absolutely never do that,” she said.</p> Fri, 01 Mar 2024 16:03:16 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9853 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/microbiome-and-its-myth-making-machine <p>As promising new discoveries are made in the health sciences, the telephone game begins. Scientists put their best foot forward when presenting their results. The public relations department at their institute further digests their findings and adds a dash of hype. Journalists amplify and simplify, social media influencers garble the message, and start-ups capitalize on the hype to sell unproven health solutions. Before you know it, you’re grabbing a cup of coffee while your colleague tells you that they heard cancer was caused by bad bacteria in your gut.</p> Fri, 11 Aug 2023 06:37:32 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9598 at /oss /oss/article/medical/controversial-gene-therapy-duchenne-muscular-dystrophy <p>As medicine uses more and more complex tools to treat illness, I worry that these newer interventions will be seen as impenetrable black boxes. A pill is easy to understand, but gene therapy?</p> <p>There is a simple story to tell about gene therapy. Your body has a defective gene. Doctors will give you the correct version of the gene and the disease will go away. It’s like being unhappy with your wall colour and simply painting it over with a fresh coat of paint. Suddenly it’s new and functional.</p> Fri, 23 Jun 2023 18:26:17 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9555 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/mitochondria-story-mothers-teenagers-and-energy <p>Certain concepts simply irk me. They are often needlessly complicated and their meaning gets distorted in an attempt to make them understandable.</p> <p>Take, for example, the idea of a Mitochondrial Eve.</p> Fri, 30 Sep 2022 10:00:00 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 9245 at /oss /oss/article/not-all-viruses-are-villains <p></p><p></p> Mon, 16 Nov 2020 18:53:35 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 8489 at /oss /oss/article/health/infection-virus-can-sometimes-be-useful <p>Even before the panic due to COVID-19, “virus” was a scary term. That’s because we have all had some sort of battle with a virus and the experience was not enjoyable. However, there are times when infection with a virus can be put to advantage.</p> Wed, 18 Mar 2020 21:23:22 +0000 Alaka Mullick PhD 8184 at /oss /oss/article/cancer-health-news-quackery/alkaline-nonsense <p>It is so seductively simple.  If you want to avoid cancer, just make sure your body is “alkaline!”  Here is the rationale.  When a cell becomes cancerous it reduces its use of oxygen and cranks up its production of acids.  These conditions then allow such cells to multiply quickly.  To counter this, you have to ensure that cells get an adequate supply of oxygen and that the acids produced are neutralized.  How?  By introducing sources of oxygen such as hydrogen peroxide or ozone into the body and consuming “alkaline” foods.  If cancer has already taken a foothold, then it may be necessary t</p> Mon, 19 Sep 2016 08:01:09 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2353 at /oss