The Burzynski Cancer Treatment. In the Pipeline:

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November 29, 2011

The Burzynski Cancer Treatment

Posted by Derek

There seems to have been a recent surge in interest in the Burzynski cancer therapy in the UK. A family publicly raised a good deal of money to have their daughter flown over to Texas for the treatment, and this seems to have raised the profile of the clinic quite a bit over there.

But Dr. Burzynski and his therapy have been around for decades, and not everyone has been pleased with their results. Orac over at Respectful Insolence has (as you'd expect!) taken up this topic before, and for background I definitely suggest reading his piece. Quackwatch also has background. Put together, it seems that no one has been able to replicate Burzynski's results, despite many attempts. This does not appear to have slowed down his acceptance of patients, nor his billing of them.

Perhaps the best single reference I can give for Burzynski and his associates, though, is this blog from Wales. Rhys Morgan, a high school student, wrote earlier this year about his misgivings about all the UK publicity and fund-raising to send patients to the clinic, and for his pains he was treated to some good old-fashioned legal scare tactics. I'm glad to see that he's standing up to these, and it appears to me as if he's been giving good legal advice in doing so. From his post, it seems that the same law firm is sending out such letters to other people who've written unfavorably about the Burzynski Clinic, and has this ever been a good sign?

It would appear that Dr. Burzynski has had a good deal of time, and numerous opportunities, to provide convincing data to back up his claims. Instead, he seems to have spent his efforts at expanding the definition of the phrase "clinical trial" in response to a court order - and in sending lawyers after people who point such things out. Personally, in my review of the literature, I have seen no reason to disagree with the American Cancer Society's opinion that the value, if any, of the Burzynski therapy has not been established, and I would add that this is still the state of affairs 35 years after his initial publications.

If anyone has anything that might change my mind about that - and I'd prefer data, not legal threats - I'd be glad to review it. But you'd think that the convincing evidence would already be out there by now. 1976!

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Source: http://pipeline.corante.com/archives/2011/11/29/the_burzynski_cancer_treatment.php

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Retailers report strong start to holiday season (Reuters)

WASHINGTON (Reuters) ? Retailers reported strong sales last week as shoppers took advantage of discounts and longer store hours for the start of the holiday shopping season.

The International Council of Shopping Centers said sales rose 1.7 percent last week, the biggest gain since June.

The ICSC surveys retail chain stores, but does not include sales of cars or meals at restaurants. It compares sales to the prior week.

Separately, the Johnson Redbook Index of large merchandise retailers showed sales rose 5.4 percent last week from a year earlier.

That left Redbook's month-over-month reading up 2.2 percent in November, the biggest monthly jump since November 2009.

Despite the attention paid to the start of the holiday season, economists warned that strong sales might not be a sign of a new trend.

Consumers may have pushed up spending to the beginning of the shopping season because of the steep discounts and longer store hours. With incomes stagnant and the jobless rate stuck at about 9 percent, consumers may pull back spending later in the season, economists warned.

(Reporting by Jason Lange; editing by Jeffrey Benkoe)

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/economy/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20111129/bs_nm/us_usa_economy_retail

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First Nvidia Tegra 3 Benchmarks Score The Quad-Core Chip Just Slightly Faster Than Apple?s A5

Forget that specs do not matter for a minute. The first bit of competitive benchmarks of the Nvidia Tegra 3 are just now hitting thanks to the Asus Transformer Prime. Nvidia's quad-core mobile platform will likely be the de facto chipset to power Ice Cream Sandwich tablets; it will be everywhere next year. Nvidia has long touted the Tegra 3's processing power, stating that the platform will absolutely?trounce all?competitors?including the aging dual-core Apple A5. That doesn't seem to be the case though. Early benchmarks are stating the A5 keeps up just fine.

Source: http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/Techcrunch/~3/9uftZBxdp0w/

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Defense, prosecution agree Ehrlich campaign manager approved robo-calls (Washington Post)

Share With Friends: | | Politics - Top Stories News, News Feeds and News via Feedzilla.

Source: http://news.feedzilla.com/en_us/stories/politics/top-stories/167935260?client_source=feed&format=rss

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Audio helped sway judge to give Jackson doc jail (AP)

LOS ANGELES ? The voice of Michael Jackson helped put the man who killed him behind bars.

