سائنس کیسے کام کرتی ہے اور ہمارے سوشل میڈیا دانشور

 

Science Experiment Vectors by Vecteezy

تحریر: ڈاکٹر عاکف خان

مختصراً سائنس ایسے کام کرتی ہے کہ جب آپ کوئی مشاہدہ کرتے ہیں اور اپنے سابقہ علم کی بنیاد پر کوئی مفروضہ بناتے ہیں تو سائنسی طریقہ کار کے مطابق آپ یہ نہیں کرتے کہ اس مفروضے کے حق میں ثبوت اور شواہد اکٹھے کرنا شروع کر دیں۔ یہ طریقہ کار بیسویں صدی سے پہلے استعمال ہوتا تھا اور اسے انڈکشن میتھڈ (Induction Method) کہتے تھے لیکن سائنس کی دنیا میں ایک فلسفی کارل پاپر (Karl Popper) آیا جس نے اس طریقہ کار پر اعتراضات اٹھائے اور سائینٹیفک میتھڈ (Scientific Method) کو نئے سرے سے ڈیفائن کیا۔ 

اب سائنس میں یہ ہوتا ہے کہ جب آپ کوئی مفروضہ بناتے ہیں تو اول اس کو رد کرنے کی سہی کرتے ہیں۔ یعنی ایسے تجربات اور مشاہدات نہیں کرتے جس سے وہ مفروضہ درست ثابت ہو بلکہ ایسے تجربات اور مشاہدات ڈیزائن کرتے ہیں جس سے وہ مفروضہ غلط ثابت ہو سکے۔ اس کو فالسیفیکیشن میتھڈ (Falsification Method or Falsifiability) یا رد کرنے کا طریقہ کہتے ہیں۔ اس طرح کئی تجربات بار بار کیے جاتے ہیں۔ اگر وہ مفروضہ غلط ثابت ہو جائے تو اس کو وہیں چھوڑ دیا جاتا ہے۔ مگر اگر وہ بدستور غلط ثابت نہ ہو سکے تو اسے درست سمجھا جاتا ہے۔ لیکن مستقبل میں بھی اس بات کی گنجائش ہوتی ہے کہ کوئی نئے تجربات یا نئی ٹیکنالوجی سے کوئی ایسا تجربہ کرے جو اس مفروضے کو غلط یا مزید بہتر بنا سکے۔ 

دوسرا ضروری کام یہ کرنا ہوتا ہے کہ اپنے سارے طریقہ کار کو للھ کر متعلقہ سائنسی جریدے کو بھیجا جاتا ہے جہاں فیلڈ کا ایک بڑا ایکسپرٹ/سائنسدان بیٹھا ہوتا ہے جو اس کام کو پرکھتا ہے کہ کیا یہ واقعی سائنسی معیار پر پورا اترتا ہے یعنی کیا ان لوگوں نے تمام شواہد فالسیفیکیشن سے اکٹھے کیے ہیں۔ کیا بنیادی تجربات کے ساتھ سپورٹنگ تجربات بھی کیے گئے ہیں جسے کوروبوریٹیو ایویڈنس (Corroborative Evidence) یا تائیدی شواہد/تجربات کہا جاتا ہے جو کہ مفروضے کی نہیں ان تجربات کی تائید کرتے ہیں۔ 

تیسرے نمبر پر وہ ایکسپرٹ یہ سب متعین کرنے کے بعد بھی اس کام کو مزید دو سے چار اور بعض اوقات زیادہ ایکسپرٹس کو بھیجتا ہے جو اس کام کو تفصیل سے پڑھ کر اس میں سے غلطیاں نکالتے ہیں، اسے ریجیکٹ کرتے ہیں یا مزید بہتر بنانے کے لیے مزید کوروبوریٹیو ایویڈنس پر مبنی تجربات پروپوز کرتے ہیں۔ اس کے بعد وہ کام شائع ہوتا ہے۔ اس عمل کو پیئر ریویو (Peer Review) کہتے ہیں۔ ان پیئر ریویور (Reviewer) کو کام کرنے والے سائنسدان نہیں جانتے تا کہ وہ ان پر اثرانداز نہ ہو سکیں۔ اس کو سنگل بلائنڈ ریویو (Single Blind Review) کہا جاتا ہے۔ کچھ جریدے ڈبل بلائنڈ ریویو (Double Blind Review) استعمال کرتے ہیں۔ جس میں ریویور بھی کام کرنے والوں کو نہیں جانتے۔ مگر کہانی یہاں ختم نہیں ہوتی دوست۔ 

اس کے بعد یہ ہوتا ہے کہ کچھ سائنسی جریدے اس کام میں بہت سختی دکھاتے ہیں جس کی وجہ سے ان کی ساکھ مضبوط ہوتی ہے۔ جبکہ کچھ جریدے اس کام میں نرمی دکھاتے ہیں جس سے ان کی ساکھ تھوڑی کمزور ہوتی ہے۔ اس ساکھ کو اس جریدے کے کوارٹائیل، امپیکٹ فیکٹر، سائتیشن سکور، ایچ انڈیکس (یعنی دوسرے جرائد نے اس جریدے کے کام کے آزاد حوالے یعنی دوسرے سائئنسدانوں کی طرف سے حوالے کتنے دیے ہیں)۔ لیکن ان اعداد و شمار پر بھی بھروسہ نہیں کیا جاتا۔ بعض اوقات ایک کم ساکھ والے جریدے میں اچھا کام اور ایک اچھی ساکھ والے جریدے میں ایوریج کام بھی شائع ہو جاتا ہے۔ سائنسدانوں کی کمیونٹی کے اندر بھی اس بات کا علم ہوتا ہے کہ کونسا جریدہ بہتر ہے اور کونسا نہیں۔ ایکسپرٹس کو یہ بھی علم ہوتا ہے کہ کون سا کام اچھے طریقے سے کیا گیا ہے اور کونسا نہیں۔ 

