Pouring a coat of sugar

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Michael

PZ Myers has a post on cancer and the quacks and filthy liars who try to take advantage of the disease.

Barbara Ehrenreich had breast cancer, and ugly and frightening as that disease is, she found something else that was almost as horrible: the ‘positive thinking’ approach to health care. People are stigmatized if they fail to regard their illness as anything other than an uplifting, positive life experience, an opportunity to examine their lives and identify what is most important to them…and also, most disturbingly, if they fail to appreciate that the attitude that they bring to the problem will determine whether they live or die. It’s the Oprah-zation of medicine.

I can’t help but think of the Andreas Moritz’s and naturopaths of the world who are genuinely dangerous to the well-being of people struggling with cancer and other diseases. Some of these people are sincere, I can grant that. But sincerity does not equate to qualified. It does not equate to safe. And in the case of someone specifically like Moritz, it’s pure charlatanry. That adds a loathsome level to the situation, but the effect is precisely the same as a naturopath or janitor or Deepak Chopra ‘treating’ the disease.

Besides, it takes effort to maintain the upbeat demeanor expected by others – effort that can no longer be justified as a contribution to long-term survival. Consider the woman who wrote to Deepak Chopra that her breast cancer had spread to the bones and lungs: “Even though I follow the treatments, have come a long way in unburdening myself of toxic feelings, have forgiven everyone, changed my lifestyle to include meditation, prayer, proper diet, exercise, and supplements, the cancer keeps coming back. Am I missing a lesson here that it keeps reoccurring? I am positive I am going to beat it, yet it does get harder with each diagnosis to keep a positive attitude.”

Chopra’s response: “As far as I can tell, you are doing all the right things to recover. You just have to continue doing them until the cancer is gone for good. I know it is discouraging to make great progress only to have it come back again, but sometimes cancer is simply very pernicious and requires the utmost diligence and persistence to eventually overcome it.”

It’s disgusting. The man is preying on vulnerable people and he knows it. There isn’t an honest bone in his body. To make matters worse, he isn’t doing a damn thing to help the cancer-ridden bones (and lungs and livers and breasts and…) of anyone. Anywhere. Ever.

I thoroughly despise these sugar-coating, money-grubbing scumbags.

Filed under: Politics and Social, Pure bullshit | Tagged: , , , , , | 1 Comment »

Devil Facial Tumour Disease

Posted on January 3, 2010 by Michael

Devil Facial Tumour Disease (DFTD) is a particularly nasty tumor currently afflicting Tasmanian devils. It is responsible for the destruction of around 70% of the island population. One step, fortunately, has been made through the discovery of its specific cause.

The research collaboration, led by Australian scientists, has found that DFTD originates from cells called Schwann cells, which protect peripheral nerve fibres.

The results have been published in the journal Science.

Through the discovery, the team has now identified a genetic marker that could be used to accurately diagnose the perplexing cancer, which has seen the devil listed as endangered and facing extinction.

What happens is that these devils – so appropriately named – tear into each others’ faces because, well, that’s what they do. They’re about as nasty as the tumor itself. This then transmits the disease from one animal to the next. The research, in fact, has shown that the tumors all share the same characteristics, thus showing that it’s essentially the same faulty genes that are getting passed around, not new, individual tumors. Once the disease is passed, a massive tumor grows on the face of the unfortunate devil. If it doesn’t die directly from the cancer first, it starves from its inability to eat with a massive growth all over its face.

Associate Professor Greg Woods from the University of Tasmania’s Menzies Research Institute said the Schwann cell find was an important step in the process to further understand the disease.

“Devils develop tumours of all different types and the genetic markers we have identified are useful for telling apart the tumours that occur in DFTD from other kinds of tumours,” Associate Professor Woods said.

The propensity for devils to develop cancer so easily is distressing. They’re like the anti-naked mole rats. I would specifically be interested in learning about the quality of contact inhibition of the devils. My suspicion is that it simply sucks.

Filed under: Science | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Naked mole rats and cancer resistance

Posted on October 27, 2009 by Michael

Cells have what is called contact inhibition. This means that once they come into contact with each other (or something else), they will cease to grow (or slow growth significantly). However, this is not true of cancer cells. Indeed, it is a hallmark of such cells; they grow and grow and even layer atop each other. Contact inhibition controls cell growth and cancer is, by one general definition, uncontrolled cellular replication.

A recent study led by Vera Gorbunova of the University of Rochester has focused on the naked mole rat and why it has never been observed to develop cancer.

