A neighbour you wave to, a co-worker you work with, a distant relative you see maybe once or twice a year for family gatherings, or even a stranger that you meet while waiting in line at the grocery store, what do they all have in common? They have probably been through a cancer diagnosis or supported someone through it. However, it's a totally different feeling when it is someone so close to you.
I've almost lost my Dad once (through his very unexpected encephalitis illness) which took a very bad toll on my mental and physical health, even after his own healing began. I could not heal, I was not able to process my emotions clearly and no matter what doctor I went to, I still felt like this was just a nightmare I was never going to wake up from. Thankfully, I woke up and realized that the next time (there will always be a next time of bad news - this is the reality of life) I will handle things differently, or at least try to.
I failed. I failed miserably yesterday. I got so overwhelmed with the idea of researching to make sure I knew everything about my dad's condition (prostate cancer) and what he was in for. Truth is, no one knows because every person is so different. You get horror stories from people and then others say that it wasn't pleasant but it was tolerable, and then there are the in-betweeners. I had booklets and tons of information that I thought were all credible sources. I suppose my thinking cap wasn't screwed on tight enough when I didn't question the title of one article stating "your prostate wants you to be a vegan." A bit extreme. I am just going to look things up when I absolutely need to.
This is a situation I cannot really control fully and my burning desire to be in-control of something, anything... is hard to let go of. I also have to acknowledge my own boundaries of what I can and cannot handle. I am thankful to my brother for taking the reigns this time and helping out in areas that I'm not equipped for.
And so I start again.
Here is my Dad's latest blog on what happened on his first visit to the Cancer Center here in Windsor. His oncologist is wonderful, not to mention the whole staff and volunteers there. 40 days of radiation, 5 days a week is coming up. https://tecumsehcityblog.blogspot.com/2019/07/my-good-and-bad-news.html/
The thoughtful words and on-going support never go unappreciated or unrecognized, so thank you. :)
There are so many worthy causes and it's hard to be active in everything. However, I have chosen this time around to volunteer for the Heart & Stroke Foundation.
I would be thrilled if you could drop by my page and make a donation!
If you would rather donate by cash/cheque in-person to me in Windsor, that can certainly be arranged as well.
My current goal is $100,but I am hoping with the generousity of others, I can surpass that.. :)
Bill has been overwhelmed by the number of requests that he receives from people asking him a variety of questions related to science and scams that circulate on the Internet and elsewhere. To manage his time effectively, Bill has decided to do a weekly fun and educational "Ask Bill" segment.
Every Wednesday, Bill will choose one question from his e-mails and answer another science or hoax question. Get your questions into him ASAP.
For this week's ASK BILL, the question is: How does a regular Joe know a good scientific study from a bad one?
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This is a very good question. For laypersons (and even those knowledgeable in the area), trying to find out if a certain study is significant or not can be very confusing. It is not always a simple straight answer as there are many factors to consider. None of the following by themselves is necessarily a sure sign of a bad study, but they can definitely be used for the final consideration, especially if the study has multiple infractions.
The first thing I look at is where the study was published. This is usually a good first indication. If a study is published in a respected scientific journal, its odds of being a good one increases. Of course some bad studies still do get published (some are deliberate hoaxes testing the reliability of said journals and their process), but in time they are often retracted. Searching on Google, the top journals can give you decent resources such as: http://www.scimagojr.com/journalrank.php and https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_scientific_journals.
So how does a study get into a respected journal? There is usually a process of evaluation (part of the scientific method) and review. They are often checking the methodology of the study. It's also good to know what type of study it is.
Is it just a review study looking at certain literature? I find these types are only ideal for proposing further studies and not necessarily for drawing any solid conclusion. Now this shouldn't be confused with a meta-analysis, which looks more in-depth at a larger selection of studies to try to determine a reasonable consensus and include more complex data algorithms and thus hold more weight.
Is the study relying on people's reporting/memory recall (which is often fallible, inaccurate, or prone to bias?) Studies that rely on people reporting from memory how they ate 5 years ago (or even 5 months ago) is problematic.
Was it done with experiments on actual people? Many studies are done just in petri dishes or maybe in just certain animals. While these give some good starting points for pursing further studies, they can't always be relied on to discern the reactions within the human body, which is quite different then a petri dish and rats, for example.
