Every day, scientists around the world publish the conclusion of their experiments. It normally happens in specialist publications, as it is aimed at the scientific community first of all. Thankfully, a journalist will get hold of the full scientific text, or a press release version, and will transform it into a more comprehensible text.
Unfortunately, what often happens is a literal process of transformation, which ends up misinforming the reader. Journalists should carefully filter serious results from speculation, when reporting scientific issues. They should also do it in a clear and honest way, because if there is bad science, there is also bad journalism. Who pays for it is always the reader.
The relation between diseases and consumption of alcohol is always present in health news nowadays, and it is not just because of alcoholism. It is important to know how to be healthier, although it is also important to know that we can trust the news. But, can we?
Some newspapers are quite prolific in creating alarming and confounding news. Let’s take The Daily Mail and the “consumption of wine”, as an example. It was printed on the 30th October:
After the first alarming paragraphs, it continued (and they must be joking!):
As wine consumption and its risks and benefits have been making news, there have been many more headlines from The Daily Mail this year:
19th October: “Just one of glass of wine a day increases women's risk of breast cancer”
01st July: “How drinking red wine with your steak cancels out cancer causing effects of red meat”
06th May: “Hooray! Wine CAN be good for you...so are you drinking the right stuff?”
Unfortunately, what often happens is a literal process of transformation, which ends up misinforming the reader. Journalists should carefully filter serious results from speculation, when reporting scientific issues. They should also do it in a clear and honest way, because if there is bad science, there is also bad journalism. Who pays for it is always the reader.
The relation between diseases and consumption of alcohol is always present in health news nowadays, and it is not just because of alcoholism. It is important to know how to be healthier, although it is also important to know that we can trust the news. But, can we?
Some newspapers are quite prolific in creating alarming and confounding news. Let’s take The Daily Mail and the “consumption of wine”, as an example. It was printed on the 30th October:
“Some wines have been found to contain high levels of metals such as copper, zinc and nickel. Having just one glass of wine a day could expose the drinker to potentially dangerous levels of metals linked to cancer, heart attacks and Parkinson's disease, scientists warn.”
The mentioned research, carried out at Kingston University and published in Chemistry Central Journal, was based on previous metal analysis by other researches and does not involve wines from Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, USA and Chile, all widely consumed in the UK. The Daily Mail report did mention the criticism towards the method used, but ignored what the researchers admitted in the original publication:“(…) it is noteworthy that a large number of metal ions found (…) have not been well studied in terms of biological activity. This approach should be extended to the numerous dietary products that are consumed daily over a lifetime.”
After the first alarming paragraphs, it continued (and they must be joking!):
“However, the wine industry and Britain's food watchdog urged drinkers not to panic, saying that the levels of metals were within recognised safety levels.”
As wine consumption and its risks and benefits have been making news, there have been many more headlines from The Daily Mail this year:
19th October: “Just one of glass of wine a day increases women's risk of breast cancer”
“Drinking just one large glass of wine a day increases the chances of developing breast cancer by a fifth, say experts.”
07th October: “Red wine could lower men's lung cancer risk”“Men who drink a couple of glasses or red wine per day have a lower risk of lung cancer, according to a new study.”
01st July: “How drinking red wine with your steak cancels out cancer causing effects of red meat”
“Scientists have shown that the drink cancels out some harmful substances produced by the meat in the stomach.”
05th June: “Five glasses of wine a week 'could cut risk of developing arthritis by half'”“Wine drinkers were less likely to develop arthritis. If you need a reason to reach for the bottle, this might be it.”
04th June: “Scientists discover the secret behind red wine's anti-ageing properties”“Scientists have discovered a link between red wine and healthy hearts. Red wine may be the next best thing to the fabled elixir of youth, new research suggests.”
12th May: “Two glasses of wine a day 'puts breast cancer risk up by 50pc'”“Just two large glasses of wine a day can raise the risk of breast cancer by more than half, research shows. A study of almost 185,000 women found even moderate drinking significantly increases the risk of the disease.”
06th May: “Hooray! Wine CAN be good for you...so are you drinking the right stuff?”
“Research has found that red wine in particular can lower the risk of heart disease, provide protection against stroke, prevent pancreatic cancer and even stave off potentially-fatal food poisoning bugs such as e.coli, salmonella and listeria.”
22nd March: “ONE glass of wine a night can increase risk of breast cancer by 60 per cent” “Middle-aged women who drink one glass of wine a night increase their risk of breast cancer by 60 per cent, an alarming new study shows.”
17th March: “Wine is worse for brain than beer, scientists reveal in blow for women drinkers”“Drinking wine damages the brain more than beer or spirits, scientists claim.”
04th March: “Just two glasses of wine a day 'can double blood pressure'”“A glass or two of wine a day could more than double the risk of high blood pressure, research shows.”
Posts
No comments:
Post a Comment