The findings, presented in The Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, show that the mole rat’s cells express a gene called p16 that makes the cells “claustrophobic,” stopping the cells’ proliferation when too many of them crowd together, cutting off runaway growth before it can start. The effect of p16 is so pronounced that when researchers mutated the cells to induce a tumor, the cells’ growth barely changed, whereas regular mouse cells became fully cancerous.

This gene is on top of another gene which contributes to restricted growth. Humans (and other animals) only have one, p27, and it gets ‘worked around’ by cancer commonly enough. Cancer in the naked mole rat is theoretically possible, but since it has to breach two barriers to uncontrolled cellular growth, it is unlikely.

As always, there is an excitement with any discovery which could contribute significantly to curbing or stopping many of the major diseases afflicting humanity, but it must be met with temper.

It’s very early to speculate about the implications, but if the effect of p16 can be simulated in humans we might have a way to halt cancer before it starts,” [says Vera Gorbunova].

Might is the key word, and I think Gorbunova’s caution is appropriate. Cancer is a bit of a devil, to say the least, and every discovery seems to lead to a more complicated understanding of how it works. We’ll see what this research turns out to really mean.

Filed under: Science | Tagged: , , , | 1 Comment »

Andreas Moritz is a clever snake oil salesman

Posted on October 5, 2009 by Michael

I’m proud to say that a search of “Andreas Moritz” in Google will yield this post as its second result, right after his personal website. “Dangerous man cancer” will bring that post up as the number 1 result. That’s all fine and dandy – quacks who give out quacky ‘medical’ advice in search of a quick buck deserve to be dressed down as the charlatans they really are. But Moritz, being the snake oil salesman he is, took it a step further (and, really, was just begging for me to make another post by doing so).

In the comment section on the aforementioned post, I linked to Moritz’s FAQ on his website. I made the point that the majority of his FAQs are about how people can pay him for his books. Moritz’s response was to spam the comment section with a nearly 10,000 word post that he cut-and-paste from somewhere (perhaps one of his dangerous books). It took forever just to scroll past that junk. Other than that, he did not bother to defend himself. What response could he have had? He’s a snake oil salesman who only wants to make a buck off the sick and susceptible.

About a month later, an alert reader pointed out that Moritz had changed the link to his FAQ slightly.

Mr. Moritz changed his faq page address from /faq.php to faq.htm so the above link would be broken. Just change the .php to .htm.

I thank the reader, Chris, for pointing this out. I’ve since changed the link in my comment section post. UPDATE January 12, 2012: I’ll give the snake oil salesman a break on this one. It looks like he redesigned his site a little. At any rate, here is the new FAQ and fleecing link.

But what’s to say Moritz isn’t going to just keep changing his links? Nothing. He’s a snake oil salesman. As someone who actually cares about science, I feel it a duty, then, to post his money-grubbing FAQs.

Q. Does Andreas still answer personal e-mail questions?

A. Given the heavy workload (12hours/7days) Andreas is currently experiencing, he can no longer respond to individual e-mail questions. If you would like to set up a personal telephone consultation with him, please visit the consultation page of this website and follow the directions for making an appointment.

Q. I would like to set up a phone consultation with Andreas Moritz. How can I contact him?

A. Please email him at andreas@ener-chi.com or call his personal number 1-864-895-6295. For payment options, please visit the consultation page of this website.

Q. If I don’t have a credit card, can I pay with electronic check?

A. Yes, you can. Choose the option “ELECTRONIC CHECK PAYMENT” at the time of payment during checkout. You will need the name of your bank, check number, routing number, and the bank account number.

Q. Are there any training seminars or speaking events by Andreas Moritz that one can attend?

A. Currently, Andreas’s daily workload is at maximum level, and he is not able to organize any workshops or seminars in the near future, at least for the time being.

Q. Is there a brochure that explains and shows the Ener-chi Art pictures and other products by Andreas Moritz?

A. Unfortunately, at this time, any information about Andreas’ products is only available through this website. Ener-Chi Art pictures can be viewed here as well.

Q. Do the Ener-Chi Ionized Stones lose their charge or energy over time?

A. No, nothing that you do diminishes the charge and effect of the stones.

Q. How often should I view the Ener-Chi Art pictures to receive the full benefits?

A. The benefits occur within 30 seconds of viewing a picture and last for several weeks. However, the benefits increase with repeated viewing. You may view each picture every day or every couple of days, from half a minute to any length of time you choose. There are no negative side-effects.

