Who You Kidding, Einstein? (1)
The free newspaper the Metro runs a little filler series which aims to point out scientific studies into the bleeding obvious. I forget the name of the Metro series but I think I need to run a similar thing on this blog with the title of this post. There is something very British in thinking ‘come off it’, don’t you think?
Three recent news stories had me thinking about the dangers of assumptions made from statistics, what do you think?
9/11 link to rise in male foetal death rate
The stress caused by the 9/11 attacks on the World Trade Center may have led to an increase in miscarriages of male foetuses, US researchers say.A study in the BioMed Central Journal found 12% more male babies were lost in September 2001 after the 20th week of pregnancy than in a “normal” September. See BBC News – 9/11 link to rise in male foetal death rate, study says.
Brush teeth to ‘prevent’ heart disease
People who fail to brush their teeth twice a day are putting themselves at risk of heart disease, research suggests. The Scottish study of more than 11,000 adults backs previous research linking gum disease with heart problems. See BBC News – Brush teeth to ‘prevent’ heart disease.
Autism link with migrant parents
Researchers have discovered that where you used to live could affect your child’s chances of being autistic by up to five times.The study looked at children whose mother had moved to the UK from outside Europe. See BBC News – Autism link with migrant parents, study finds.
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