It wasn't the familiar voice of hits such as "Billie Jean" and "Thriller," but the slow, slurring recording of the singer that was found on his physician's cell phone that helped convince a judge to sentence the doctor to jail for four years.

The four-minute recording was one of the blockbuster revelations of Dr. Conrad Murray's involuntary manslaughter trial, a previously unknown piece of evidence that revealed an impaired Jackson describing his ambitions and aspirations as his personal physician listened.

It was also one of the trial's most haunting moments, and stuck in the mind of Superior Court Judge Michael Pastor as he considered in recent days how to sentence Murray for causing Jackson's unexpected death in June 2009. It wasn't the only thing the judge considered ? he unwaveringly assailed the cardiologist's decisions and ethics for nearly 30 minutes on Tuesday ? but helped convince Pastor to give Murray the maximum sentence.

Jurors unanimously convicted Murray on Nov. 7, but it was up to Pastor on Tuesday to sentence the doctor and explain his punishment.

"Of everything I heard and saw during the course of the trial, one aspect of the evidence stands out the most, and that is the surreptitious recording of Michael Jackson by his trusted doctor," Pastor said.

Murray's attorneys never explained in court why the recording was made, and prosecutors said they do not know what substances Jackson was under the influence of when the audio was recorded six weeks before his death. Murray had been giving the singer nightly doses of the anesthetic propofol to help him sleep.

The doctor's time in a Los Angeles jail will be automatically reduced to less than two years due to laws imposed due to California's prison overcrowding and budget woes.

Murray, 58, will have plenty of time if he wants to consider Pastor's harsh rebuke of him. The Houston-based cardiologist will be confined to a one-man cell and kept away from other prisoners.

With Jackson's family and Murray's mother and girlfriend looking on, the judge called the doctor's actions a "disgrace to the medical profession," and said he displayed a "failure of character" and had showed a complete lack of remorse for his significant role in causing Jackson's death.

"It should be made very clear that experimental medicine is not going to be tolerated, and Mr. Jackson was an experiment," Pastor said. "The fact that he participated in it does not excuse or lessen the blame of Dr. Murray, who simply could have walked away and said no as countless others did.

"But Dr. Murray was intrigued with the prospect of this money-for-medicine madness," the judge said.

Defense attorney J. Michael Flanagan said after the sentencing hearing that Murray made the recording accidentally while playing with a new application on his iPhone. He deleted it, but a computer investigator recovered it from the doctor's phone after Jackson's death.

Pastor said he believed the recording was made with more sinister intent.

"That tape recording was Dr. Murray's insurance policy," the judge said. "It was designed to record his patient surreptitiously; at that patient's most vulnerable point."

"I can't help but wonder if there had been some conflict between Michael Jackson and Dr. Murray at a later point in time in their relationship, what value would be placed on that tape recording, if the choice were to release that tape recording to a media organization to be used against Michael Jackson," Pastor said.

Pastor said Murray was motivated by a desire for "money, fame and prestige" and cared more about himself than Jackson.

After sentencing, Murray mouthed the words "I love you" to his mother and girlfriend in the courtroom. Murray's mother, Milta Rush, sat alone on a bench in the courthouse hallway.

"My son is not what they charged him to be," she said quietly. "He was a gentle child from the time he was small."

Of her son's future, she said, "God is in charge."

Jackson's family said in a statement read in court that they were not seeking revenge but a stiff sentence for Murray that would serve as a warning to opportunistic doctors.

"We're going to be a family. We're going to move forward. We're going to tour, play the music and miss him," brother Jermaine Jackson said.

Defense attorney Ed Chernoff implored Pastor to look at Murray's life and give him credit for a career of good works. "I do wonder whether the court considers the book of a man's life, not just one chapter," Chernoff said.

The judge responded: "I accept Mr. Chernoff's invitation to read the whole book of Dr. Murray's life. But I also read the book of Michael Jackson's life, including the sad final chapter of Dr. Murray's treatment of Michael Jackson."

A probation report released after sentencing said Murray was listed as suicidal and mentally disturbed in jail records before his sentencing. However, Murray's spokesman Mark Fierro said a defense attorney visited the cardiologist in jail last week and found him upbeat.

"That time is behind him," Fierro said.

What lies ahead for Murray is more flogging, with medical authorities in California, Nevada and Texas looking to strip his medical license and Jackson's father, Joseph, suing the physician for wrongful death.

