Of Correlations, Causations and the Divide Therein

An important maxim used in science, or more precisely, in the scientific study of relationships between/amongst variables, is that 'Correlation does not imply Causation'. Indeed, until and unless such causality has been verifiably established through independent means, any attempt to indicate that it does falls under the logical fallacy of questionable cause, cum hoc, ergo propter hoc (Latin for "with this, therefore because of this").

It is important for all to understand this concept - those who are engaged in scientific studies, as well as those who read about and interpret such studies.

Exciting prospects: Stem Cell Therapy in HIV therapy

I am tremendously psyched about this fascinating report published in Blood about a week back. The paper from this German multi-institutional group describes how, in an HIV-infected leukemic patient, transplantation with CCR5Δ32/Δ32 stem cells appeared to cure HIV. Even as I write this, I can barely contain my excitement; this finding has tremendous possibilities.

Of Affiliations and Conflicts (Pensées - entry 00013)

Original publishing date: Jun 11, 2010. Original Title: Of Affiliations and Conflicts...

Recently, through an unrelated chain of events, I came across the author guidelines (PDF) for the international journal of general medicine, The Lancet.

All of you are, of course, aware that The Lancet is a high impact factor journal with significant global readership of both of its off-line and online versions. The journal - no stranger to controversy - has come under severe criticism from the medical and scientific community, ever since it published the Wakefield article on Autism and the MMR vaccine in 1998. The conclusions and interpretation of this study were retracted by ten of the co-authors in 2004 (Murch et al., Lancet 363 (9411): 750), and the editor, Richard Horton, went on to explain that the retraction was due to "...revelations about conflicts of interests" (reported on The Beeb here). Wakefield was found to have been paid a large sum of money by lawyers trying to prove that the MMR vaccine was unsafe, and he did not declare this clear conflict of interest. The rest, as they say, is history. I needn't elaborate; you are aware of how Wakefield was censured for this non-disclosure, as well as for scientific and ethical misconducts.

Pensées - entry 00012

So... here. As promised in Pensées from Moi.

Original publishing date: May 25, 2010.

Original Title: My fellow hoopy froods...

Pensées - entry 00011

So... here. As promised in Pensées from Moi.

Original publishing date: May 4, 2010.

Original Title: Age Old Wrangling Over Natural World

Pensées - entry 00010

So... here. As promised in Pensées from Moi.

Original publishing date: May 1, 2010.

Original Title: A Quick Snippet

Pensées - entry 00009

So... here. As promised in Pensées from Moi.

Original publishing date: April 23, 2010.

Original Title: Prophetic?