اس کے بعد ان شائع شدہ مقالوں کو ہزاروں مزید ایکسپرٹس پڑھتے ہیں ریپیٹ اور ریپروڈیوس کرتے ہیں یعنی وہ کام اپنی لیب میں آزادانہ طور پر نئے سرے سے کرتے ہیں۔ یہ کام عموما ماسڑرز اور پی ایچ ڈی سٹوڈنٹس اپنا کام سیکھنے کے لیے کرتے ہیں یا اگر کسی نے کنفرم کرنا ہو وہ کرتا ہے۔ پھر اسی کام سے متعلقہ کئی دوسرے کام یا اس کے اگلے مراحل کا کام کیا جاتا ہے۔  اس کے بعد اگر وہ سائنس ایپلائیڈ ہو تو اس کے مطابق نئی ٹیکنالوجی بنتی ہے جو کہ واقعی میں کام کرتی ہے اور اس میں وقت اور ضرورت کے مطابق ٹیکنالوجسٹ اور انجینیئر مزید بہتری لاتے ہیں۔ تھیوری آف گریویٹی اور ارتقاء کے نظریات اس طریقہ کار سے ہو کر گزرے ہوئے ہیں اور ابھی تک ان کو رد کرنے والے تمام تجربات غلط ثابت ہوئے ہیں، اس لیے ان کو درست تسلیم کیا جاتا ہے۔ اگر آج بھی کوئی دسویں مالے سے چھلانگ لگا کر اوپر کو اڑے یا یا کوئی ایسا فاسل دریافت کر دے جو ارتقاء کے نظریے کے برخلاف ہو یعنی آپ اگر انسان کا فاسل چھ کروڑ سال پہلے کا دریافت کر لیں تو باآسانی ان نظریات کو رد کر سکتے ہیں اور سائنسدان بخوشی آپ کی بات کو مانیں گے بلکہ آپ کو یقینا نوبیل پرائز سے بھی نوازا جائے گا۔ 

کارل پاپر کے اس طریقے کو وضع کرنے کے بعد محض سو سالوں میں سائنسی ترقی کا حال آپ نے دیکھ لیا ہے۔ جنرل ریلیٹیوٹی کی بنیاد پر پوری دنیا کا کمیونیکشن نظام کام کرتا ہے۔ ساری میڈیکل سائنس ارتقاء کے نظریے کی وجہ سے کام کرتی ہے۔ 

سائینٹیفیک میتھڈ کی ایک اولین مثال ایڈنگٹن (Eddington) کا وہ تجربہ تھا (اس پر ایک فلم بھی بن چکی ہے Einstein and Eddingtonکے نام سے) جس نے آئن سٹائن کی تھیوری آف جنرل ریلیٹیویٹی کو درست ثابت کیا۔ حقیقت میں وہ تجربہ آئن سٹائن کی تھیوری کو رد کرنے کے لیے ڈیزائن کیا گیا تھا۔ یعنی کہ اگر ایڈنگٹن کو سورج گرہن کے وقت ستارے اپنی جگہ سے ہلے ہوئے نظر نہ آتے تو آئن سٹائن کی تھیوری کہ گریویٹی سپیس کو موڑتی ہے اور روشنی بھی اس کے ساتھ مڑتی ہے غلط ثابت ہو جاتا۔ 

مختلف سائنسز میں یہ طریقہ کار مختلف طریقوں اور ناموں سے استعمال ہوتا ہے۔ میتھیمیٹکس میں کانٹراڈکشن سے، سوشل سائنسز اور تھیوریٹیکل سائنسز میں شماریات یعنی سٹیٹیسٹکس سے کانفیڈنس لمٹ معلوم کی جاتی ہے۔ شماریات نیچرل اور فزیکل سائنسز میں بھی کوروبوریٹیو ایویڈنس کے طور پر استعمال ہوتے ہیں۔ چونکہ میں ایک فزیکل سائنسز کا طالبعلم ہوں تو اسی حوالے سے مثالیں دیں۔

اب ایسے علوم جن کو غلط ثابت کرنے کے تجربات نہیں کیے جا سکتے جیسے مثال کے طور پر آسٹرالوجی، پامسٹری، نیومرالوجی، ہومیوپیتھی وغیرہ۔ آپ کو ان کے ماننے والے ہمیشہ تائیدی ثبوت دیتے نظر آئیں گے۔ فلاں کے برج میں یہ تھا تو یہ ہوا۔ فلاں نے ہومیوپیتھی کی دوائی لی تو پتھری نکل گئی۔ مگر نہ تو وہ خود اپنے مفروضوں کے لیے رد کرنے والے تجربات کریں گے، نہ کسی کو کرنے دیں گے نہ کسی سے پیئر ریویو کروائیں گے کہ کیا سب برجوں کے ساتھ یہ ہوا کیا پتھری محض پانی کے استعمال سے تو نہیں نکل آئی، بہت سے لوگوں کو ہومیوپیتھی کی دوائی دیے بغیر چیک کر کے شماریاتی تجزیہ کیا جائے وغیرہ۔ اس لیے ان چیزوں کو سوڈو سائنس کہا جاتا ہے۔ 

