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Direct link to personal blog: The Fun Police (www.funpolice.eu)
The true costs to the UK economy as a result of Brexit
The Centre for European Reform on 27 January 2019 produced one of their Insights dedicated to the costs of Brexit to the UK economy to September 2018 [link]. These analyses indicated that the UK economy is 2.3% smaller than it should have been, which equates to £17 billion per annum or, in ‘side-of-the-bus’ terminology £320 […]
Posted in: General
Thinking about time-series……and mobile phones
December 13, 2018
I recently published a paper with the exciting title ‘Analyses of temporal and spatial patterns of glioblastoma multiforme and other brain cancer subtypes in relation to mobile phones using synthetic counterfactuals’ in the peer-reviewed journal Environmental Research. At the time of writing this is still available as open access here [link], but because this research did not […]
Probably time to bury it….
August 2, 2018
New FunPolice blog post “Probably time to bury it…” I have now looked at the various wild claims thrown around by the same author about effects of low dose radiation and a so-called bi-phasic dose-resociation, and have only found errors in the data, problems with the statistical and epidemiological analyses, unsupported wild claims about enormous risks, […]
Posted in: Environmental Health, Public Health
New blog post “Electrification and the diseases of other causes…”
June 22, 2018
In 2010 a new hypothesis was published that ‘diseases of civilisation’, including cancers, cardiovascular disease and diabetes, were caused by the electrification of society. Recently, a new book was published that builds on that hypothesis. Let’s have a look at some of the data used to build that hypothesis in a bit more detail, shall […]
Posted in: Environmental Health, Public Health
Ah Man! Does that cause cancer too?!
May 5, 2018
Last week a new study was published describing the results of a survey of the English general population asking them “What causes cancer?”. That’s technically now what they asked, but you get the idea. The study made the national news, and may have reached an international audience as well, and for example was covered by […]
Posted in: Public Health
A Spy Novel by a modern-day Franz Anton Mesmer (and a bit about low-level radiation)…
February 20, 2018
So a couple of months ago I attended a meeting to do with whether childhood leukemia incidence in the vicinity of nuclear power stations could be related to radiation exposure or, well, not… Unfortunately, the meeting got somewhat hijacked by a well-known (relatively speaking, in certain circles) campaigner…. Link to the full Fun Police article: […]
Posted in: Environmental Health, Public Health
A meal to (never) die for
May 8, 2017
Clean eating, raw food, paleo, and, I‘d imagine, quite a lot of other such diets and lifestyles seem to be everywhere nowadays; whether it is a friend telling you that you just “have to do this, because…”, or whether it is in twitter, facebook, and tabloid “science updates”. Of course, the most irritating one of these is the […]
Posted in: Public Health
“Being Boris Johnson” An essay on free markets and public health
February 16, 2017
If you live in the UK (or Europe) you may remember that Boris Johnson, always the opportunist, wrote two columns for The Daily Telegraph – one pro- and one anti- Brexit. The plan, of course, was to decide which option would be the most beneficial to ones career and go with that. An alternative explanation […]
Posted in: Public Health
Review of “The Naked Ape”
December 21, 2016
50 years post-publication, I finally read (and reviewed) Desmond Morris’ “The Naked Ape”: http://www.funpolice.eu/index.htm
Posted in: General
New blog post “Epidemiology: a canine intervention”
December 13, 2016
Sometimes, in science, and specifically in epidemiology, all that is needed is a dog’s perspective… …especially when it is about them… Read more my site ‘The FunPolice’ <link> Or direct to article: <link>
Posted in: General, Public Health
Book Review of “Intellectuals and Society”
October 20, 2016
So I read and reviewed “Intellectuals and Society” by the American economist, social theorist, political philosopher and author Thomas Sowell. What a waste of time…. More on the Fun Police Website (Link to The Fun Police)
Posted in: General
New blog post “Slinging mud at El Diablo”
October 4, 2016
“Is there Evidence of Adverse Health Effects Near US Nuclear Installations? Infant Mortality in Coastal Communities near The Diablo Canyon Nuclear Power Station in California, 1989-2012”. ? …Is there…? Read the full story at The Fun Police: link Or directly to the article: link
Posted in: General
Alcohol and “fact”checking in Ireland
September 12, 2016
About a week ago thejournal.ie decided it would be a good idea to ‘FactCheck’ whether minimum unit alcohol pricing was proven to work, because the Irish Health Promotion Minister (Marcella Corcoran Kennedy…apparently) made a claim about this with respect to the Irish government’s alcohol policy. They decided that the best way to go about this […]
Posted in: Public Health
New Fun Police blog post: “How not to die when watching television”
August 5, 2016
Sometime last week the British, and probably international, newspapers were full of stories about new scientific data proving that binge watching (i.e. watching more than one episode of a series at a time, suppose) is detrimental to your health. Just a selection of the headings: “Binge watching TV programmes could kill you, according to Japanese scientists” (BBC) […]
Posted in: General, Public Health
Book Review: “Dirty Old London: The Victorian fight against Filth”
July 6, 2016
In Victorian London, filth was everywhere: horse traffic filled the streets with dung, household rubbish went uncollected, cesspools brimmed with “night soil,” graveyards teemed with rotting corpses, the air itself was choked with smoke. I just spent the last couple of months reading up on what to do with rubbish, dung and filth if you produce so much […]
Posted in: General
‘Bending Science’ & the Dirty Electricity Industry
May 12, 2016
New blog post at ‘The Fun Police’: In principle the scientific method has a pretty relatively robust system based on peer-review to ensure that any problems in scientific papers are addressed before the paper is published. This methodology is not without its problems, but it is the best we have available; and it is hard to see what […]
Posted in: General
Having a closer look at the novel ‘Nanny State Index’
March 31, 2016
Today is a big day! Indeed, today is the day a novel metric has been launched – the Nanny State Index……. I will let that sink in for a bit… Read more about it at The Fun Police: http://www.funpolice.eu Or directly to the article here: The Nanny State
Posted in: General
The Fun Police book review “How Politics Makes Us Sick: Neoliberal Epidemics”
March 29, 2016
Review of new book by Ted Schrecker and Clare Bambra, who argue that the obesity, insecurity, austerity and inequality that result from neoliberal (or ‘market fundamentalist’) policies are hazardous to our health. Direct link to review: Review “How Politics Makes us Sick” Link to The Fun Police: The Fun Police
Posted in: General
New blog post: “Experts: can’t live with them, can’t live without them”
February 10, 2016
We were interested in what is going on in the heads of experts in occupational exposure assessment and occupational hygiene, and we used the most novel tool we have at our disposal of getting that information – we asked them…. The rest of the article can be found at The Fun Police blog: The Fun […]
Posted in: General
Fun Police Book Review: “The Health Gap”
December 23, 2015
The Fun Police finished and reviewed a new book: “The Health Gap” by UCL’s Professor Michael Marmot. And it is a good one I think everyone should read. So if you have not finished your Christmas shopping yet, run the the local bookshop! You can find the full review at The Fun Police site: Read […]
Posted in: General
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February 22, 2019
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