The Neurobiology of Autism - conference notes

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These are some verbal notes from a recent meeting I attended. There are some pictures, but it's mostly an audio thing. One thing I forgot to note was that in the Mirror Neuron presentation, an experiment was discussed that focused on sarcasm and the ability of an ASD child to "get it". "A balloon, oh great." Said by 2 different people means two entirely different things depending upon the tone. One person is excited about the balloon and the other is expressing disappointment following the balloon having popped. The ASD kid doesn't pick up on the meaning unless s/he's told to pay attention to the tone prior to hearing the phrase. Only then does the ASD kid "get it" and the appropriate spots light up on the MRI.

Running time - a 22 minute beast that I failed to get under 10 minutes for youtube consumption.

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It's pretty rough, but Bonferroni and Venn have been taking up much of my non-sleeping time lately. Enjoy.

From the IOM: an N of 1; Ep 31

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running time = 6m 21s

Part 2: Verbal Notes from an Autism Conference, BC on Autism Ep 30

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Part 2: Rett syndrome and an overview by Mehlmer

Again, more of an audio thing.

Running time ~8 minutes

Verbal Notes from an Autism Conference Part 1: BC on Autism Ep 29

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Here is the verbal version of my notes on several talks at an autism conference last December. It's more of an audio thing to be honest.

BC on Autism 28: Bipolar Autism Speaks

Autism Speaks is trying to be the voice in the autism community but I want to focus on two of its members: Kevin Barry and Dr. Andrew Shih. Kevin Barry is a consultant and a lawyer who is a mercury enthusiast whereas Dr. Shih seems to be a straight-up scientist. Guess which one has a real problem with Roy Grinker's latest book that challenges the notion that there's an autism epidemic? I'll give you a hint: the other one bodyslams Montel Williams on his own pathetic show.

Running time is ~ 7 minutes. Enjoy.

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It appears that Kevin Barry of Autism Speaks is having some fun with rallying the troops to disparage Roy Grinker's new book. What a loser. Dr. Grinker really stepped into a pit of vipers. The silent majority is behind you, Dr. Grinker.

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BC on Autism 27: California isn't special

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David Kirby tries to reduce the impact of the fact that the California autism rates aren't going down in accordance with a severely reduced exposure to Thimerosal by claiming that California is different because California is getting poisoned by mercury from China.

What a load.

Running time ~ 10 minutes.

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BC on Autism Ep 26: Revisiting Burbacher 2005

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There has been a number of people touting this paper yet only a few have really read it. Here's the paper in pictures. In short, only about half of the real experiment was done. I can't speculate why the authors stopped short, but I can say that their decision renders this paper almost worthless.

Running time ~ 10 min


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BC on Autism 25: Brian Deer Shines a Light on the Big Money Earners of the MMR Scare

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Wow. Brian Deer really shows us just how much money someone can make in generating panic over nonsense. One guy in particular is reported to have pulled in almost a million US dollars. I'm in the wrong business.

BC on Autism 24: Microarray, Schmicroarray

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A quick look at a paper which allows me to launch into my favorite criticisms of microarray data. In short, most people doing Affy arrays don't have any idea what they're doing. Good for Affy. Bad for science. Bad for the public. These guys even try to pull in autism into their analysis. Blech.

Running time ~7min

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)

Tags: science, autism, rna, microarray, blood

Is DMSA/Succimer use in the absence of high lead a dangerous experiment? BC on Autism Ep 23

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A recent paper caught my eye since it claimed that the use of the chelation agent, DMSA/Succimer, may contribute to cognitive deficits if used in the absence of lead contamination of an animal model.

This is a good paper, but I'm just not entirely convinced the the data. Dunno, maybe it's just me. The bottom line is that if one is convinced by their data that succimer treatment can alleviate lead-induced cognitive deficits, then I believe that one has to be convinced by their data that succimer treatment in the absence of lead contamination induces cognitive defects itself - that's a huge and scary statement.

Check it out.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tags: dmps, chelation, autism, experiment, science, succimer

Frosted mini RNA, a cure for Autism: BC on Autism Ep 22

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Two different short bits dealing with RNA and autism.  One funny and tasty, the other dealing with an ill-informed (euphemism) money hound.  In part 2, the individual actually uses the recent awarding of the Nobel Prize for the discovery of RNAi to help drum up some dollars for the Drinkee Drinkee Cure Autism RNA lady.

Runtime is 10 minutes. 

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Tags: skeptic, rna, science, autism, salesman

BC on Autism Ep 21: Hey, hey, it's EDTA

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Just a quick accompaniment to a great article at Autism Street delivering some punishing blows to those who are pushing EDTA chelation therapy for autism despite the amazing health risks involved, risks that have been known and admonished by the government for over 30 years.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

Running time = 10 minutes

My previous stuff on chelation:

Chelation part 1 (mov)

same but small 3GP format

Chelation part 2 (mov)

same small 3GP format

BC on Autism 20: What do I do for therapy?

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I get asked all the time about what therapies or interventions I use for our child. Outside of school we simply live life. That's it, but here are some snippets.
Run time is 4min 44sec.

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)

Advertising Techniques, RNA, and Autism: BC on Autism Ep 19

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This is it, my heart can't take any more of this talk about RNA curing Autism. No amount of ribobabies could get me to do any more. So here's the last bit I have to say about it. If you buy it and drink it, well, it's on you. But please, spare the kids.

Other Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

BC on Autism 18: Gettin' the RNA Out (of yeast)

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Q: Why would anyone want to get the RNA out of yeast so they can ingest it?

A: I don't know, but I know it won't cure Autism.

Here's how to do it...

Running time: ~3 minutes

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BC on Autism 17: A PCR Primer

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Why do some people find measles virus RNA anywhere they look and then link the MMR to autism?? Hmmmm...

A look at how bad PCR can fuel an MMR conspiracy theory.

running time ~10 min

Ep 16 Part A: Deeper into the RNA Quagmire

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I simply had to go to the source of information about RNA drops curing autism and boy, oh boy.  A feller could have an entire blogging career taking these sales pamphlets / presentations / mockery of science apart, piece by piece.

btw, I guess last week's injesting/ingesting/in-jesting fun was either too low-brow or too brief. Come on and give me some affirmation love. Maybe more voice-over video fun is the ticket, but it'll have to wait until this RNA drop series is done.

running time: ~9m 30sec

Formats available: Quicktime (.mov)

BC on Autism Episode 15: RNA Quackery: Shaken, Not Stirred

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Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)
running time = 7m 11sec or so.

Why the blazes would you ever want to put a mole of nucleotides or oligonucleotides into your mouth? Very simple: because you've been told it'll cure autism, that's why. It'll also cure heavy wallet syndrome, and who really wants a big old lump in your back pocket making the derrier look all lopsided and such? Just a quick look at pH and RNase-induced transesterification. Remember, you have a filthy mouth, whether you swear like Cartman or not.



For the RNAphiles, I'm not even getting into depurination or anything. Just the basics.

BC on Autism Episode 14: From Chelation Quackery to RNA Quackery

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Formats available: Quicktime (.mov), Flash Video (.flv)
runtime = 1min 11sec
Just some fun with an old JB vid. Had to get this out of my system before I get into some papers and RNA quackery debunking mode.

BC on Autism Episode 13: Institutional Affiliation Oddities

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Which university are you working for?