اصل میں یہ پوسٹ لکھنے کی وجہ تسمیہ یہ ہے کہ سوشل میڈیا پر کچھ دانشور خواتین و خضرات اپنے نظریات کے تائیدی شواہد ہی اکٹھے کرتے نظر آتے ہیں۔ کلاوٹ، فالوورز اور وہ لوگ جو کمنٹس میں واہ واہ، مور پاور ٹو یو، کیا بات ہے، بہت اعلی، لکھتے/لکھتی رہا کریں، وغیرہ جیسی گردانیں کرتے ہیں۔ مگر جونہی کوئی ان کے مفروضوں کے برخلاف شوائد یا دلیل دے تو اس کو لیبل لگا کر بلاک کر دیا جاتا ہے۔ اناپرستی اور خودپرستی کا رقص شروع ہو جاتا ہے۔ یہاں یہ یاد رہے کہ تضحیک اور ذاتی حملے اس میں شمار نہیں ہوتے۔ ایسے لوگوں کو نہ صرف بلاک کرنا چاہیے بلکہ پچھلی پوسٹ کی وضاحت کی روشنی میں گھر پہنچا کر بھی آنا چاہیے۔ 

(ڈاکٹر عاکف خان)

#docakkh #ڈاکٹر_عاکف_خان #akifonymous

گرم ٹھنڈی تاثیر، مچھلی اور یرقان (جانڈس)

پروٹین کو میٹابولائز کرنے کے لیے جسم کو زیادہ کام کرنا پڑتا ہے۔ اس لیے گرمی لگتی ہے اور پھر پروٹین کے میٹابولزم سے مزید حرارت پیدا ہوتی ہے اس کے بعد امائینو ایسڈز جو کہ پروٹین کے بریک ڈاون یا میٹابولزم سے بنتے ہیں وہ نئے پروٹین بناتے ہیں یہ عمل بھی ایگزوتھرمک یعنی حرارت زا عمل ہے۔ اسی لیے حرارت پیدا ہوتی ہے اور جسم کو گرمی محسوس ہوتی ہے۔ چونکہ یہ سارا کام جگر میں ہوتا ہے تو جن لوگوں کا جگر کمزور ہوتا ہے ان کو یرقان ہو جاتا ہے۔ اس کو گرم تاثیر بھی کہا جاتا ہے۔ یہی کام چاکلیٹ یا زیادہ پروٹین والی کوئی بھی چیز کرے گی جیسے پروٹین شیک۔ جبکہ پھل سبزیاں کم کیلوریز پیدا کرتی ہیں۔ بعض سبزیوں جیسے کھیرے میں زیرو کیلوریز ہوتے ہیں۔ اس لیے ان کی تاثیر ٹھنڈی بتائی جاتی ہے۔ 

 ڈرائی فروٹس میں شوگر کی مختلف اقسام بہت ذیادہ کنسنٹریشن میں ہوتی ہیں جیسے گلوکوز یا فرکٹوز وغیرہ۔ اس لیے وہ جسم کو بہت کیلوریز، حرارت یا انرجی دیتے ہیں۔ گرمیوں میں مسام بند ہونے کی وجہ سے پسینہ باہر نہیں نکلتا تو پھر ریش یا دانے نکلتے ہیں اور لوگ سمجھتے ہیں کہ گرم چیزیں کھانے سے ایسا ہوا۔ جبکہ مصالحے کھانے سے جسم کے ہیٹ ریسیپٹرز ایکٹیویٹ ہوتے ہیں جس کی وجہ سے گرمی لگتی ہے۔ گوشت اور مصالحوں کے نتیجے میں محسوس ہونے والی حرارت مختلف قسم کی ہے۔ ایک میں واقعی حرارت پیدا ہوتی ہے جبکہ مصالحوں کے چکر میں صرف محسوس ہوتی ہے بنتی نہیں ہے۔ لیکن حکیم آپ کو یہ بتائیں گے کہ ایک ہی بات ہے جبکہ یہ غلط ہے۔ جن لوگوں کا جگر کمزور ہوتا ہے انہیں پروٹین ڈائجیسٹ کرنے میں مشکل ہوتی ہے۔ اگر جگر کو ذیادہ پروٹین ڈائجیسٹ کرنے پر لگایا جائے گا تو وہ کام کرنا بند کر دے گا جس کی وجہ سے یرقان کی علامات ظاہر ہوتی ہیں جیسے کسی کو لیور سروسیس یا جگر کا سرطان ہو یا فیٹی لیور ہو جائے ایل ایف ٹی کی تعداد بڑھ جائے پروٹین لوڈ زیادہ ہونے سے۔ اسی لیے پیلے یرقان یا جانڈس کی صورت میں ڈاکٹر پروٹین کھانے سے منع کرتے ہیں اور جسم کی انرجی گلوکوز سے ایکسٹریکٹ کرنے کا کہتا ہیں کیونکہ گلوکوز کی بریک ڈاون آسان ہوتی ہے پروٹین کی بہ نسبت اور جسم پر کم بوجھ ڈالتی ہے۔ شراب نوشی کی صورت میں بھی یہی ہوتا ہے کیونکہ ایتھانول کی بریک ڈاون بھی جگر میں ہوتی ہے۔ اگرچہ یہ ایک سمپل کمپاونڈ ہے مگر ہائی کنسنٹریشن پر جگر کو ذیادہ کام کرنا پڑتا ہے۔ اسی لیے کہا جاتا ہے کہ شراب کو معتدل انداز میں پینا چاہیے تا کہ جگر پر بوجھ نہ پڑے۔ اسی طرح گوشت بھی سبزیوں کے ساتھ بیلنسڈ طریقے سے کھانا چاہیے۔ ایک کھانے میں 220 گرام یا ایک پاو سے زیادہ گوشت نہیں کھانا چاہیے ورنہ جگر پر بوجھ پڑتا ہے۔ یہ ایسا ہی ہے جیسے کسی بھی چیز کی کثرت سے جسم کے حصے متاثر ہوتے ہیں۔ زیادہ تمباکو نوشی سے پھیپھڑے زیادہ کھانا کھانے سے معدہ۔ 

