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American Institute for Technology
& Science Education Newsletter
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December, 2012
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Greetings!
 In this busy season, you will be relieved to read that this newsletter will be unusually short. Of course, you did receive an extra one detailing AITSE's 2012 accomplishments, and requesting your help next year...
Regardless, sit down by the fire, pour yourself a nice cup of life-sustaining coffee, cactus juice, or pomegranate elixir (if you are confused, you may want to peruse our older newsletters), and listen to the audio presentation on bunk science. Then, read all about
the importance of a healthy lifestyle and an analysis of comfort care. A word of advice: don't do it before bed or you may find that you will need Tums or a sleeping pill, neither of them good things (again, read the old newsletters).
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A Healthy Lifestyle Makes You Healthy 
Bunk or Worth Considering?
At about this time of year, many of us begin to dislike what we see in the mirror. We are carrying Thanksgiving and Christmas excesses on our hips and bellies and the cold weather inhibiting our usual exercise routine has not helped. We are not alone. The latest statistics tell us that over two thirds of American adults are overweight; one third are considered obese. Even one in three children in our fast food-dominated nation are overweight.
This is not good news. Excess weight and too little exercise are at the root of, or implicated in, the majority of our leading causes of illness and death: heart disease, diabetes, stroke, kidney disease, etc. We are literally eating ourselves to death--or so they say. But, is this bunk?
Read more. 
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Listen to Dr. Crocker 
On the Bunk-Detecting Principles
In August, 2012, Dr. Caroline Crocker gave a talk at the American Scientific Affiliation meeting in San Diego. The audio of this presentation is now available on line. Listen here. To get the visual, scroll to the bottom of the page here.
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Achieving Longevity 
By Standing Up
According to a paper in the European Journal of Longevity, the less able a person between 51 and 80 is to rise from sitting on the floor, the more likely they are to die in the near future. Makes sense, but does it matter? After all, both of these are definitely both age-related and obesity-related phenomena. Presumably, the average risk of death is also directly proportional to the number of wrinkles a person has or the amount of gray in their hair. And, medical science is already pretty certain that being obese increases risk of early death. Simple experience tells us that extra weight makes it harder to get up off the floor!
But, correlation does not mean causation. That is, the fact that a poor score on a sit-stand test correlates with impending death does not mean that the inability to stand up from sitting on the floor causes one to die prematurely. Lisa Collier Cool speculates that achieving a poor score on the sit-stand test may be an indicator that a person would not be able to stand after a fall--but the study did not document that the additional deaths were due to falls.
Ms. Cool then goes on the advise her readers to remain active so that they can improve their sit/stand scores. She alleges that, "Doctors says [sic] physical activity like walking, swimming, yoga, and weight-resistance training can help improve scores on the sit/stand test and add years to your life." Is she seriously implying that working on your sit-stand abilities will lengthen your life? Hopefully not.
Whereas it is true that a healthy lifestyle, which will include regular exercise, will increase longevity, it is highly unlikely that practicing getting up without support will. Getting younger or losing weight might.
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Comfort Care
 Are You Comfortable With It?
by Caroline Crocker, MSc, PhD and Joseph Kezele, MD
The family stood around in shock and discussed the devastating verdict. Grandpa Herbert was going to die within the week--there was no hope. Without doing a biopsy on the swelling on his neck, Dr. Jones had arbitrarily decided that the cancer Herbert had recovered from several years ago had returned. The recommendation was that Herbert be transferred to "Comfort Care."
Grandma Muriel looked dazed, "I thought it was just a boil! If I'd known it was so serious, I would have brought him in sooner-before this happened." Her 70-year-old husband had noticed the swelling, but ignored it. When he lost consciousness while working in the yard, his family rushed him to the ER. Now, would they even have a chance to say good-bye?
Dr. Jones thrust the Comfort Care papers under Muriel's nose. "Just sign here and we can transfer him to the right floor. It's the kindest thing to do. At least he won't suffer." Muriel signed, tears running down her face. But, only a few minutes after the physician left, papers in hand, Herbert regained consciousness. Muriel rushed to the door and called the doctor back. "Look, he's awake. Please, treat him and let's see how he does."
Dr. Jones frowned. "No, treating him would be cruel--and it might spread the cancer. Besides you've signed the orders now. He'll be transferred up to Comfort Care within the hour." Herbert, overhearing all this, began to protest--loudly. He was not ready to be written off.
Unfortunately, the system did not agree. Dr. Jones administered drugs to calm Herbert and he was taken to the Comfort Care floor. The family was told, "If you don't like it, you'll need to take it up with the Ethics Committee-they meet next week." The swelling inexorably grew visibly larger every day. Herbert was given morphine, but no food or water, and died before the Ethics Committee could meet.
Could this happen in America where even physician-assisted suicide (and note that suicide is defined as the person's desire to die) is illegal in 47/50 states and where it is definitely illegal to terminate life support against the patient's wishes? Yes, and it did.
Read More.
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Quote of the Month
Carl Sagan
"Science is a way of thinking much more than it is a body of knowledge."
Scientific understanding should be driven by a quest for truth--it should be the result of impartial evaluation of evidence, not politics, finances, or even religion. It is AITSE's goal to promote this vision--help us to make significant strides in our quest in 2013!
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In closing, as always, thank you for your past gifts and support. It is a fact that AITSE cannot function in its efforts to educate to increase scientific understanding and integrity without contributions. Please consider helping us with a special donation or a commitment to give on a monthly basis. Please make checks payable to AITSE and send them to PO Box 15938, Newport Beach, CA 92659. Alternatively, you can donate on line through PayPal or credit card.
Sincerely, Caroline Crocker
American Institute for Technology and Science Education |
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