Chernoff, who had advocated Murray receive probation instead of jail, said his client will forever live with the stigma of having caused Jackson's death.

"Whether Dr. Murray is a barista or a greeter at Walmart, he is still the man that killed Michael Jackson," he said.

___

AP Special Correspondent Linda Deutsch contributed to this report.

___

Follow Anthony McCartney at http://twitter.com/mccartneyAP

Source: http://us.rd.yahoo.com/dailynews/rss/entertainment/*http%3A//news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20111130/ap_en_ot/us_michael_jackson_doctor

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National Defense Authorization Act: Senate Clears Way For Passage Of $662 Billion Bill

WASHINGTON -- The Senate has cleared the way for passage of a $662 billion defense bill that has drawn a threat of a presidential veto over provisions on the treatment of captured terrorism suspects.

The Senate voted 88-12 on Wednesday to limit debate on the legislation and move ahead. A final vote on the bill could come as early as Thursday.

The bill would authorize funds for military personnel, weapons systems, the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and national security programs in the Energy Department. The bill is $27 billion less than what President Barack Obama requested for the budget year beginning Oct. 1.

The bill would require military custody for captured suspects who are linked to al-Qaida or its affiliates and who are involved in a plot against the United States.

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Making it in the new media ecosystem, at ScienceOnline2012

There are many sessions (already noted in this series) that cover various aspects of science communication, but the sessions listed today are specifically about the way journalism is changing and how to adapt to this new world:

Going from blogging to MSM: selling out or gateway drug? (discussion) ? Hannah Waters and Lucas Brouwers

The rise of science blogging has ushered in a new generation of writers who have more experience with blogging than with writing for traditional publications. And when said writers start writing for MSM, they face a distinct set of challenges ? technical, managerial, and philosophical. This session intends to be part how?to, and part a wider discussion about transitioning from the blogger mindset to more traditional journalism. What do bloggers bring to the table, and how do you market those skills? What are some of the pitfalls they face? As you spend more time working on ?official? writing projects, what happens to the blog and how does the space change? How do you cope with having less control over the words and presentation of your writing? How do you deal with getting pushed out of your comfort zone of expertise? How do you reconcile the two approaches and leave work without feeling like you?ve sacrificed a part of your soul? We plan to feature testimony from editors dealing with writers fresh-from-the-wordpress to get a sense of the other side of the table. Neither of us have significant freelance experience, so we invite freelancers to add to the discussion.

Harassing the Powerful for Fun and Profit: An Informal Investigative Reporters? Guide to Uncovering Secrets and Bypassing Flacks (discussion) ? Charles Duhigg and Ivan Oransky

This workshop will explain how to use the Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) and non-FOIA methods to find information that people don?t want you to know, and how to pick topics and targets most likely to yield important insights. It will examine how to identify the officials and other sources most likely to provide assistance, and then how to get them to talk. It will explore how to investigate scientists and research efforts, and how to make use of the data you?ve received from government agencies. It won?t really explain how to make much of a profit. But, if your idea of a good time is ruining an arrogant bureaucrat?s day, you?re in the right place.

How do we teach science journalism in the era of social media? (discussion) ? Paul Raeburn and Misha Angrist

For those of us trying to train next-gen science writers and bloggers, what do we teach them? Tools and tricks?and let them figure out how to use them? Intellectual examination of the history and nature of journalism, and let the students learn the tricks and tools on the job? Law schools teach deep academic content, and let employers teach the grads how to be lawyers. Journalism schools have traditionally taught writing and reporting skills. Medical schools are in the middle?study of science, and instruction in skills. Where should science journalism pedagogy be, with the media landscape changing as quickly as it is? To what breaches do we once more unto? If we insist on teaching John McPhee, are we fighting the last war? Or is now the moment to stand fast in defense of timeless storytelling?

Do press officers/public information officers need journalists any more? (duscussion) ? David Harris

With the plethora of tools available to press officers/public information officers for direct-to-audience communication, how much is the intermediary of the mainstream press required? What kinds of formats and players are taking the place of mainstream press? How are press officers/PIOs using these tools effectively to both communicate messages and engage in substantive dialog with their stakeholders and audiences? The session is intended to not only assess where we are now but to futurecast the direction of this kind of work.