 یہاں پر تین باتیں ذہن نشین رکھیں۔ حرارت محسوس ہونا، حرارت کا پیدا ہونا اور جگر پر بوجھ پڑنا تین مختلف عمل ہیں۔ مصالحوں سے حرارت محسوس ہوتی ہے، گلوکوز، ڈرائی فروٹ، پروٹین اور شراب نوشی سے حرارت پیدا ہوتی ہے جبکہ ذیادہ پروٹین اور ذیادہ شراب نوشی کی صورت میں جگر پر بوجھ پڑ سکتا ہے۔ لہذا صرف حرارت محسوس یا پیدا ہونے کی صورت میں آپ کو یرقان نہیں ہو گا یعنی گرم تاثیر صرف ایک عرف عام ہے اور اس کو ایک مغالطے کے طور پر پرانے وقتوں سے ہر کلچر میں علم کی کمی کی وجہ ان کھانوں کے لیے استعمال کیا جاتا تھا جن سے حرارت پیدا ہو چاہے یرقان ہونے کا احتمال ہو یا نہ ہو۔ جو کھانے ہضم ہونے میں زیادہ وقت لگاتے ہیں وہ زیادہ حرارت پیدا کرتے ہیں۔ اسی لیے گرمیوں میں بھوک بھی کم لگتی ہے اگر آپ کثیف کھانا یا پروٹین ڈائیٹ کھائیں۔ چنانچہ لوگ ہلکی غذا کھاتے۔ جبکہ سردیوں میں بار بار بھوک لگتی ہے۔ اب نیوٹریشن سائنس بہت ترقی کر چکی ہے لہذا روزانہ علم میں اضافہ ہوتا ہے اور نئے اور بہتر سے بہتر علم کے ساتھ نئی اور بہتر ادویات بھی آتی ہیں جو پرانے علم اور پرانی ادویات کو ریپلیس کر دیتی ہے۔ 

 پس نوشت: یرقان کی اور بہت سی وجوہات بھی ہوتی ہیں ضروری نہیں وہ اس وجہ سے ہو۔ یہ اسی وقت ممکن ہے جب جگر پہلے سے کمزور ہو۔ یہاں صرف پیلے یرقان یا یرقان کی علامات کی بات ہو رہی بلکہ اصل اور وائرل یرقان کی نہیں۔ ویسے ہیپاٹائٹس اے کو یرقان کہتے۔ یہ اور اے بی سی یرقان وائرل بیماریاں ہیں جو جگر کو متاثر کرتی ہیں۔ یرقان اچانک اور کم عرصے کے لیے ہوتا ہے اور ریسٹ کرنے اور اچھی غذا، جگر پر مرغن غذاوں اور پروٹین لوڈ نہ ڈالنے سے جلدی ٹھیک ہو جاتا ہے۔ ہیپاٹائٹس بی اور سی وائرس کے لیے اینٹی وائرل ادویات لینی پڑتی ہیں۔ ہیپاٹائٹس بی کے لیے پہلے سے ویکسین بھی لگتی ہے جو چھ ماہ کا کورس ہوتا ہے۔ یرقان یا ہیپاٹائٹس اے گندے پانی اور گندی خوراک سے پھیلتا ہے۔ جبکہ بی اور سی جسمانی مرطوبات یعنی خون وغیرہ سے پھیلتے ہیں۔ بی سب سے زیادہ متعدی ہے اور سی سب سے زیادہ خطرناک۔ اس کے علاوہ ڈی اور ای بھی ہیں لیکن وہ اتنے عام نہیں ہیں۔ 

 یرقان ضروری نہیں ہیپاٹائٹس اے ہی ہو یعنی ضروری نہیں وائرس کی وجہ سے ہی ہو۔ یہ جگر کی کسی اور بیماری یا کمزوری کی وجہ سے بھی ہو سکتا ہے۔ اس میں رنگ پیلا پڑ جاتا ہے کیونکہ خون کی خلیے ٹوٹنے سے جو پیلا بائیلیروبین کمپاونڈ بنتا ہے اس کو کلیئر کرنا جگر کا کام پوتا ہے۔ اگر جگر صحیح کام نہیں کر رہا تو وہ جسم میں واپس جاتا ہے اور جسم کا رنگ پیلا پڑ جاتا ہے۔ نو مولود بچوں میں جن میں جگر نے اپنا کام صحیح طور پر شروع نہیں کیا ہوتا ان میں بھی ایسا ہوتا ہے۔ جگر کے کینسر میں بھی یرقان کی علامات نظر آتی ہیں۔ سیروسس میں بھی۔ مزید: میں میڈیکل ڈاکٹر نہیں ہوں، یہ ایک سائنسی تناظر ہے۔ اگر آپ کو کوئی علامات ہوں تو اپنے معالج سے رجوع کریں۔ شکریہ۔

Why Homeopathy is a Fraud?

I am writing this blurb because being a Chemistry PhD and my position on homeopathy, I am often asked why I consider homeopathy a fraud (my detailed intro is at the end of this article). In this blurb, I will dwell into the details of homeopathy and principles of chemistry with references on the research and previous attempts to debunk this quackery.

Why is homeopathy a fraud/pseudoscience?

