SF Chronicle on Vitamin C and Colds

Compliments to the San Francisco Chronicle for an article reviewing evidence that Vitamin C doesn’t prevent colds, but may reduce symptoms. http://www.sfgate.com/health/article/Vitamin-C-may-shorten-cold-not-stop…
Back in the 1970s, largely on the word of Nobel Laureate Linus Pauling, consuming massive dosages (up to 10 grams/day) of Vitamin C was promoted as being a preventive for the common cold. Although Pauling was a respected scientist in molecular biology, winning the Nobel for his research on chemical bonds, his research on the role of large quantities of nutrients as disease preventives or curatives was strongly criticized, and replications of his research were largely unsuccessful. A Wikipedia article presents many references on this topic, FYI, http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Linus_Pauling#Molecular_medicine.2C_medical… .
But kudos to the Chron for helping to get out the word. Alas, there have been many examples of more credulous reporting, so let’s give credit where credit is due.

Virtual Skeptics in the Pub

WHAT: Virtual Skeptics in the Pub

FOCUS: Becoming better consumers of information

This is a casual night of socializing with fellow skeptics who live in various locations around the oblate spherical planet Earth.

Please join us! This is a free event brought to you by Bay Area Skeptics. All are welcome.

WHEN: Wednesday December 25, 7-9pm Pacific (GMT-8)

HOW: Online. Join HERE. Passcode: 1023

SkepTalk

Ann Gibbons

WHAT: Lone Survivors: Neanderthals, Denisovans, and Us

In the past decade, new studies of ancient DNA from fossils have shown that, until as recently as 40,000 years ago, our ancestors shared the planet with two close relatives, the Neanderthals and a mysterious group called the Denisovans. Both of those groups became extinct, but traces of their DNA remain in the genomes of modern humans. Meanwhile, researchers are discovering diverse types of human ancestors who were living at the same time in the same fossil sites millions of years ago, suggesting that we were never alone—that there were always other types of hominins alive in Africa and elsewhere on the planet until recently. Join us for a discussion with Ann Gibbons about new research that has changed perceptions of the Neanderthals, shed new light on the mysterious Denisovans, and our place in the human family tree.

WHO: Ann Gibbons is a contributing correspondent for Science magazine and the author of The First Human: The Race to Discover Our Earliest Ancestors, which was a finalist for the LA Times best science and technology book. She also has taught science writing at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania and written about human evolution for National Geographic, SLATE, Smithsonian magazine and other publications. A graduate of the University of California, Berkeley, she was also a Knight Science Journalism Fellow at Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a science writing fellow at the Marine Biological Laboratory.

She was awarded the 2019 American Geophysical Union’s Perlman Award for Excellence in Science Journalism, the 2018 and 2013 National Academy of Sciences Communication Awards for best magazine/newspaper article; the 2014 Society of American Archaeology Gene S. Stuart Award; and the 2012 Anthropology in Media Award from the American Anthropological Association (AAA) for a decade’s worth of stories on human origins and evolution.

WHEN: Thursday January 9 at 6:30PM PT (GMT -8)

HOW: (details coming soon)

SF Chronicle on Vitamin C and Colds

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