Acupucture helps with spinal recovery

From New Scientist:

Rats with damaged spines can walk again thanks to acupuncture. But it's not due to improvements in their energy flow or "chi". Instead, the ancient treatment seems to stop nerve cell death by reducing inflammation.

Acupuncture's scientific credentials are growing. Trials show that it Clinical Trial of Acupuncture for Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries To find out why, Doo Choi and his colleagues at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, damaged the spines of 75 rats. One-third were given acupuncture in two locations: Shuigou – between their snout and mouth, and Yanglingquan – in the upper hind leg. Others received no treatment or "simulated acupuncture".

After 35 days, the acupuncture group were able to stand at a steeper incline than the others and walk better. Staining their paws with ink revealed that their forelimb-hindlimb coordination was fairly consistent and that there was very little toe dragging, whereas the control groups still dragged their feet.
Inflamed spines

The rats in the acupuncture group also had less nerve cell death and lower levels of proteins known to induce inflammation after spinal cord injury and make neural damage worse.

One explanation is that sharp needles prompt a stress response that dampens down inflammation. In humans, the inflammation that follows spinal cord injury is known to be responsible for nerve cell death.

I don't know if there's a name for this fallacy, but The New Apocrypha claimed to debunk a lot of fringe beliefs, but what it actually did was debunk the common explanations for them.

Acupucture helps with spinal recovery

From New Scientist:

Rats with damaged spines can walk again thanks to acupuncture. But it's not due to improvements in their energy flow or "chi". Instead, the ancient treatment seems to stop nerve cell death by reducing inflammation.

Acupuncture's scientific credentials are growing. Trials show that it Clinical Trial of Acupuncture for Patients with Spinal Cord Injuries To find out why, Doo Choi and his colleagues at Kyung Hee University in Seoul, South Korea, damaged the spines of 75 rats. One-third were given acupuncture in two locations: Shuigou – between their snout and mouth, and Yanglingquan – in the upper hind leg. Others received no treatment or "simulated acupuncture".

After 35 days, the acupuncture group were able to stand at a steeper incline than the others and walk better. Staining their paws with ink revealed that their forelimb-hindlimb coordination was fairly consistent and that there was very little toe dragging, whereas the control groups still dragged their feet.
Inflamed spines

The rats in the acupuncture group also had less nerve cell death and lower levels of proteins known to induce inflammation after spinal cord injury and make neural damage worse.

One explanation is that sharp needles prompt a stress response that dampens down inflammation. In humans, the inflammation that follows spinal cord injury is known to be responsible for nerve cell death.

I don't know if there's a name for this fallacy, but The New Apocrypha claimed to debunk a lot of fringe beliefs, but what it actually did was debunk the common explanations for them.

Peter Watts in jail

If you've been following what's been going on with Peter Watts, a science fiction author who was assaulted and abused by US border guards when returning to Canada, and then convicted..... He's been hit by a pre-sentencing report which recommends four to six months of jail time. The guy who writes the report doesn't have access to the court records of the trial.....

I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done except hope that the judge has good sense.

Peter Watts in jail

If you've been following what's been going on with Peter Watts, a science fiction author who was assaulted and abused by US border guards when returning to Canada, and then convicted..... He's been hit by a pre-sentencing report which recommends four to six months of jail time. The guy who writes the report doesn't have access to the court records of the trial.....

I'm not sure if there's anything that can be done except hope that the judge has good sense.

Peter Watts fined and released

About $1600, but it's still a relief.

Peter Watts fined and released

About $1600, but it's still a relief.