Homeopathy was first invented by a German doctor in 1700s when one day he ate cinchona bark and developed fever. He quickly ran the horses of his imagination and established by himself without any experimentation or scientific confirmation that since cinchona gave him fever and it treated malaria and since fever is a symptom of malaria and cinchona treats malaria, the things which give fever can cure diseases with fever and hence anything that can produce symptoms of a disease can cure that disease. It is like saying that since allergy makes your face red, if someone slaps you on the face to turn it red, your allergy will be cured. It is a logical fallacy from the beginning. Such as, since rain wets the street, so if the street is wet, there must have been rain. This is not true. Street could’ve been wet due to other reasons. And here it is not true at all. Cinchona does not induce fever. Fever is induced by body’s immune system when it is fighting an infection in order to kill the bacteria/viruses. And if body temperature rises beyond a limit, organs can fail. 

So you see the fiction from the start. He had no evidence for his revelation. He just thought to himself that this might be the case. Then he developed two rules for homeopathy: 1) like cures like, 2) when you dilute things, they become potent. Why and how? He didn’t say anything. Even if you ask any homeopath quack these questions today, they will have no answer or at best they will refer you to one study by a French scientist and Nobel laureate and "virologist" Luke Montagnier, where he claimed that "aqueous nanostructures (if such things even exist)" derived from DNA sequences produce electromagnetic signals. This paper was published in a new journal and guess what he was himself the chairman of the editorial board of that journal. [1] This study has been debunked many times afterwards due to its scientific flaws as well. [2] And guess what, he is also an anti-vaxxer, which means he is against the use of vaccines, himself being a virologist. He also believed that COVID19 is a man-made virus. [1] Nobel in one field does not make you an expert in other fields. They would also refer you to a paper by French immunologist Jacques Benveniste for his paper in Nature, where he "proved" water memory effect. [3] But they will not tell you that that paper was later extensively and publicly debunked by Nature itself and Benveniste failed to replicate the original results. He also refused to retract the paper and eventually had to return the public funding used on the research. The homeopathic quacks and people defending homeopathy will also ignore thousands of studies that have debunked homeopathy. 

Why do the two principles of homeopathy not work?

Let’s find out why these two so-called principles are not just made up lies and go against science (tested and applied knowledge that works) but you can debunk them easily with common sense. The first one is that like cures like. This is not true. Likes don’t cure likes. If you get poisoned by some poisonous gas for example, will you try to take more of it inside you to make it cure you? Nobody will. Not even non-conscious animals will stay at a place where there is more of a chemical that has harmed them in the first place. There is no evidence of like curing like, which means that no experiment has ever confirmed this to be true. 

Homeopaths will tell you this is not true because vaccines are an evidence that like cures like. Just on the surface. Vaccines contain biological molecules or dead virus with specific binding sites on their surface that can trigger antibodies production in the body that can kill the same biological molecules and viruses in the future. The antibodies that are produced as a result of vaccination are completely different molecules and are not “like” viruses, neither do homeopathic water creates any kind of antibodies. Anti means opposite, not alike. Besides, physiological ailments like diabetes, cancer, cardiac diseases, muscular diseases, injuries, autoimmune diseases, liver, kidney, eye, stomach, reproductive organs, nose or ear diseases are not caused by any foreign body. They can’t be treated by vaccines. They need medicines which nip the actual problem in the bud. For example, for an ear infection, you need an antibiotic, which would reach to the infection site in the ear and would kill bacteria there. There is no margin for putting more “like” bacteria to kill those bacteria. 

This brings us to the second principle; potentiation, where homeopaths claim that dilutions increase potency. Since homeopaths will argue that we do not say that one should take the actual amount of the same thing that causes similar symptoms of the disease but its little amount. They say they dilute those harmful things in order to make them potent/powerful. The more they are diluted, the more potent they are.

It means that if you take a jug of water with one litre or 1000 millilitres and add sugar to it and then take one millilitre (a fifth of a teaspoon) and put it in another glass and then add water to it. The next glass is supposed to be more sweet. Right? Now you are getting the point. 

Homeopaths do the same thing. They dissolve one part of a substance in 100 parts of a solvent. They call it 1C. Then they take one part and dilute it in again 100 parts, making 2C, which is 1 in 10,000 parts solution and again to 3C as 1 in a million parts solution. Usually they sell 20-30C solutions. At 15C, the solution is equivalent to one drop in all oceans of the world. At 20C, not even one molecule of the original substance is present in the solution. How can that substance be effective in treating you when it is not even there? 

Water Memory Effect, is it real?

This brings us to water memory effect. I remember there was a Pak-China conference in Islamabad in Pak-China center in 2011 or so. There was a homeopathy stall at the conference. After I presented my poster on removal of arsenic from drinking water with the help of nanoparticles, I was wandering around stalls when I came across this one. I have a good knowledge of homeopathy as well because my grandfather and aunt used to be homeopathic practitioners. I thought of asking him some questions just for fun. When I told him that there is not one single molecule of the original substance left in a 20C or 20X dilution, how can they claim the effectiveness. To which he said the water keeps the memory. I said if that’s the case the same water dissolves everything in its way from our poop to urine of animals and humans and all the toxins, what makes the water only keep the memory of your molecules? To which he said because we shake the solution in a specific way. What happens then, I inquired. He said the rays transfer the effectiveness. What rays? There are specific rays (he actually wanted to refer towards the debunked study of Benveniste, mentioned above). I told him I am an expert in spectroscopy and know about all kind of rays. He can tell me. To which he told me to visit their factory and they will arrange my meeting with a bigger expert who could answer my questions. I highly doubted that but I left in peace. 

The water memory is another lie to cover the previously told lies and has been debunked by scientists. There was a famous Horizon experiment, where the Benveniste's water memory paper claiming water memory effect was debunked live on BBC (link of the study below). In that study, no difference was found between ordinary water and a diluted solution to have any kind of physiological effect. [4, 5]

Why do people still believe it works?