Q. Are Andreas’ books available at a discount (wholesale price)?

A. Yes. The best way to sign up for the wholesale discount is to log on the wholesale page of this website. A minimum order of 10 copies of any kind is required to qualify for the wholesaler’s discount. There is a further 10% discount when you order 50 or more books.

Q. Is it possible to get a discount if I order just a few books?

A. No. To receive the wholesaler’s discount, you need to order a total of 10 books or more.

Q. Besides his books, are the Ener-Chi Art pictures and Ionized Stones available at a wholesale discount?

A. To request the wholesaler’s discount for these items, please contact Andreas Moritz directly at support@ener-chi.com. This website is not yet set up to automate this service.

Q. Are Andreas books available in Spanish?

A. At this time, only The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush is available in Spanish on this website. However, several other of Andreas’ books are available in Spanish through the Spanish website Ediciones Obelisco. For the most current information regarding which books are available in Spanish, please see the book ordering section of this Ener-Chi website. Or you may contact “Ediciones Obelisco” by e-mail at: obelisco@edicionesobelisco.com or by telephone in Barcelona at: 93 309 8525.

Q. Are any of Andreas’ books available in Russian?

A. Yes, The Amazing Liver and Gallbladder Flush and Cancer Is Not a Disease are already available in Russian. And, Heart Disease No More, as well as parts of Timeless Secrets of Health and Rejuvenation, will be available soon. Please contact Julia at Popuri Publishing (Minsk, Belarus), email: popuri@mail.ru, or visit http://www.popuri.ru.

Q. In what other languages are Andreas’ books available?

A. The ordering section under the description of each book shows in which languages the book is available. Note: some translations are only available in E-book format.

I’ve highlighted 9 out of 14 FAQs that are about how one can give Moritz money. Oh, and those “Ener-Chi Art pictures”? Each one is $22.95. There’s a “special painting” for $34.95.

This man is a complete and utter hack. The only defense he has to offer for this dangerous lunacy is feigned niceness. He wants your money. That’s all he wants. Okay, maybe he wants to harm your health, too. He wrote this about AIDS.

Despite common belief, there is no scientific evidence to this day that AIDS is a contagious disease.

…

On the other hand, published research actually proves that HIV only extremely rarely spreads heterosexually and cannot be responsible for an epidemic that involves millions of AIDS victims around the world. Furthermore, it is an established fact that the retrovirus HIV, which is composed of human gene fragments, is incapable of destroying human cells. However, cell destruction is the main characteristic of every AIDS disease.

Dozens of prominent scientists working at the forefront of the AIDS research are now openly questioning the virus hypothesis of AIDS.

Yeah, just like all those scientists question evolution. Scoff.

Footnote: I actually have no good category in which to put this, so I’ve created a new one just for Moritz’s dangerous, greedy agenda: Pure Bullshit.

Filed under: Pure bullshit | Tagged: , , , , , , , | 48 Comments »

Oh, the pride

Posted on August 25, 2009 by Michael

At the risk of Christian chastisement (something I take oh so seriously), I find myself unable stop from feeling a bit of pride. It turns out that when searching “dangerous man cancer stress” in Google, For the Sake of Science comes up as the first result. And which post? Why, the one about snake oil salesman Andreas Moritz, of course. It feels good to know that people searching out information about cancer, stress and danger will have the opportunity to avoid being duped by this crook.

Filed under: Misc | Tagged: , , , , , , | Leave a comment »

Andreas Moritz is a stupid, dangerous man

Posted on May 24, 2009 by Michael

Andreas Moritz is some schmuck offering horrific medical advice about cancer. I’ve never heard so many wrong things about science outside the realm of creationism.

What makes 50% of the American population so prone to developing cancer, when the other half has no risk at all? Blaming the genes for that is but an excuse to cover up ignorance of the real causes. Besides, any good genetic researcher would tell you that such a belief is void of any logic and outright unscientific (as explained in the book).

Crackpot. He may want to define “good” in his description of genetic researchers. It sounds like he is confusing it with “horrible”. Cancer risk is often identified in three primary ways. In no order, there is environment. A smoker or frequent tanner have higher risk because they have carcinogens entering their bodies at higher rates than other people. Then there is familial history. A person with a history of cancer in the family needs to be more vigilant in seeking regular check-ups. This is based on nothing but genetics. Finally, oncologists specifically look at genes to determine whether or not someone has a high risk. BRCA1 and BRCA2 genes indicate a higher risk of cancer if inherited with mutations. This is common among Ashkenazi Jews. This is basically a repeat of point 2. But it’s good to repeat here because, well, cancer is caused by mutations in genes which cause unregulated cell growth which prevents apoptosis or prevents DNA repair.

