Media panic, health scares, paranoia, and conspiracy theories http://www.panicwatch.org The media loves scary technology and no technology is scarier than tiny microchips--because tiny microchips can go anywhere. In your food! In your clothes! In your body! As such, any technological ... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Killer%20RFID%20Chips%3F http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Killer%20RFID%20Chips%3F CERN plans on firing up the Large Hadron Collider sometime in August, and has released new reinforced research aimed at quelling the legions of paranoid knuckle-biters producing YouTube videos and law... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Large%20Hadron%20Collider%20will%20not%20swallow%20Earth http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Large%20Hadron%20Collider%20will%20not%20swallow%20Earth What better way to end the traditional blogger dead-spell than with the scariest story imaginable: Panic over 'penis snatching' sorcerers. Yes, times are tough. You can't even walk along a Congolese... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=The%20Worst%20Panic http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=The%20Worst%20Panic Almost every shark attack generates a media feeding frenzy that any school of sharks would envy. The recent death of a diver off the Florida coast is no exception. Various media outlets have reporte... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Media%20Stretches%20Shark%20Tale http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Media%20Stretches%20Shark%20Tale The latest Panic Rankings have been posted, covering the month of February plus a little extra on both ends. Mad cow disease was the top mover thanks to a new case discovered in Canada (which the Can... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Panic%20Rankings%20for%20February http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Panic%20Rankings%20for%20February The U.S. Court of Federal Claims' decision to pay a family for their daughter's autistic symptoms, which they claim were caused by vaccines, is being heralded around the quack community as a divine gi... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Vaccine%20Quacks%20Rejoice! http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Vaccine%20Quacks%20Rejoice! If you're looking for a high quality portable guide to media panic (and who the hell isn't?) check out Panicology, a new book by statisticians Simon Briscoe and Hugh Aldersey-Williams. The book takes... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Panicology http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Panicology It's always fun when the media gets hold of a juicy-sounding study and runs with it, regardless of the source. Take for example, Spanking Kids Increases Risk Of Sexual Problems As Adults. Professo... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Spanking%20Leads%20to%20Sexual%20Deviants%3F http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Spanking%20Leads%20to%20Sexual%20Deviants%3F Here's a good example of two very different media interpretations of the same study. The scenario: 118 elderly people were given either Ginkgo Biloba or a placebo. 14 placebo people and 7 Ginkgo p... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Read%20It%20How%20You%20Want http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Read%20It%20How%20You%20Want In wake of record cold temperatures around the world in January and February, the CBC reminds us that global warming is still something to worry about! A little skepticism might begin to creep into... http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Calamity%20Still%20Looms http://www.panicwatch.org/article.pl?title=Calamity%20Still%20Looms