People believe in all kinds of thinks being effective, from acupuncture to acupressure and magic to salamander’s oil. This is mostly because of Placebo effect. When you believe something works, your brain activates several biochemical and hormonal processes within your body, which can sometimes relieve pains or convince you that you’re getting better. You must have seen doctors often prescribing additional multivitamins to patients in order for them to think that they are taken seriously, especially when there is no specific illness. Similarly, when patients have no specific illness, they get convinced that the thing they believed to be effective was really effective. Sometimes, patients get cured with time on their own and the role of sugary water they call homeopathic medicine is zero. 

Homeopaths will also tell you that they have effectively cured kidney stones. This is one thing they gallantly claim. Major reason why homeopathic medicine works is that kidney stones tend to be removed by themselves in 90% cases even if no medicine is taken. In other cases, homeopaths make patients drink a lot of water with their sugary pills that it helps them in washing off stones. I had a detailed conversation with a homeopathy practitioner once on homeopathy and kidney stones, which is present on YouTube (Link below - talk is in Urdu language). [6, 7] Those who have watched House M.D., must remember the episode where Dr. House cures a patient with some candies.

If it is just sugary water and works as placebo, then why is homeopathy harmful?

Homeopathic medicines are usually not regulated or are poorly regulated in third world countries. Sometimes, practitioners sell crushed regular OTC medicines such as paracetamol or aspirin. They maybe fine for a healthy person. But for example, if someone has stomach ulcer, aspirin will be deadly for them, especially when its protective coating has been removed during crushing. Similarly, glucose pills can be dangerous for diabetic patients. I have seen patients losing their eyesight after taking homeopathic pills (essentially highly pure glucose) due to hyperglycaemia (high sugar). 

Another harm is that patients having actual diseases turn out to waste money and precious time that could save their lives if proper treatment had been started within time. You must also have seen doctors complaining that when patients reach at a very critical stage, only then they come to us. That is also why you never see people rushing to homeopaths in emergencies. They always end up in ERs in normal hospitals because deep down they also know homeopathy is a fraud. Therefore, this belief that homeopathic formulas have no side effects is more dangerous than few side effects of real medicines. 

You may also wonder why homeopaths always claim to be experts of diseases that are chronic and would never claim expertise over acute conditions including injuries, heart failure or brain stroke. 

Fun fact: Famous science enthusiast and rationalist James Randy once engulfed a bottle full of homeopathic sleeping pills. Nothing happened. (Gladly, he was not in Pakistan or else there could be real alprazolam instead of homeopathic medicine inside it.) 

I am happy to respond to any questions or further details on the matter. You can ask the questions in the comments. If they needed detailed answer, I will post another article. Don't forget to subscribe the blog in that case by writing your email address in the lower left corner. You will get every new post directly in your email inbox.

References:

[1] Luc Montagnier's Journal: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Luc_Montagnier

[2] French Nobelist Escapes 'Intellectual Terror' to Pursue Radical Ideas in China, https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.330.6012.1732

[3] Benveniste's Paper on Water Memory Effect, https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jacques_Benveniste

[4] The Horizon Test, https://www.bbc.co.uk/science/horizon/2002/homeopathy.shtml

[5] The Horizon homeopathic dilution experiment, https://rss.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1740-9713.2005.00109.x

[6] A talk with a homeopathic practitioner - Part 1. https://youtu.be/ACYIbLtdRNQ

[7] A talk with a homeopathic practitioner - Part 2. https://youtu.be/zhftD06I8-0

Further Readings:

• What is homeopathy? https://www.livescience.com/31977-homeopathy.html 
• What is homeopathy? https://www.webmd.com/balance/what-is-homeopathy 
• Why I changed my mind about homeopathy? https://amp.theguardian.com/science/blog/2012/apr/03/homeopathy-why-i-changed-my-mind 
• Does homeopathy work? NHS UK, https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/homeopathy/ 
• 1,800 Studies Later, Scientists Conclude Homeopathy Doesn’t Work, https://www.smithsonianmag.com/smart-news/1800-studies-later-scientists-conclude-homeopathy-doesnt-work-180954534/ 
• Why homoeopathy is pseudoscience? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w 
• Homeopathy  - where is the science? https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6399603/ 
• Why homeopathy is nonsense? http://www.economist.com/blogs/economist-explains/2014/04/economist-explains
• Why homeopathy is pseudoscience? https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11229-022-03882-w

About Me: I am a PhD in Chemistry (USTC, Hefei, QS World Ranking 94, Subject World Ranking 36) and have one master's in Chemistry (Inorganic and Analytical Chemistry) from Quaid i Azam University, Islamabad and one master's in Materials Science and Engineering from NUST, Islamabad. I have around 15+ years of experience in research, teaching and industry with around 70 research publications in highly ranked journals of chemistry, physics and materials science (in Wiley Germany, SpringerLink, Nature, American Chemical Society and Royal Society of Chemistry Publishers.) I am also a member of American Chemical Soceity, Chemical Society of Pakistan, Pakistan Vacuum Society, Chinese Chemical Society and Chinese Industrial Chemistry Society. Besides that, I have experience in analysis, quality, research and development of drugs in pharmaceutical industry. Besides that, I have carried out research on diverse areas of chemistry, physics, biology and materials science including artificial enzymes, cancer therapy, wound healing materials, nanomaterials, catalysis, electrochemical energy storage and conversion and water pollution and remediation (removal and effects of heavy metals, POPs, organic pollutants and radioactive metals.) Here are my Google Scholar and ResearchGate profiles.

