hype Archives - Page 3 of 3

Stem cells for Diabetes: the danger of the word ‘cure’

October 13, 2014 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 3 Comments

There has been considerable discussion about the whether the media hyped the recent Harvard stem cells for diabetes paper (see top 10 takeaways of that paper). I believe that this was greatly hyped. This Harvard publication reported production of insulin-secreting cells from human embryonic stem cells (hESC). Newspapers around the world widely exaggerated the potential impact […]

Stem cells for Diabetes: the danger of the word ‘cure’ Read More »

The ‘Holy Crap’ Effect: Reflecting on Splashy Papers

January 31, 2014 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 4 Comments

What are Splashy Papers in science? I spend some hours each week reading and thinking about the recent scientific literature and I’m sure many of you do the same thing, but do we gravitate towards hyped “holy crap” papers? Every so often, a new paper erupts on the scene. It makes a big splash with

The ‘Holy Crap’ Effect: Reflecting on Splashy Papers Read More »

NASA suffering from pareidolia & apophenia? The watery science of Mars

June 9, 2013 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 6 Comments

I worry that NASA is suffering from apophenia and pareidolia. Both acute and chronic cases. What the heck? Let me explain. Do you ever look up at the clouds and see fluffy animals? Or maybe other things that clouds look like such as a train, plane, or a dragon? Pareidolia is the tendency of people

NASA suffering from pareidolia & apophenia? The watery science of Mars Read More »

Contest: find mainstream media stem cell ads

June 2, 2013 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 5 Comments

Be my eyes and ears as I look for stem cell ads, especially with hype, that show up in the mainstream media. You might win some cool stem cell swag. When you see such an ad, document it somehow! How? By taking a photo or copying the link if it is on the web or

Contest: find mainstream media stem cell ads Read More »

Harvard Stem Cell Institute Teases Tomorrow Will Bring Biggest Announcement Ever: Predictions

April 24, 2013 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 7 Comments

The Harvard Stem Cell Institute yesterday posted on Facebook that they will make the biggest announcement in their history tomorrow. Big hat tip to Mohammed Mostajo for the heads up and pic on this one. Thanks! What’s that all about? I’ve been working on my sources! Possible predictions…. A. SCNT-production of genetically normal human embryonic stem cells

Harvard Stem Cell Institute Teases Tomorrow Will Bring Biggest Announcement Ever: Predictions Read More »

Seven Sins of Scientists Part 4: science hype

May 7, 2012 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 3 Comments

placebo-effect-expectations-from-hype, science hype

I’m discussing the seamier side of science in a seven part series on what I call scientific sinning, including science hype. The first three pieces in this series covered Failure to Cite, Paper or grant killing and a Need for Speed. Today we talk about how bad it can get when scientists hype their work and I’m going

Seven Sins of Scientists Part 4: science hype Read More »

Cloning the mammoth: more than science hype?

March 14, 2012 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 3 Comments

Is trying to clone a woolly mammoth all just science hype? Hype is a bad thing and it hurts science in major ways. Hype channels resources away from valuable scientific pursuits and flushes them down the toilet. Hype makes people have unrealistic expectations so they end up disappointed by even very important science if it

Cloning the mammoth: more than science hype? Read More »

Stem cell hype: distinguishing it from hope

August 16, 2011 / Professor Paul Knoepfler, Ph.D. / 3 Comments

With the bewildering amount of news about stem cells, how do we tell the difference between hype and hope? Although the words “hype” and “hope” only differ by one letter, sometimes it is hard to tell them apart in real life, but of course they are very different things. So how do we know when

Stem cell hype: distinguishing it from hope Read More »

hype

Subscribe to Our Newsletter