#hype

#hype

Nose-Pickers Shouldn't Panic About Alzheimer's Disease After AllOne of the sad effects of living in the information age is how valid scientific research can become twisted into something sensational as it is filtered through internet media designed to grab attention. The takeaway can end up being downright misleading. There's a Twitter account that identifies some such stories and points out the fact that these are results in experiments with mice, and shouldn't be taken as necessarily valid in humans. A recent example is a story that's gone viral warning that picking your nose could lead to Alzheimer's disease. That can be terrifying, whether you occasionally clear the gunk out or are a habitual nose-picker. The scary part is right there in the headline of the university press release. But those who read past the headline will find outit ain't necessarily so.The study, in mice, found that a bacterium called Chlamydia pneumoniae can infect parts of the brain when seeded in the animal's nose. Further, the study found when that particular bacterium crosses into the mouse brain it can trigger pathological changes that are similar to what is seen in Alzheimer's disease.The words "in mice", "can" (x2), and "similar to" are doing some heavy lifting in that synopsis. The lesson here is to always read past the headlines, consider the source, and remember that panic drives readership. Science moves in small steps, and amazing breakthroughs take a lot of time to become clear. Meanwhile, it's always a good idea to wash your hands both before and after nose-picking, and try not to go too deep. -via Damn Interesting(Image credit: Alexander N) #Alzheimers #nosepicking #hype #sensationalism