Limit (A Short Scifi Story)

Source: https://www.flickr.com/photos/playstationblogeurope/14064995855

By Dr. Akif Khan

Captain M and her crew of 5 aboard AZK-Delta-3031-85 were very excited when they embarked on this mission. After 3 years long cryosleep in their chambers, they finally woke up. It would take another 2 weeks to reach this new exoplanet where they hope to find life. So far, they had just entered this star system of Alpha-987587ET star. AZK-Delta-3031-085 was 85th among the 300 missions which were launched in space in year 3031 towards the potential life-inhabiting planets. The development of science and technology in the last millennium made great leaps in space travel and technology. Multiple new warp drives were invented and finally a warp drive with a potential to travel near speed of light was finally invented. It took a 100 years to refine the graviton-based communication system and models to create a perfect balance in time-lapse during travel and back home. Although, the time-lapse was imminent at near-light-speed-travels causing time to warp but graviton-based communication could at least overcome the time delay due to distances in space. The design of spacecrafts were revolutionized as well. The exoskeleton type of catalytic and thermoregulatory suits called X-suits made of biomaterials were able to adapt and harness breathable gases from any kind of atmosphere, regulate body temperature, adapt to different gravities and would interact with central nervous system at neural levels.

The crew headed towards the medical bay and their muscles were reformed using the technology on-board. Meanwhile, they were watching the star-system in wonder. Most of the planets were visible through the windows and the view was awe-inspiring. The other gas giants and planets with moons and rings around them reminded them of home.

"What are we hoping to find captain? The asteroid belt and the thick atmosphere didn't let us see much inside." Being a true scientist, S was more curious among all of them about the possibilities than she was scared.

"At least, some low level intelligent life and plants. As you know we are only concerned with the presence of atmosphere and water, this isn't a big issue. Besides, we didn't find any sign of advanced technology." Captain didn't entertain the wonder regarding aesthetics in S's question. She was always a cold and straightforward scientist, curious but not as excited as the rest of the crew. Her whole life was dedicated to science and was spent growing and learning sciences from a very little age in the international academy of sciences. S, on the other hand was not only inspired by science but was enamored by the beauty and symmetry in the nature, traits that Captain always conveniently ignored and considered irrelevant to science. Lt. D smiled at captain's reply enjoying this altercation while setting up the ultra high speed cameras recording the orbits of planets and rebuilding a 3D radio hologram. Systems engineer V and pilots J and N were busy setting up the final course around the planet. The plan was to make quick 10 orbits around the planet at different angles to map the geology of the planet from the outer atmosphere with occasional dives inside the atmosphere. Although, the atmosphere was thick, at the warp speeds, due to the design of the small shuttle and counter-thermal shields they were not much worried about any damage they would've worried about a millennium ago. It will only take them around 30 minutes to make 10 orbits with 50 dives and 5 second pauses over water bodies. Afterwards, they have to stop over water on a coastal area to take material samples from water and land. The whole mission is supposed to take 2 hours and then they would be on their way back to home. Captain was thinking of boring two weeks ahead scanning the star system.

Finally, the day arrived when they had to make orbits. The exoplanet was a nice blue globe with rich atmosphere. It reminded them of home again. Interestingly, it also had one moon. Pilot J. launched the two drones which would accompany the main shuttle in a triangular manner while completing the orbits. The orbits started. Gravity absorbers around main chamber made the aircraft least affected by the high speeds during the orbiting and they didn't feel a bit of added Gs. The gravity of the planet was less than home. The vegetation was evolved in a little different way because of the tilt of the planet towards the star while the chemical composition and the atmospheric variation of the planet was pretty much the same carbon-based. Unfortunately, they couldn't make stopovers over land for longer time periods due to the safety and the aims and objectives of the mission. S was much antagonized by this decision. However, she did manage to convince the decision board to allow her to collect samples from water instead of robots and this was the part of the mission she was most excited about.

"The bureaucracy is too stupid to not allow us stopping over land during orbiting to be honest." S stopped saying anything further when she saw Captain's eyes.

"S, remember, everything said and done on this shuttle is being recorded and will be transcribed and sent to bureaucracy and I and captain are also parts of that bureaucracy." Lt. D smiled again and reminded S of the procedures.

"Well, fuck fascism and fuck authoritarianism. I wonder that after excelling so much in science and technology, we still have to bother about speaking our minds, that too millions of miles away from those dumb meatbags with useless stars on their chests." This time S didn't bother about the stare of the captain. She was always a rebel.

"Remember, this science and technology became possible due to those useless meatbags." Lt. D was a little agitated this time.

"No, it didn't. It became possible because of the equality, progress and peace. Sadly, power and greed took all the credit." S seemed ferocious.

"Well, no wonder they sent you out here." Dee laughed.

This was the last orbit and computer will calculate the probability of landing on the basis of versatility of life within few minutes after the orbital run is completed. The geology of the whole planet was mapped and the data was also sent back to the headquarters. It would take 7 days for data to reach HQ.

"Captain, the run is complete. Computer has determined this location for sample collection. It is in the middle of the planet where the land ends and it is a very long coastline." J informer captain.

"Alright, set course. Everyone, get ready. S, are you ready for sampling if you are done with politics?" Captain was cold but sometimes could be quite bitter as well.

"I was wearing my X-suit while doing my politics Ma'am. Rights and responsibilities work parallel." Chuckled S.

"The sea looks calm. There are small tides but I think we can handle them." Lt. D informed captain.

"Set the mission timeline. I don't want to spend an extra second on this stupid planet." Captain was not interested in anything beyond mission.

The shuttle landed around 500 meters from the shore. S took a step outside. Meanwhile, N was logging the incident on voice.