I can haz context? (discussion) ? Ed Yong and Maggie Koerth-Baker

There?s a lot of talk about the need for more context in science journalism, to depict science as a fluid process rather than fixating on the latest paper-of-the-day. Vigorous nodding ensues. But how do we actually achieve this, how does this work for different media (print, blogs etc), what types of context are actually useful, how do journalists balance time and depth, how can we use the tools of the internet to provide context, and how can context in science writing actually help science itself?

Data Journalism: Talking the talk (hands-on workshop) ? Ruth Spencer and Lena Groeger

We want this workshop to be first and foremost USEFUL to people, without requiring many in depth tutorials or technical explanations. One of the main hurdles on the adventure that is data journalism, is knowing just enough to be able to have a conversation with someone who can make your data dreams into data realities (read: programmers and developers). We?re less interested in perfecting your program skills and much more keen to get you familiar with the tools and processes you need to get your big project off the ground. We?ll explore how to get started and launch into a whirlwind tour through the (free!) resources for journalists looking to work with data. This will be less of a workshop and more of a crash course: What you need to know before you even know what you need to know (about data journalism).

Charting Your Own Course: How to Make It As a Freelancer (discussion) ? Brian Switek and Hillary Rosner

Freelancing can be tough. Generating ideas, pitching stories, balancing projects, planning ahead to make sure the money keeps coming? How do full-time freelancers do it? What does it take to start science-writing without a safety net, especially during a time when paid work is increasingly elusive? Whether you?re a veteran freelancer or thinking about taking the plunge, bring your questions, tips, and tricks.

Writing about science for women?s (and men?s) magazines and not being ashamed of it, dammit (discussion) Maryn McKenna and Elizabeth Devita-Raeburn

The major women?s magazines ? SELF, Health, More and others ? reach audiences of more than 1 million per month in their paper versions and several million more on the web. Yet there?s science-writing community debate over whether we should write for them, to bring science to the masses (and also because they pay pretty well), or whether they are so compromised by simplification and error that writing for them is a scarlet letter of shame.

And on Saturday at 3:45-4:45pm, just before the end of the conference ? the Plenary Panel: Check, check, 1, 2 . . . The sticky wicket of the scientist-journalist relationship, moderated by David Kroll, with panelists: Maggie Koerth-Baker, Seth Mnookin and Bora Zivkovic.

Despite the reach of science blogs, science reporting from wide-circulation online or print publications continues to have the greatest impact on the public perception of science. The most essential but misunderstood component of science reporting is the relationship between the writer and the scientist source. While journalists and scientists may appear to have shared goals and expectations in story reporting, their distinctive motivations can lead to discord. This closing session will discuss three overlapping themes: 1) the perils of journalists growing too close with their sources, 2) the threat to objectivity in consulting scientist sources for fact-checking, and 3) for scientists, the drawbacks of engaging with the press on your science or that of others in your field. Each theme also carries significant advantages. How are the journalist and scientist best served while preserving the integrity of the science?

Learn more:

Homepage
Blog
Planning Wiki
Draft Program
See who?s registered
Waitlist sign-up
Facebook page
FriendFeed group
Tumblr coverage blog
Google Plus official page
Google Plus circle of participants
Twitter account
#scio12 hashtag
Twitter repository
Twitter list of participants
Previous conferences
Nice things people said about ScienceOnline2010
ScienceOnline2011 on YouTube
ScienceOnline2011 on Flickr
ScienceOnline2011 official recordings

Previously in this series:

What is: ScienceOnline2012 ? and it?s coming soon!
ScienceOnline participants? interviews
Some updates on #scio12, #NYCscitweetup, Story Collider and more.
Updates: ScienceOnline2012, Science blogging, Open Laboratory, and #NYCSciTweetup
ScienceOnline2012 ? we have the Keynote Speaker!
Mathematics ? Algebra and Statistics and more ? at ScienceOnline2012
Information, data and technology at ScienceOnline2012
Health and Medicine at ScienceOnline2012
Education at ScienceOnline2012
Movies and Video at ScienceOnline2011
Sound and Music at ScienceOnline2012
Visual Communication at ScienceOnline2012
Submissions for the Cyberscreen Science Film Festival are now OPEN!
Scientists and the Media, at ScienceOnline2012
Writing, narrative and books at ScienceOnline2012
Outreach, activism and persuasion at ScienceOnline2012
Updates: #scio12, #soNYC, #NYCSciTweetup and more.

Source: http://rss.sciam.com/click.phdo?i=d3f907305f5e8539e94e64dd87ad6855

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