How many people were used? A small number of people used in a study can contain a lot of “noise” in regards to more closely representing what can happen in the general public. A study done on 10,000 people is definitely more robust than one done on 10. For example, you could get 3 out of 10 with a reaction and thus conclude a 30% effect. But in the 10,000 study one could find only 100, which then is only 1%.
Was the study blinded and have controls? Although not always possible, being randomized, blinded and having controls to compare to can increase the robustness of the research. Having it where participants do not know if they are getting a placebo or not is ideal, and even more ideal if the researchers are also blind to that fact as well (usually relying on an impartial 3rd party to keep track of that info for later review).
Did the study list conflicts of interest? A good study will list any conflicts of interest that could bias their results. It's about open honesty. One that hides any conflict raises serious red flags. To find a conflict of interest, one may have to do a bit of searching to discover the conflict of interest.
Has it been peer reviewed? With science part of the process is having your research critiqued. This can be others checking your math or even better seeing if when they repeat your experiment, can they replicate the results. This type of review of a study done by competent peers is the reason some studies have been retracted from journals. They found serious flaws in the data, conclusions and reproducibility of the studies. This is why good science can sometimes take a while, but it eventually corrects itself.
I find that media reports on science studies can sometimes misrepresent or exaggerate what is said in an actual study. Headlines are usually done to grab your attention by asserting a certain point like “chocolate can help with_______ study says.” What is often the case is a certain ingredient was found to have an interesting result (quite often in that petri dish we talked about earlier) and that more study is needed. So don't take headlines at face value. It's always a good idea to look at the actual study to see its conclusions (if any), or you could just ASK BILL :) (or any other friend who is proficient in finding out that info).
There are many more factors to consider as well, but just knowing some of the above, one can start to get an understanding of what makes a good study and will hopefully be able to disregard some “bad science.” I hope that answers your question.
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- *For over 30 years, Bill has been a professional magician and has traveled all across Canada, performing for all ages. Along with his passion for entertaining, Bill is an educator and life-long learner. He continues to study biology, psychology, neuroscience and chemistry. Bill has also written many articles on science and scams for various blogs, newspapers and other publications. Visit his business site, Nuvo Entertainment: www.nuvoentertainment.com
The University of Windsor’s Dr Robin Gras explains the benefits of EcoSim, modelling software for ecologists.
Photo by Melissa Arditti
Sometimes, we think that we have all the answers. Other times, we get close to finding solutions, but many factors begin to limit our progress, leaving large gaps of space and time.
With the evolution of technology, discovering new ways of navigating complex biological and ecological issues, that we might have thought couldn't exist, is actually only the beginning steps.
After attending a lecture on ecosystems on December 17 at the Science Cafe, hosted by Canada South Science City, it is exciting to see how the artificial world is exploring many unanswered ecological questions concerning how species have emerged, their interaction processes, hypotheses for extinction, how diseases co-evolved, and what is yet to come in our ever-changing world.
The University of Windsor’s Dr. Robin Gras, Research Chair in Learning and Simulation for Theoretical Biology and Computer Science, has designed a fascinating computer simulator called EcoSim, which can use certain agent mechanisms and data codes to modify behaviours of predators and prey, and seek out global patterns, as well as species-specific patterns.
Computer modelling is an exciting tool to use in any science. It provides added insight into biological ecosystem interactions that are difficult to observe.
While it does have its limitations, its contributions are definitely worth further exploration.
Getting ready for an exciting day at the Duke Lemur Center
All photos by: Melissa Arditti
Our next destination was Duke Lemur Center in Durham, NC. I cannot even begin to tell you how excited I was about going here. I was counting down the hours and watching the sky because rain was in the forecast, and I wasn’t sure exactly how the touring process would go.
As you can see, I took a photo of my dad’s GPS as we arrived. It was easy to get there from our hotel (Staybridge), approximately 10 minutes or so, with moderate traffic.
There was ample signage, so we always knew that we were heading the right way.
The closer we got, the more giddy I became. Breathe….breathe….. This was my first trip to Durham ever and of course, my first time ever getting a tour of the Duke Lemur Center.
After getting out of the car and taking a swig of water, I saw this wonderful art sign. It had all my favourite prosimians! Can you name them all?
