thinkevolution.net

The cell phone camera photo of a security camera image taken in a hospital hallway in September 2008.

Fourteen-year-old Chelsea Banton was near death, hospitalized for pneumonia. She was removed from life support, and—could it be a miracle?—slowly began to improve. At the same time, a mysterious angelic form was seen hovering outside her hospital room. Her mother Colleen credits her daughter’s recovery to the angel. “It’s a miracle,” she said. Ann Curry opened this “news” piece on the Today show by suggesting that even skeptics might reconsider their cynicism after viewing the late-breaking evidence. Sixty-eight percent of Americans believe in angels (that’s 19% more than believe in evolution) already. But this is not an especially awesome example of supernatural shenanigans (the angel totally looks like a glare). And it’s not even a Christmas coincidence: this all took place months ago. I guess the news is all relative.

Ad published December 2008. Click to enlarge.

Amatokin is an expensive facial cream that claims to reduce wrinkles by using stem cell technology. I discovered an ad for Amatokin (right) recently in a glossy fashion mag, and read the copy because I was curious about what spurious claims the manufacturer was making about stem cells in their product. Turns out, the ad doesn’t bother to make any actual claims. Rather, the association between stem cells and Amatokin seems to be one generated by publishing unregulated ad copy that puts these two phrases within close proximity.

I’m disappointed, I have to say. I had hoped the ad would claim (preposterously) that there were actual stem cells in the cream, which would be the second grossest thing ever. Living human cell lines to slather on your face! (You know what that reminds me of? The first grossest thing ever.) There is an implication that the cream instead contains some magic molecule that promotes growth of your own stem cells: “That’s why science is seeking to activate the potential of our inherent adult stem cell reservoirs.”

But that has a pretty serious ick factor too: overactivation of stem cells = cancer. Fortunately, there is absolutely no evidence that this cream has any effect whatsoever, in either stimulating stem cells or fighting wrinkes. But pseudo-reporting about this dubious product is smeared all over the interwebs, much of it lazily plagarizing the same copy (here, here, here, here, here, here). Charmingly, a major talking point is the “controversial” aspect of Amatokin:

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