Trace amounts? I wonder if they compared any other products with the formulae. Or whether they searched for other trace contaminants.

'Trace' means minuscule amounts. The sad thing is if people learned that scientists found carcinogens in their morning weeties, they'd probably not wait around to understand what 'trace' means.

Athon

sw,

Unfortunately you'd get to a bit of snake which would have some necessary bits. A colon is more or less the same along its entire length, so if you halve it, it's just half as efficient (which doesn't usually make a huge difference, so long as your diet is kept in check).

A snake, on the other hand, has organs. Sure, they're long and thin...but they're still in there. It would be just like a long, thin person. At some point, cutting away at a person from the bottom up is going to remove something necessary.

Athon

It's less 'directed evolution' and more of a feedback mechanism. As CelticCatEyes said, it's the environment feeding back on the changing of genes.

In some cases, you want a lot of variation. In others (such as in the proteins directing the electron transport chain in your cells 'batteries' - the mitochondria), changing what works so well isn't a smart idea. These proteins are a feedback mechanism that keeps these genes working as they should, if I understand it correctly.

@lua,

Yeah, I realised that just after I posted. Although I then wonder why the parents didn't go for a second opinion. While I think we do need to trust the medical profession for its experience up to a point, there's nothing wrong with seeking second opinions. I know if I was told my kid was faking it for attention, I'd trust in my own instincts as to whether they were right or not.

@ Pol X: You have my complete sympathy that you unfortunately stuck with a doctor that was a jerk and incompetent. I just wonder why you stuck with him/her?

What this article shows is not that doctors are all morons or idiots, but rather that (surprise!) they are human. Some are indeed idiots. Many are operating under woeful work conditions where they can't practice as they'd like (i.e., short consultation periods, little time off for PD etc.), which impacts on their practice. Skills shortages also often mean employing doctors from diverse cultural backgrounds, further contributing to problems.

As somebody with a pathology background, I can confidently say that most of the 'misdiognoses' aren't what they seem. Given a mix of influences, such as costs of lab tests and impact of medications, many doctors will estimate a diagnosis based on what will do the most good with the least patient cost and least intervention. I'm sure most people don't rush into theatre for an appendectomy the very moment they have a belly ache, for instance.

Athon

How do people define 'toxins' these days? Urea isn't exactly something your body likes to keep around - hence gets rid of it. It's become a word people love to bandy about precisely because it has become meaningless.

I know it would hardly do a great deal of harm on the skin (maybe irritate it a little), but the whole 'natural, has no toxins...' line still astounds me.

Then again, I guess if I was a boxer, I'd also like it known amongst my opponents that I have wee on my fists. watch them duck and dive out of the way then! :D

Athon

RM-

How familiar are you with thinking critically? Not very, I assume. The very fact some of us were asking for an authoritative source for confirmation obviously means our few articles didn't make us the authority.

The key here was information. Rather than relying solely on wiki or on the occasional article, some of us were asking for more information to supplement what we already know. Until then, the story remained 'unconfirmed'. Not absolute BS, and not swallowed hook-line-sinker. Just null until we had more info.

For all those claiming 'it's not fake', not one of you seemed to be able to provide answers to the apparent issues. Justin, who had that information, was able to do more by explaining that than by acting like a gullible twat who thinks if the internet says it, it must be real.

A little lesson in skepticism, people.

As you were. :)

Athon

Justin - you're a legend. Thanks for setting that straight. :) I can sleep now.

Athon

@Berky93

It's not a matter of whether the magnets form a circuit or not. It's a matter of the magnets controlling the beam to begin with. From what I understand of particle accelerators (enough to know the fundamentals, but not enough the particulars), the magnets keep charged particles moving. It's not as simple as just opening a hatch and watching them whiz by.

Second of all, to accelerate the particles, they can't have large molecules of air bumping into them. Again, they require a vacuum. Opening a 'hatch' of any sort would simply let air in. So before we talk about 'misinformation' or 'retards', how about addressing the basics and providing some facts which address the questions.

Having done a little more homework on the matter, it's looking less likely than ever to me that he stuck his head into a beam of accelerated protons. More possible was him putting his head where it shouldn't be - outside of the chamber - and copping a dose of radiation from particle collisions (if anything at all).

Again - any informed answers would be most appreciated.

Athon

Hobs,

We have read it. We're asking how it is possible, given how they work. It's like somebody saying they opened their car engine one day to watch the combustion take place inside the pistons. Just because Wired and Wiki say it, it doesn't necessarily mean all the facts are straight.

If you're happier not asking questions and simply swallowing all you read, go for it. Obviously because you think we're 'retarted' means you can tell us how the accelerator continues to work without supermagnets, coolant and a vacuum?

Athon

Any physicists here who can provide more information on this?

He allegedly stuck his head into the 'beam' of accelerating particles in a synchrotron U-70. Such a particle accelerator relies on a magnetic field pushing the particles up towards the speed of light within a vacuum. From what I understand, they aren't like car engines where you can just open one up and stick your head in for a closer look. Opening a section with the beam going would mean breaking the magnetic field through removing a section of the torus, while also destroying the vacuum the protons are whizzing through, or so I'd imagine.

So, I'm happy to admit I'm missing something here, but my spider senses are tingling...

Athon

Uttles,

That's kind of the point behind laws. Yeah, the police, the parents and the kid might all have been stupid. Stupid people abound on this planet. If police always had the immediate and right answers, and parents were all intelligent, and kids never made poor decisions, laws would be obsolete. Bureaucracy - as much as we hate it - exists because it's impossible to have consistent and reaosonable thoughts on all levels of authority.

Incidentally, one thing I don't get is this - in my line of work, I speak with climatologists on a regular enough basis. While they all have their own views on the details, I've never come across one researcher who has said the currently accepted models are all wrong (well, there was one guy who corresponded with me who said he was a climatologist, but I later found that he wasn't currently affiliated with any university or research group).

So why do denialists who make ridiculous statements think they are more informed on climate studies than the many who do it for a living?

Athon

Some really good (and really naive) responses here.

Count me amongst the so-called 'Middle Grounders'. Fact; the climate changes. Fact; anthropogenic activity contributes. Fact; the better of the models we have demonstrate the contribution is significant enough to cause slight increases in global temperatures. Beyond that, we run out of facts, and run into speculation. The truth is that our models, while constantly improving, are still too vague.

What won't happen is 'the planet will die', 'all animals will die (or want to die)', 'the end of the world'. The exaggerations, oversimplifications and the ridiculous idea that turning off a few light switches or not driving your car to work will help on iota does nothing but obfiscate the issue and create a sense of doing something.

What I want to know is what will we do when changes do happen? We spend so much time and money telling the average Joe to ride a bike, while in places like Australia we're still scratching our heads over what to do about water. Let's face it - climate change happens. Let's deal with it.

Athon

Something of an irony that Dante's 'Divine Comedie' was written in the vulgar tongue in an effort to reach the wider demographic (rather than Latin, which pretty much meant only the highly educated could read it).

Language changes. It evolves. If a word works, it works. If not, people won't use it.