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Category Archives: Health and Medicine
Informal Meet-Up (03/27) – “Screening: “Bitter Pill””
The Ann Arbor Science & Skeptics have been invited to attend a screening of a documentary called Bitter Pill: America and Healthcare in America on Wednesday, March 27th.
Directed and produced by Vivek Palavali, neurosurgeon from Flint, Michigan and supporter of local science and freethought groups throughout the area, this documentary presents a sophisticated and wide-ranging examination on the state of healthcare in America.
The screening will be presented by the director himself, in the lower level of Elmo’s Hideaway (Elmo’s T-Shirts on 220 Main Street). The movie will start at approximately 7:00pm. There will be a Q&A directly after the movie. There is no charge to attend this screening. 
Download Now – “The Ethics of Animal Testing”
This is the audio recording of the 02/16 meet-up with Carl Cohen. The topic for the get-together was to better acquaint ourselves with Cohen’s arguments that animals do not have rights, and thus can be used for animal testing.
Carl Cohen is a professor of philosophy at the University of Michigan. You can find out more about his activisim in a variety of controversial areas by visiting his wikipedia page.
I’ve provided a list of conversation highlights and time marks for easier locating: (how Carl Cohen become involved in animal rights at 1:00), (on animals being used in research at 5:00), (explaining rights and obligations at 9:00), (what animal research would be too far or not allowable at 15:00), a discussion of rights and interests at 24:00), (how animals were used in testing Polio vaccines at 32:00), (on using mice in labs at 44:00), (on Nobel prizes in medicine based on animal research at 53:00), (on “consent” at 1:00:00), (analogy between animals and humans who are cognitively impaired at 1:08:00), (on pain and suffering at 1:14:00), (return to “consent” and sex with animals at 1:22:00).
“Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks” Author Appearance ~ February 26
The Michigan Institute for Clinical and Health Research presents an evening with Rebecca Skloot, author of the award-winning book The Immortal Life of Henrietta Lacks, who will present a lecture and discussion about her book. The event, which is free and open to the public, takes place at 6 p.m. on February 26, at Hill Auditorium. The lecture will be followed by a book signing. There has been a tremendous initial response to this event, so register today.
Initial Comment on the Reporting of the Organic Farming Meta-Analysis
A meta-analysis about the health benefits of organic farming was reported through various media news sites (such as The New York Times) and commented on by a skeptical websites and social media outlets. For example, Steve Novella wrote about it in Science Based Medicine and concluded:
The recent review of organic vs conventional produce agrees with previous systematic reviews that there is insufficient evidence to conclude that organic produce is healthier or more nutritious that conventional produce. Despite the scientific evidence, the alleged health benefits of organic produce is the number one reason given by consumers for buying organic. This likely represents the triumph of marketing over scientific reality.
As many of you know, we had a meet-up back in February to discuss organic farming. We had UM Professor, Dr. Catherine Badgley, help foster a conversation that consisted of a Q & A about the science behind organic farming practices. You can listen to our conversation here.
Download Now – Dr. Simon Lunn “Stem Cell Research”
This is the audio recording of the 06/16 meetup with Dr. Simon Lunn. The topic for the get-together was about stem cell research, and in particular how it’s being studied for therapeutic treatments for neurological diseases like ALS.
In this casual group conversation, Dr. Lunn provided a really thorough overview of the topic, particularly about the types of stem cells, how they grow in the lab, are extracted and injected into patients.
Download Now – Dr. Simon Lunn “Stem Cell Research” [ 1:57:00 ] Play Now | Play in Popup | Download (134)