Cancer has always been an extremely rare illness, except in industrialized nations during the past 40-50 years. Human genes have not significantly changed for thousands of years. Why would they change so drastically now, and suddenly decide to kill scores of people? The answer to this question is amazingly simple: Damaged or faulty genes do not kill anyone. Cancer does not kill a person afflicted with it! What kills a cancer patient is not the tumor, but the numerous reasons behind cell mutation and tumor growth. These root causes should be the focus of every cancer treatment, yet most oncologists typically ignore them. Constant conflicts, guilt and shame, for example, can easily paralyze the body’s most basic functions, and lead to the growth of a cancerous tumor.

Christ. Cancer really hasn’t been that rare throughout human history, but it is more common today. The reasons, however, are not because people are negative nancies. People live longer, are exposed to more carcinogens, and we just plain detect cancer more often than past generations could.

Copying errors are at root here. Moritz is claiming something which is bogus and unevidenced. He is saying a huge swath of the population dies because they are guilty. His ‘evidence’ seems to be anecdotal experience and personal perception. This guy is dangerous, if anything.

If cancer deaths were purely related to one’s emotional state, then it follows that people in Japan, France, and the U.S. must be more chipper than the rest of the world. No, it certainly isn’t about the availability of medical treatment. These people are just happy.

Cancer patients typically suffer from lack of self-respect or worthiness, and often have what I call an “unfinished business” in their life. Cancer can actually be a way of revealing the source of such inner conflict. Furthermore, cancer can help them come to terms with such a conflict, and even heal it altogether. The way to take out weeds is to pull them out along with their roots. This is how we must treat cancer; otherwise, it may recur eventually.

So I guess cancer is a good thing now. Quick! We’ve got to tell the hospitals. We need psychiatrists, not oncologists!

