I truly wonder why.

www.amazon.co.uk/Need-Know-UFOs-Military-Intelligence/dp/028307034X

I don’t know if it comes with a free tin hat.

where on earth have i said this? what i say is, the evidence goes very strongly against it, and homeopaths tend to rely on weak rhetorical tropes and abuse in preference to discussing the evidence. your opening sentence rather proves the point jim.

Just one recent example……………………………………………………………………..

Research article
.
Rat models of acute inflammation: a randomized controlled study on the effects of homeopathic remedies
Anita Conforti , Paolo Bellavite , Simone Bertani , Flavia Chiarotti , Francesca Menniti-Ippolito and Roberto Raschetti

BMC Complementary and Alternative Medicine 2007, 7:1 doi:10.1186/1472-6882-7-1

Published 17 January 2007

Abstract (provisional)

The complete article is available as a provisional PDF. The fully formatted PDF and HTML versions are in production.

Background

One of the cardinal principles of homeopathy is the “law of similarities”, according to which patients can be treated by administering substances which, when tested in healthy subjects, cause symptoms that are similar to those presented by the patients themselves. Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the number of pre-clinical (in vitro and animal) studies aimed at evaluating the pharmacological activity or efficacy of some homeopathic remedies under potentially reproducible conditions. However, in addition to some contradictory results, these studies have also highlighted a series of methodological difficulties. The present study was designed to explore the possibility to test in a controlled way the effects of homeopathic remedies on two known experimental models of acute inflammation in the rat. To this aim, the study considered six different remedies indicated by homeopathic practice for this type of symptom in two experimental edema models (carrageenan- and autologous blood-induced edema), using two treatment administration routes (sub-plantar injection and oral administration).

Methods

In a first phase, the different remedies were tested in the four experimental conditions, following a single-blind (measurement) procedure. In a second phase, some of the remedies (in the same and in different dilutions) were tested by oral administration in the carrageenan-induced edema, under double-blind (treatment administration and measurement) and fully randomized conditions. Seven-hundred-twenty male Sprague Dawley rats weighing 170-180 g were used. Six homeopathic remedies (Arnica montana D4, Apis mellifica D4, D30, Atropa belladonna D4, Hamamelis virginiana D4, Lachesis D6, D30, Phosphorus D6, D30), saline and indomethacin were tested. Edema was measured using a water-based plethysmometer, before and at different times after edema induction. Data were analyzed by ANOVA and Student t test.

Results

In the first phase of experiments, some statistically significant effects of homeopathic remedies (Apis, Lachesis and Phosporus) were observed (the reduction in paw volume increase ranging from 10% to 28% at different times since edema induction). In the second phase of experiments, the effects of homeopathic remedies were not confirmed. On the contrary, the unblinded standard allopathic drug indomethacin exhibited its anti-inflammatory effect in both experimental phases (the reduction in paw volume increase ranging from 14% to 40% in the first phase, and from 18% to 38% in the second phase of experiments).

The interesting thing here, in terms of Homeopathy is that only the more highly diluted and potentised remedies showed any action

I would like to see more research and less polemic and ill informed deabte on both sides. Homeopathy is not a religion: it started as an effective evidence based medicine and should continue that way.

The “homeo-” form seems much more common on the Internet, and I’ll guess that it’s more emphatically the orthodox spelling in America, where they tend to leave off frills from words imported into English.

Someone had better tell the MHRA!

www.mhra.gov.uk/home/idcplg?IdcService=SS_GET_PAGE&nodeId=98

It’s such a pain conversing with so many eaqgle-eyed pedants!

Bill

Re everyone else: basic problem is, given that homeopathy is so manifestly obviously barking – the memory of water??? – why is it that people, even apparently sane and sensible people, believe it? It’s all very well producing yet more witty expositions of why it’s ridiculous; the crucial question, to quote Shermer, is ‘why do people believe weird things?’.

It lurks underneath almost every post here. Yes, sometimes there’s a clear enough divide between what the maths actually tells you and what seems normal, but too often we end up as a little clique of true science believers against the dark mass of astonishing unscientific ignorance. Since it’s Christmas, even I can get illogical at times; I want to believe in the possibility of enlightenment. So, what is it about ‘science’ that people seem to have lost faith? How much is that actually the problem?

At sufficent levels of dilution, that particular solution will bring eternal peace to the universe, infinite respect for people of all creeds and colours and a never-ending reign of social justice.

If only this homeopathy stuff wasn’t a load of cobblers. sigh.

farm1.static.flickr.com/144/329341712_6fdf1a60cd_o.jpg

Hope you’re not too narked. There are some more designs here,

www.flickr.com/photos/82545477@N00/329341715/

starting with a post-feminist reinterpreation of “MMR is safe”. (I thought this needed to appeal to women – so I went pink and fluffy.)

This sort of argument is a source of endless fun annoying serious and/or dogmatic Christians, if that’s your kind of thing. ”

The christians are at it too nowadays. Christian ‘true love waits’ approaches to contraception often suggest that members can become ‘born again virgins’ when they take their pledge to abstain until marriage – even if they’ve already had sex.