So the schedule for the day was “Painting with Lemurs” and then a private “Lemurs Live” tour. Our tour guide, Chris, was still on lunch, so my parents and I walked around the gift shop area and I had a chance to meet Robin Smith, the Communications Specialist at DLC who provided me with a boatload of information for this article.
The gift shop had so much to choose from, it was hard to just pick a few things. However, I got an adorable sifaka plushy, cute ears to match the tail that I have back home, and a postcard of a group of ringtail lemurs for my collection.
Before the painting component started, I was asked to pick the colours that I wanted the lemurs to paint with, which was fun. I chose a bright purple, pink and sparkly blue.
Here you can see the video of the lemurs painting, father and daughter. We were not allowed inside, so I apologize if you cannot see clearly. However, I will describe more in detail what went on and show more photos.
A number of canvases were placed on the ground and paint (all non-toxic water colour so it is perfectly safe) was spread around. The lemurs when they were ready would jump all around, making a “portrait” piece with their cute little feet and even their noses. As an on-going reward for all their energy spent, the lemurkeeper gave craisins galore. You can see how happy these little lemurs were getting spoiled.
The most amazing thing about “Painting with Lemurs” is that the lemurs get to show their creative sides, and work on their visual-spatial and cognitive processing skills. If you think all they do is leap around in a cage all day, think again. Duke Lemur Center provides stimulating activities on a regular basis for our wonderful primates and with 12 dedicated lemurkeepers on staff, no lemur ever feels neglected.
Some other interesting news is that mouse lemurs are becoming a top area of research into figuring out the aging brain in humans and the symptoms of Alzheimers. Pretty fascinating.
The cost of feeding 250 primates that are at Duke Center is quite expensive, as they are fed usually twice daily. The DLC organic garden is a terrific way to keep costs lower and to provide lemurs with balanced and nutrient-rich food, like kale, romaine lettuce and a variety of fruits. Sifakas sure love their dose of kale! The downside though is that not everything is accessible year-round and in certain weather conditions, it could put a drain on resources. The DLC work very hard to ensure the lemurs get a proper diet by choosing a mixture of conventional and organic produce. I would really like to see a large farm near by donate an acre or two for the Center. It would be a great way to bring the community of Durham together and to preserve the lemurs, as we all know that they are at such a high extinction rate.
After the lemurs were done painting, these were the finished products:
Continuing our tour on-foot, we visited a number of lemurs. Please note that we weren't allowed to touch the lemurs at all. As you can see from the sign, DLC has protocols for each tour to ensure the utmost safety of any visitor.
All the lemurs were quite well-behaved. Some have different temperaments, but the sifakas seemed the most out-going. This one appeared to be mimicking Miley Cyrus’ “Wrecking Ball” song. Hehehe…
Despite not being able to bond more without the bars between us, we still had an amazing opportunity to have an in-depth tour around the facility and met all our lemur friends and even some nocturnal ones too. I did my best taking photos through the cages for your viewing pleasure below. Just take a look at their eyes! Enough to make me melt.
If you'd like more information, you can go to their "Meet the Lemurs" page.
Another great initiative is taking place in Madagascar, as DLC has offices there. With a growing population of over 22 million now, lemurs are being hunted and their habitats are getting destroyed. Soon, they will become extinct. There is a dire need to educate the residents of Madagascar about environmental, agricultural and especially family planning issues. Progress is slow, but changes are happening and this really gives hope. It is not a question of “us vs them,” it is about co-existing in a non-threatening manner, valuing primates as they are the key to a lot of important research for human insight, and respecting their homes. Lemurs are truly fortunate to have a safe haven like Duke Lemur Center, where they are taken care of and there is a lesser chance of harm.
After learning more about what Duke Lemur Center offers and how dedicated the staff and volunteers are, it was important to make a small contribution. I know it will go towards the upkeep of the garden, research and development, animal and medical care for the lemurs, all the on-going activities and more. Every dollar counts, so if inclined to, make a donation here.
Travelling from Windsor to Durham, North Carolina was quite an excursion, but one that brings tears to my eyes when I think about it.
To book your tour and learn more about the Duke Lemur Center, please visit their website.
Thanks to Robin Smith, Communications Specialist and Niki Barnett, Education Programs Manager for their combined efforts in arranging these tours and making our time so special. Oh and thank you to Chris, our wealth of knowledge educational specialist/tour guide. I would highly recommend him to anyone.
