One must look at herbs with a skeptical eye. Why? Because no reliable studies have been done to show that a) they actually do what the marketers claim they can do, b) they are actually safe in the amounts sold, c) that the products that are sold are pure and actually contain the amounts claimed on the labels and d) that they do not adversely interact with other medicines or each other. It’s already been shown that certain herbs (e.g., St. John’s Wort) decrease the efficacy of some medicines. There are no regulations in place requiring herbal manufacturers to prove either safety or efficacy, either, so it’s ultimately buyer beware, an area ripe for fleecing the gullible.

That’s not to say that herbs do not have health benefits. Some likely do, and when the studies are done to investigate their effects, then they can legitimately become part of the medical arsenal and move from the world of “alternative medicine” to real medicine. Unfortunately, anecdotes such as yours don’t matter much when it comes to the science. I’ll not dispute your experience, but it is not evidence that herbs work. I eat pretty crappy, too, yet I’m in pretty good health. Nothing wrong with me. No chronic illnesses. No medications. No herbs, either. In the anecdote game, my story’s worth just as much as yours. In science, my story, like yours, also counts for nothing, without proper controls to figure out just what factors are influencing my health.

Vibrating strings of energy no less. Sounds fantastical. Sounds magical. And so it is. Of course there is no Evidence for string theory as yet. So it is only a theory.

No, it’s an hypothesis, not a theory.

Does that make it untrue. Or unproven. There is a distinction.

Agreed that there is a distinction. It is currently unproven. Until it is proven, if ever, it should not be the basis for decision-making. Same with medical choices, without proof (or at least an abundance of evidence), it is unwise to pursue untested treatments. More often than not, it’ll have no real effect. At worst, it can have serious negative health consequences that are unforeseen due to the lack of proper investigation.

The studies you cite only prove that Jenny McCarthy can’t prove that the shots her child got caused his autism. The only way you can really PROVE that she is wrong is to find the actual cause of autism. Make it so!

Already being done. There are several studies that have found certain genetic components that are involved. Congenital rubella syndrome is also a risk factor. Another study suggests that insufficient amounts of vitamin D may also play a role. These areas all need further inquiry before we come to any kind of definitive answer, but the work is being done. All McCarthy and her like do is distract from the real work by calling for more and more studies into a “cause” for which there is zero evidence. It’s like asking people to keep looking for the invisible pink unicorn in my garage that keeps making the gas in my car disappear, all the while ignoring the people pointing at my kid as he takes my car for a joy ride on a nightly basis.

NASA recently announced that as of the end of this month, they are going to let the contracts lapse on long lead time shuttle parts, so unless something happens REAL SOON (such as congress passes a supplemental budget or the White House redirects some funding), it will cost a lot more and/or cause a large gap in flights to run the shuttle program past next year. At the news conference they didn’t specifically list the parts involved (they said because the companies involved haven’t told their employees yet), but there are loads of parts that need to be replaced on the shuttle after each flight, such as the tires and various engine components, and the entire external tank, complete with plumbing.

http://www.cracked.com/blog/dont-listen-to-jenny-mccarthy