XPOST [HealthyLiving4Him]: Science and Nonscience; Incentive Effects; Popular Press Science Reporting [Bayh-Dole Act of 1980]

[Guest guest]

Hi everyone,

I just posted this elsewhere and thought some here might find it of

interest. You may wish to scan through the original post first, at the

bottom.

Best,

Elchanan

 

_____

 

Hi Christine and everyone,

 

Christine, let me preface this message by saying that it's not about you at

all. It's about helping people (and including you, of course) come to

realize the real state of our so-called " health sciences " , and the absurd

state of reporting about those sciences in the popular press.

____________

If one reads all the way to the end of the article, below, one finds:

 

Geisler said there were no definitive studies on the optimal daily

vitamin D dose but experts recommend 25 to 50 micrograms.

 

This " recommendation " , if we actually dare call it that, is based on

literally nothing at all. THAT is the real state of the science in this

area. These are Geisler's words, not mine. (if we believe this reporter can

take down a one-sentence quote accurately)

 

And if Geisler is correct, then how can anyone POSSIBLY say this, a few

lines earlier:

 

Almost half of the world's population has lower than optimal levels of

vitamin D

 

I mean, if no one knows what is a decent range to aim for, then surely no

one has a clue what might be " optimal " , or why.

 

Let's continue ... The preceding sentence states:

 

Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of the skin's

exposure to sunlight.

 

Terrific, a revelation by any standard. And then comes the subsequent

sentence:

 

Geisler and his research team said the findings offered much needed

information about the immune system and would be of particular use when

developing new vaccines.

 

What? Huh? How in the name of all that we hold dear did we jump from

sunshine to vaccines?

 

In America and beyond, much of the answer lies in something called

" incentive effects " , a topic about which we in America typically know little

and discuss less. From time to time, I have mentioned a piece of legislation

called the " Bayh-Dole Act of 1980 " , named after its sponsors Sen. Birch Bayh

of Indiana and Sen. Bob Dole of Kansas. This bill was signed into law by

Pres. Jimmy Carter in December of that year.

 

In a nutshell, when research is funded from the public trough (i.e., by us),

this Act shifts the functional ownership of the results so that the

researchers and their sponsoring institution (e.g., university) can license

whatever they develop and keep ALL of the resulting royalties.

 

To whom might they license something?

 

Chemical companies (agricultural, health/drug, etc.), of course.

 

So what are scientists going to develop?

 

Chemicals (pesticides, other -cides, drugs,etc.), of course.

 

And in the drug category, which drugs get universal application

(legislative/police power support) and therefore are worth the most money?

 

Vaccines, of course.

 

So, as anyone can plainly see, this Act places almost the entire research

community AND all their sponsoring institutions directly onto the payroll of

the chemical industry (and the like).

 

In our culture, we have this notion that scientists are somehow above the

fray, that they are not influenced by the same things that influence the

rest of humanity. This notion is nonsense. The scientific community in

general, and scientists individually, are just are susceptible to the

attractions of financial incentives as anyone else, they are therefore just

as corruptible, their research just as questionable as the output of any

other group of people. (I'm thinking here of accountants, attorneys,

insurers, and others who have sunk their paws deeply into our pocketbooks.)

 

And finally, in the article below we have yet another example of nonsensical

reporting in the popular press of whatever may be the actual science ... we

don't really learn much at all about that from this article. And this is

typical.

 

Best to all,

Elchanan

_____

 

Christine Guardo

Tuesday, March 09, 2010 10:31 AM

CurrentEventsGroup

[HealthyLiving4Him] Scientists Find Why 'Sunshine' Vitamin D is

Crucial

 

Scientists Find Why 'Sunshine' Vitamin D Is Crucial

Monday, March 08, 2010

 

Vitamin D is vital in activating human defenses and low levels suffered by

around half the world's population may mean their immune systems' killer T

cells are poor at fighting infection, scientists said on Sunday.

 

The findings by Danish researchers could help the fight against infectious

diseases and global epidemics, they said, and could be particularly useful

in the search for new vaccines. The researchers found that immune systems'

killer cells, known as T cells, rely on vitamin D to become active and

remain dormant and unaware of the possibility of threat from an infection or

pathogen if vitamin D is lacking in the blood.

 

" When a T cell is exposed to a foreign pathogen, it extends a signaling

device or 'antenna' known as a vitamin D receptor, with which it searches

for vitamin D, " said Carsten Geisler of Copenhagen University's department

of international health, immunology and microbiology, who led the study.

" This means the T cell must have vitamin D or activation of the cell will

cease. If the T cells cannot find enough vitamin D in the blood, they won't

even begin to mobilize. "

 

Scientists have known for a long time that vitamin D is important for

calcium absorption, and that there is a link between levels of the vitamin

and diseases such as cancer and multiple sclerosis. " What we didn't realize

is how crucial vitamin D is for actually activating the immune system -

which we know now, " Geisler wrote in the study in the journal Nature

Immunology. Most Vitamin D is made by the body as a natural by-product of

the skin's exposure to sunlight.

 

Almost half of the world's population has lower than optimal levels of

vitamin D and scientists say the problem is getting worse as people spend

more time indoors.

 

Geisler and his research team said the findings offered much needed

information about the immune system and would be of particular use when

developing new vaccines. " This is important not only in fighting disease but

also in dealing with anti-immune reactions of the body and the rejection of

transplanted organs, " they wrote. Active T cells multiply at an explosive

rate and as well as fighting infection, can also mistakenly attack the body

itself. After and an organ transplant, for example, T cells can attack the

new organ as a " foreign invader, " and in autoimmune disease, hypersensitive

T cells mistake parts of the body's own cells as threats, prompting the body

to attack itself.

 

Geisler said there were no definitive studies on the optimal daily vitamin D

dose but experts recommend 25 to 50 micrograms.