The BBC’s esteemed science
program - Horizons - investigates the scientific evidence that homeopathy
works, and comes up with a surprising method of investigation and some
surprising results.
This two part special report puts one of the most controversial forms of
medicine in use to today to the ultimate test. It’s Homeopathy, a type of
medicine, which defies the laws of science. If it works, it could
transform the world. If the results are negative, then millions of people
could be wasting their money.
Part Two : Many of the people who take homeopathic
medicines are convinced they work. Has science missed something, or could
there be a more conventional explanation? In part two of the test, the
investigation begins with the Placebo Effect.
The placebo effect is a well-documented medical phenomenon. Often, a
patient taking pills will feel better, regardless of what the pills
contain, simply because they believe the pills will work.
Could the beneficial effects of homeopathy be entirely due to the placebo
effect? If so, then homeopathy ought not to work on babies or animals,
who have no knowledge that they are taking a medicine. Yet many people
are convinced that it does.
Since the Benveniste case in Part One, more scientists have claimed to
see measurable effects of homeopathic medicines. In one of the most
convincing tests to date, Dr. David Reilly conducted clinical trials on
patients suffering from hay fever.
Using hundreds of patients, Reilly was able to show a noticeable
improvement in patients taking a homeopathic remedy over those in the
control group. Tests on different allergies produced similar results. Yet
the scientific community called these results into question because they
could not explain how the homeopathic medicines could have
worked.
Then Professor Madeleine Ennis attended a conference in which a French
researcher claimed to be able to show that water had a memory. Ennis was
unimpressed - so the researcher challenged her to try the experiment for
herself. When she did so, she was astonished to find that her results
agreed.
Although many researchers now offered proof that the effects of
homeopathy can be measured, none have yet applied for James Randi's
million dollar prize. For the first time in the programme's history,
Horizon decided to conduct their own scientific experiment.
The programme gathered a team of scientists from among the most respected
institutes in the country. The Vice-President of the Royal Society,
Professor John Enderby oversaw the experiment, and James Randi flew in
from the United States to watch.
As with Benveniste's original experiment, Randi insisted that strict
precautions be taken to ensure that none of the experimenters knew
whether they were dealing with homeopathic solutions, or with pure water
Two independent scientists performed tests to see whether their samples
produced a biological effect. Only when the experiment was over was it
revealed which samples were real.
http://www.abc.net.au/catalyst/stories/promo.htm
