Hypothesis is a journal for the the discussion of science [Hypothesis].The journal is supported by the Department of Biochemistry, Department of Immunology, Department of Medical Biophysics, and Department of Medical Genetics & Microbiology at the University of Toronto. Most of the editors and contributers are graduate students in one of those departments. You may have heard about Hypothesis before if you read Eva Amsen's blog [easternblot]. She is one of the editors-in-chief.
The May 2007 issue contains several interesting articles and a provocative editorial on Food Science Gone Bad. Let me quote the last paragraph of the editorial in order to tempt you into reading the whole thing.
The fact that science is complicit in a food philosophy detrimental to public health presents an ethical dilemma for researchers. Whereas health products based on pseudoscience are reflexively disparaged among scientists, the use of nutrients to build healthy foods is seemingly founded in peer-reviewed research published in reputable journals. Scientists must address this problem by being vocal outside the scientific community, where journalists and product developers stretch the conclusions of nutritional studies well beyond their intended context. While it would be naïve to suggest that scientists ought to downplay the significance of their research, the ease with which research findings are misused implies a responsibility to demand balanced reporting. A more practical reason to speak out is that exaggeration in science journalism slowly erodes the credibility of the scientific enterprise in the public eye. Unfortunately, the promise of diet fads and myriad weight loss products makes it even harder to digest the sober truth about the scientific study of nutrition: progress is slow, true breakthroughs are rare, and you still have to eat your vegetables. [my emphasis, LAM]Other articles are ...
North Carolina Science Blogging Conference. Eva Amsen
Environmental Factors can Modify Genotype Risks by Slight Changes in Protein Conformation: The Role of Water. Shahram Shahabi, Zuhair Muhammad Hassan, Nima Hosseini Jazani, and Massoumeh Ebtekar
Fun with Microarrays Part II: Data Analysis. Paul C. Boutros
Normalizing Endophenotypes of Schizophrenia: The Dip and Draw Hypothesis. Béchara J. Saab and John C. Roder
I'm excited about the journal. Thanks for posting the link. I probably would have never heard about it otherwise.
ReplyDeleteSmall edit: I know those are the sponsors listed, but actually IBBME was a sponsor instead of MGM. (It recently changed)
ReplyDeleteAnd thanks for the publicity!