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American Institute for Technology
& Science Education Newsletter
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April/May, 2013
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Greetings!
Thank you so much for your faithful support of AITSE. However, I now need to let you know that AITSE lost its nonprofit status in March for reasons mired in IRS complexities. To be reinstated would take over half of our assets. Therefore, if you donate, please be advised that your donation is no longer tax deductible.
In addition, my personal circumstances combined with our general lack of financial support means that AITSE will be taking a break while we reevaluate whether we should continue our efforts. During this time we will continue putting out our regular Facebook, Twitter and Linkedin updates and will publish a bimonthly email newsletter only if we have the necessary articles. However, our other work on your behalf will temporarily cease. Thank you for your patience during this time.
And now, enjoy the April/May newsletter where we major on psychiatry and scientific integrity. |
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 Are the Kids Crazy? Or Are They Just Kids?
According to the New York Health Department, 20% of children have emotional problems or mental illness. This fits nicely with the National Institutes of Mental Health statistics showing that 20% of adults have a mental disorder (See Dr. Sturman's article in this newsletter). As Sturman asks, could this be true? Apparently, the rate of diagnosis of ADHD has tripled in the last 20 years; the rate of diagnosis of autism and bipolar diagnosis have increased by 40 times! So, whereas in 1993 only 1 in 2000 children were considered autistic, now some estimate that it is closer to 1 in 50. Could it be that this disorder (and indeed all mental disorders) have increased this dramatically over the last 20 years or is there something else going on? Read more.
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Evolution of Brain Chemicals?
The Taming of the Fox 
Cornell University's graduate student Lenore Pipes has an enjoyable research project. When she isn't cycling, she helps with breeding foxes--trying to domesticate them--a process started by Russian scientists over 50 years ago. And they have had some success. The tamed animals now seek attention from, and give affection to, their caregivers. At the same time, the scientists also bred the most aggressive of the foxes, yielding a group that is not at all friendly to people--the nasty foxes.
Now, the question appears to be: can we use these foxes and their brains to prove evolution and, if so, how? Since evolution is said to proceed by random mutation of DNA (the ink that cells use to "write" their information) sequences and natural selection of the "fittest," Pipes and the scientists at Cornell analyzed the DNA sequences. No joy there. There was no difference in the DNA coming from tame and nasty foxes. Interestingly, the article says, "The foxes' tame and aggressive behaviors are rooted in genetics, but the scientists have not found DNA changes that account for the differences." Here we see an excellent example of believing the dogma despite the experimental results. But, I digress.
Read more.
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The Beauty of Cells 
An AITSE Presentation
by Caroline Crocker, PhD
The latest AITSE presentation is on cells, the smallest and simplest unit of matter that can still be considered alive. Those things that Darwin's contemporary Huxley described as simple bags of protoplasm and those integrated systems that origin of life researchers posit spontaneously arose from the primordial soup or something of the sort. And, as a cell biologist, those self-same units that challenge, fascinate, and inspire me.
So, what are cells and why would I say they are beautiful? After all, they aren't even visible. The smallest cell, a mycoplasm, is just 0.0001 mm in diameter. The smallest human cell, a sperm, is 30 times larger. The largest human cell, an egg, is 0.12-0.15 mm in diameter, and theoretically is visible to the naked eye. But, according to Bruce Alberts PhD of UCSF, contained in this microscopic piece of nature--so small that it takes about 50-75 trillion to make just one person--is "an elaborate network of interlocking assembly lines, each of which is composed of a set of large protein machines."
Personally, I find it easier to just describe the cell in terms of a city and this is what is done in the new presentation. Harvard University has produced an amazing animation of the events inside this city. Take some time to watch and enjoy. As a cell biologist I can assure you that all these things really happen.
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DSM-5 Terminology and Certainty. More Thoughts on Medical Naming 
by Martin Sturman, MD FACP
The "Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders" (DSM-5) is the latest in a long list of DSM's going back to 1952. Seeking diagnostic perfection, doctors and patients alike feel comfort in the thought that naming is knowing and knowing is curing. "We see this" rarely reduces anxiety. Yet,
by attempting to give a name to every clinical presentation, especially types of behavior, physicians and particularly psychiatrists, have caused a constellation of unintended disasters
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The growth of new and unreliable designations resemble a kind of unrestrained systematic orthodoxy creating millions of new patients, and contributing dangerously to exploding medical costs.
The National Institutes of Mental Health reports that one in five Americans over 18 has a "mental disorder! According to the CDC about half of Americans will meet the criteria for a DSM-IV disorder sometime in their life, with first onset usually in childhood or adolescence!"
Can you believe this?
It started auspiciously enough in 1937 when the World Health Organization (WHO) developed ICD codes (International Classification of Diseases) using this straight forward and highly productive concept to assist in tracking mortality rates and international health trends, upgrading the list each decade. Ultimately, the number of ICD codes exploded to 14,400 this year. After 1965 Medicare and the AMA along with insurers developed CPT (Current Procedural Terminology) diagnostic and procedure codes linked to ICD codes.
To my mind this has turned out to be an unmitigated disaster which continues to help bankrupt a disastrous private health care system.* Linking these codes to ICD led to à la carte billing for all medical procedures and visits; no more complete dinners remained on the menu. Aggregated services, blue plate specials, only exist in countries with government plans or "socialized" medicine. The attempt of the APA (American Psychiatric Association) to describe every variation of behavior with a name is nothing more than a delusional certitude that every psychiatric patient carries an ICD-10 code or fits a description in their latest DSM bible.
Do not assume that I reject the idea of psychiatric diagnosis. One cannot avoid some taxonomic approach to "mental" patients unless you lurch into Dr Szasz's corner. In my opinion, if more than the 450 diagnoses already deified by DSM were reassessed, and combined, 80%-90% of them could be excised. This could well result in major advances in psychiatric care and significant reduction of our healthcare costs. The real question is, will it ever be done, and if so, who will do it, and how and when? Read more. 
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Quote of the Month 
"Academic freedom is the issue here, and professors have to have the right to teach unpopular, controversial issues..." PZ Myers, PhD
Professor Eric Hedin, who teaches physics and astronomy at Ball State University in Indiana, is in trouble.
Why? Because he dared to ask politically incorrect questions and encouraged his students to do the same. Apparently, "he encourages [college] students to read books by scientists, journalists and proponents who embrace intelligent design." And we all know that students should not be encouraged to think--or do we?
Jerry Coyne and the Freedom From Religion Foundation thinks that the vulnerable students should be protected from any scientific ideas that might lead to theism. Note, Dr. Hedin is not teaching theistic religion, but he is allowing students to consider science that is compatible with it. Is that a problem? PZ Myers does not think so; J Coyne thinks it is. What do you think?
Should students be free to think?
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In closing, thank you for your past support and don't forget to check us out on Facebook. There you can chime in and let us know what you think about science with integrity.
Sincerely, Caroline Crocker
American Institute for Technology and Science Education |
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