Weekly Round-up w/e 28th August

Well, after a week’s break the final weekly roundup for August is here, so sit back, relax and enjoy our selection of interesting items from the web chosen especially for you.

We’ll start with the irrepressible Prof Edzard Ernst. A short and pithy blog illustrating that the chiropracters have far from succeeded in manipulating the quackery from their profession.

Over at the ever informative BBC they report on a new fossil discovery that rewrites the timelines on some aspects of mammalian evolution. So much information from such a little thing, and I love how each new discovery gives us a more complete fossil record.

I’ve always been drawn to Orac’s blog. Partly for the masterful handling of such stories as this further nail in the anti-vaccination argument. A big part of it though is that I loved Blake’s 7 and I get a bit of a kick from that transparent box of wires and lights up in the corner.

I have to admit to a bit of ignorance here, I hadn’t come across the Desteni until I stumbled over Muerto’s blog on the subject. Since then I’ve had some interesting reading searching around the Internet on this peculiar cult.

If you don’t know Daniel Loxton yet then shame on you. He does outstanding work spreading a love of science and critical thinking to that most important part of society, the young. He has a new book out called Ankylosaur Attack (Tales of Prehistoric Life) and it’s even available over here in the UK too.

Ben Goldacre hardly needs our plugging, but this is a very interesting study he describes and just in case you missed it,here’s the link.

I like to see some science writing from Birmingham and so here is Russell Beale with What is Science? or Here be Dragons. If you look over at the right hand column you’ll see Lucy Harper who wrote a blog post for us some time back.

Like some old Vaudevillian I like to finish with a song. Rationally Speaking Out Loud found this one buried in YouTube and handily provides the lyrics. I’m sure it expresses the sentiments of many skeptics out there and It’s well worth a listen. Enjoy and don't forget our next two speakers in September, Peter Harrison andMark Stevenson.

This weeks round up was compiled by Patrick Redmond (paddyrex)