While S jumped into the water, she felt something moving past her. She turned to look but couldn't see anything. Se moved a little deeper and opened the sample container to collect water when she felt a deep pain in her leg. Something bit her. She screamed in the com channel, "Help, there is something in the water. It bit me and it is not leaving my leg. My suit is ruptured." She felt another bite and when she looked she saw two swimming animals 2 times longer than her with sharp teeth and no limbs. White and blue in colour, they had flaps and tails with which they were swimming, much like sea fauna back home but very terrifying especially while their mouths were dripping with her blood.

She tried to get away from them and moved towards the shuttle and finally she succeeded. Lt. D was standing in the door holding the laser gun. He shot at one animal. It was painful but she swam towards the ship. 10 meters distance felt like 10 light years to her. The noise of splashing increased behind her. She didn't dare look behind. D was constantly giving her cover. Finally, she reached the stairs and started climbing. D gave her his hand and she held it. That is when she saw one of the animal jumping out of the water and biting D's head clean off his body. She shouted in horror and D's body fell on her taking her down into the water. She saw around 20 of animals circling her.

In the cockpit, Captain M was trying to assess the situation. This all happened within 5 minutes and although they were trained to tackle such situations, she became numb for a minute. She saw D's head being chopped off. She moved back and ordered J and V to ready the shuttle to take off and told N to accomapny her in order to save S. They held their guns and stood at the door looking for S. They were all wearing X-suits now as there was no time for compression and decompression of the shuttle. The atmosphere had enough pressure and concentration of gases and the rest was covered by the suits.

S saw the animals circling her. D's body started going up and down in the water. The dripping blood from his head attracted the animals and they all jumped on the body. They tore it apart in seconds. S saw this scene in horror. Eventually, she gathered her senses and moved towards the shuttle. Her movement attracted the attention of few of the animals and they started chasing her. Her legs were numb with pain and she could barely swim. She saw Captain and N standing in the door. She swam towards them. However, just 2 meters away, she felt another big bite on her leg and this time her leg was chopped off. She screamed with pain once again. The animal dragged her towards bottom but upon severing of her leg she tried to move upwards. This is when she hit the base of the shuttle while attempting to come out of the water and everything turned dark.

Captain saw S being dragged under the shuttle. She was not sure what to do. She turned inside and asked J to switch on the sonar to ascertain the position of S and animals. Suddenly, they heard the bangs on the base of the shuttle. Sonar and camera were disconnected. Perhaps animals had bitten them off. After stopping on water, the base of the shuttle spread to form legs which provided buoyancy to the shuttle and exposed the few inner parts of the shuttle. "Fucking design flaw for cost effectiveness by fucking bureaucracy. What would've come out of water, right?" Looked like S was speaking through captain.

Underneath, the animals were busy feasting on the body of S. Their numbers were increasing slowly. A couple of them were busy munching off the small enzyme-based biomaterial window on the bottom of the ship. It definitely looked tasty to them. However, it was the life-support system which was supposed to absorb gases from atmosphere and convert them into useful life-system raw material. It was also connected to the main oxygen tanks. In few minutes, they had almost chopped off the entire window and oxygen started bubbling out. One of the animal hit the window with its snout and it sparked causing an explosion in one of the tanks. The shuttle broke in half. V who was on lower deck was also blown into pieces due to explosion.

Captain had to do something when the explosion hit the deck. The shuttle was on fire and she had already lost 50% of her crew. The posterior half of the shuttle was hardly attached to the anterior half and the shuttle started sinking while at fire at the same time. She had no time. She told J and N to hold guns and at least drive these aliens away from the ship to let them plan something else. Little did she know that there were dozens of animals now circling the shuttle.

The water started entering the shuttle and electronic systems started failing one by one. She could see a couple of animals moving on the ship floor which was now completely drowned into the sea. All of them stood on the upper deck and started firing towards the animals they could see. This drove the animals crazy. They were smart. They dashed the bullets and jumped towards the deck. One of them jumped from water and the captain who never felt enamored by the beauty of nature became struck with its horror on seeing the face of death. N fired towards the animal and the animal switched the direction mid-air capturing N and taking him back into the water. Only J and Captain were left. She saw more water entering the shuttle and more animals with that. She knew it was the end.

She turned towards mic and did the one thing she had to do. Recorded the message and warned the HQ. "Mayday! Mayday! This is Captain M of AZK-Delta-301

31-085. We successfully landed on the Alpha-987587ET-03 planet of Alpha-987587ET star system. The planet has good vegetation but not as rich as ours and it is filled with beastly creatures. My whole crew has been attacked by these seemingly smart but beastly animals. Our shuttle has been destroyed and we are surrounded by dozens of these animals. There is no need to come to this planet. I repeat, there is no need to come to this horrible planet. Over and out!." Captain and N held their guns and started shooting at the animals. The fire in the posterior section eventually reached the rest of the oxygen tanks. There was a huge explosion and whole ship turned into pieces and ashes. On the land, there were two eyes watching the explosion.

Dawn News, Karachi, 10th of July, 1942, reported this local news story. "A ship exploded on the Karachi coastline. A medium sized ship was seen blasted 500 meters away from Karachi Clifton beach. The local fisherman saw the ship exploded with two blasts within 15 minutes. Meanwhile they heard whooshing sounds after the first explosion, probably due to the fireworks stored in the basement, which led to the second explosion. Sharks were seen circulating the wreckage. The beach has been shut down for a month now due to the repeated shark attacks. The rescue teams tried to find the survivors but they couldn't find anyone. The wreckage sank to the ocean floor and two burnt and disfigured dead bodies were found on the scene which were buried in Qayyumabad Graveyard as unidentified persons. An interesting observation was made by a local fisherman who told our correspondent that the recovered bodies looked like fully formed adults but they were only 2.5 feet tall and they were wrapped around with roots of some kind that they couldn't separate from the bodies and buried them as such. Local government official dismissed the claims calling them fairy tales of fishermen."