Tag Archives: data

Interview with Dr Steven Novella on acupuncture

Dr Steven Novella is an American clinical neurologist and assistant professor at Yale University School of Medicine. He’s also a science communicator and a leading figure in the skeptical movement. He co-founded Science-Based Medicine, writes a blog called NeuroLogica, hosts the podcast The Skeptic’s Guide to the Universe and recently published a book on scientific skepticism.

I had the privilege of interviewing him on the topic of ACUPUNCTURE, as part of my documentary series on scientific skepticism in healthcare called Les Aventures du Pharmachien on Radio-Canada (the show’s in French, hence the subtitles).

Here’s the interview in English (note : you can press the “CC” button to get English subtitles for my short intro) :

 

Obviously I can’t post the full episode, but here’s the trailer (note : you can press the “CC” button to get English subtitles) :

 

Are you afraid of EMFs?

Does your smart meter make your nose bleed?

Are you terrified of your microwave?

Have you installed am anti-brain cancer thingy on your cell phone?

Welcome to the world of electromagnetic fields (EMFs) and their alleged harmful effects.

For the last ten years or so, people have been worrying about EMFs, along with the increase in the use of electronics.  And even though scientific data obtained so far is reassuring about the effects of EMFs on human health, a lot of people are still scared.

It took almost a year to create this comic. After all, the topic is mind-blowingly complex and, as a pharmacist, I am not at all qualified to speculate about it. Fortunately, I was lucky enough to work with two awesome collaborators from the very beginning:

Jérôme Poulin (Ph. D) is a physicist and researcher in optical physics. His Ph.D thesis was about cold atom guidance in a hollow-core photonic cristal fibre using a blue detuned hollow laser beam (Olivier’s note: I have no idea what that means… I think it’s about building the next Death Star or something). He was also part of the Electro-Urban Brigade, a team of scientists who measured the daily exposure to electromagnetic fields of citizens in the province of Quebec, Canada.

Michel Trottier-McDonald (Ph.D) is a physicist and data scientist. He namely worked on the ATLAS experiment at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory, and on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the CERN in order to find the Higgs Boson (Olivier’s note: yeah, that big thing).

None of us are experts on the effects of EMFs on health and we don’t pretend otherwise. Fortunately, scientific knowledge on the matter is advanced enough for us to relay conclusive evidence to you.

The 5 key messages of the comic go as follows:

  • Certain types of electromagnetic radiation can break the molecules of the body, others cannot;
  • Until proven otherwise, mobile/radio/Wi-Fi fields do not pose a threat to human health;
  • Every day, we are exposed electromagnetic radiation that is hundreds, if not thousands of times below the international standards deemed safe;
  • Symptoms experienced by people who identify as “electrosensitive” do not appear to be caused by electromagnetic fields;
  • So-called experts and companies that pretend otherwise may not be trustworthy, or even qualified to discuss EMFs.

But hey, you should to read the comic before disagreeing…

So cover your head with aluminium foil, make holes for your eyes, turn off your router & 4G and read this right away!

P.S. As always, scientific references for this comic are listed in the first comment.

Translated by Patricia Rainville; edits and proofreading by Robyn Penney.

 

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Ionizing and non-ionizing radiation

Daily exposure to ionizing radiation

 

 

 

Visible light is the strongest type of non-ionizing radiation

No effects of non-ionizing radiation on human health have been found

 

 

 

Daily exposure to EMFs and international standards

Smart electric meters emit as much EMFs as a TV remote

What about increasing the international standards of EMF exposure

 

 

 

Electromagnetic hypersensitivity

An example of trial to assess whether electrosensitivity is caused by EMFs

Wi-Fi allergies and suicides

 

 

 

So-called EMF experts

The carcinogenic potential of EMFs

Anti-EMF devices and clothing

 

 

 

Conclusion 1

Conclusion 2

 

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How to make a clinical trial say whatever you want

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Are you under the impression that clinical trials are constantly saying the opposite from one another?

That, mysteriously, new trials with awesome results appear every 30 seconds?

That you can always find that one trial that will prove your point?

That big companies manipulate data?

That shady websites only cite the conclusions that are good for them?

If so, you’re not wrong… and it’s super easy to do, by the way.

Here’s a guide on how to make a clinical trial say whatever you want it to say!

Translation by Gabrielle Larocque.

 

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