Oh, and children who have faulty genes that cause cancer? Nah. They just don’t have any self-respect. That’s common of children, right?

~~~

This is amazing. Does Moritz realize that 30% of all cancer deaths are due to smoking (or inhaling second hand smoke)? He must think smokers are negative nancies, too. It’s a good thing they’re getting cancer. Otherwise, they’d never find out what was spiritually wrong. I mean, why do we feel so off-put by the idea of cancer? It’s clearly just a method of discovering out innerselves. Or it’s a horrible disease that is caused by a copying error in one cell which is able, through many complex mechanisms, to replicate without ‘fear’ of death while avoiding the attacks of the immune system. I don’t know. I only have empirical evidence to back up my claims.

P.s. This guy is an awful writer, too.

Update: The comment section has become a bit disoriented since I transferred everything from one blog to another. All comments can be read properly here.

Filed under: Science | Tagged: , , , , , | 451 Comments »

More cancer

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Michael

I’ll be damned if I can find anything more than press releases about a new way to treat cancer, so that will have to do. Interestingly, one of the points being touted by various blogs and commentators is that this is a cure for cancer. It is not. It is a treatment.

Oscar’s recovery was extraordinary enough, but his case was unusual for another reason. Oscar is a Bichon Frise, who scientists reporting in Salt Lake City, Utah at the 237th National Meeting of the American Chemical Society on March 23 call “the Miracle Dog.” Joseph A. Bauer, Ph.D., and colleagues described promising results with a drug called nitrosylcobalamin (NO-Cbl) in battling cancer in Oscar and three other canines without any negative side effects. While it gives profound hope to dog owners, NO-Cbl also points to a powerful new cancer treatment for humans — one that infiltrates cancer cells like a biological Trojan horse.

This is an ever-increasing technique in science that extends beyond just cancer treatment. It has been used to attack bacteria, HIV, and various genetic diseases (the latter of which naturally extends itself to cancer treatments). For this particular study, a drug known as nitrosylcobalamin (or NO-Cbl for those of us who hate those long drug names) was introduced into a dog with cancer. Attached to the nitric oxide (NO) in the drug is B12. B12 is needed for cell growth and replication. Get rid of it and you have problems. Since cancer cells apparently love 2nd grade math so much, they divide and multiply like crazy. As I hope you’ve already guessed, they need lots of B12 to do this. In fact, they have more receptors for B12 than normal cells. When they lay their pretty little eyes on all that introduced B12, they gobble it up. Unfortunately for the cancer cells, NO is toxic. It kills cells, mutated cancer cells no exception. Once inside the cells, it is released and the death of the cell occurs.

“This is one of the most rewarding things I’ve ever done in my life,” says Bauer, the owner of a two-year old Beagle. “It gets boring working in the lab, but to see the fruits of your labor in a positive outcome like this and to know you’re responsible in some small way, that’s pretty cool.”

Love the passion.

Filed under: Science | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , | 5 Comments »

Cancer

Posted on March 25, 2009 by Michael

I’ll post more on this later, but the jist of it is an improved way of treating cancer.

The team’s goal is to successfully treat 10 dogs with NO-Cbl and slingshot the drug into human use as soon as possible. Because of the genetic similarity between dogs and humans, Bauer says his approach should have a much better chance of getting through the FDA’s strict drug approval chain.

Whoa! “Genetic similarity”? Now, let’s back up this gravy train. It’s clear that dogs and humans were magically created at separate times, no lineages attached to their genes. Any similarities are pure coincidence. Afterall, science is conducted through dogmatic declaration, right?

Thank goodness creationism doesn’t drive medicine. We’d still be (uselessly) praying for an end to The Plague.

Filed under: Evidence, Evolution, Science | Tagged: | Leave a comment »

Novel Information

Posted on November 11, 2008 by Michael

One of the more “sophisticated” creationists misconceptions about evolution/natural selection (they often conflate the two) is that new information can never be created. This actually has no sophistication in it at all, but it sounds fancy and for that reason it helps to trick a good number of people. It’s especially a shame when it confounds those who want to learn some actual science. So here’s a simple example of “novel information” being added to a genome.

Scientists Decode Cancer Patients’ DNA

ST. LOUIS, Nov. 10 (UPI) — Scientists in St. Louis say they have decoded the complete DNA of a cancer patient and traced her disease — acute myelogenous leukemia — to its genetic roots.

The research team at the Genome Sequencing Center and the Siteman Cancer Center at Washington University School of Medicine in St. Louis said the first-of-its-kind achievement involved sequencing the genome of the patient — a woman in her 50s who ultimately died of her disease — and the genome of her leukemia cells, to identify genetic changes unique to her cancer.

“Our work demonstrates the power of sequencing entire genomes to discover novel cancer-related mutations,” said senior author Richard Wilson, director of Washington University’s Genome Sequencing Center. “A genome-wide understanding of cancer, which is now possible with faster, less expensive DNA sequencing technology, is the foundation for developing more effective ways to diagnose and treat cancer.”

The study appears in the journal Nature.

When a cancer occurs, it is the usually the result of the loss of cell cycle control. Instead of the cell being told to die, it continues to replicate; it may lose its contact inhibition, meaning when an area gets too crowded, cells continue to replicate – this should not happen. There are other ways cancers occur, but they aren’t important for my purposes. What is important is the fact that a change in information in a genome is what caused the cancer in this woman in question. Let’s be clear from the get-go: this is not evolution. Individuals do not evolve. But what this does show is that novel changes occur to genomes all the time.

Recently, Steve Jones said evolution in humans is coming to an end. I haven’t heard his entire presentation, so I’m guessing he thinks it’s actually just slowing down, not ending. But either way, he’s wrong. But I bring him up because the reason why he’s wrong is interesting. He says that the fewer mutations present in reproducing males are contributing to less diversity in offspring. He says this because younger men are reproducing more than older men and older men, especially 35 and older, have more mutations in their DNA. (He later refutes his point by saying survival rates are up, inherently suggesting mutation rate must be up).

So why is this important? It’s important because mutations equal “novel information”. That’s what happens when cancers occur. That’s why the research team sequenced the genome of the woman plus the genome of her cancer cells. There are differences and those differences result in markedly different things. In this case, it’s unfortunate that cancer occurred. In other cases, it’s genetic diversity.

This is a bit of a roundabout way of explaining this, but I hope the point comes across. Cancer is a change in information. It’s obviously a bad one and it doesn’t get passed on in somatic cells, but let’s focus purely on the point: it is a change in information. It is a creation of new information. Although it is bad, it is new and it results in genotypic and phenotypic changes.

Filed under: Creationism, Evolution | Tagged: , , , , , , , , | 11 Comments »

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