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[ NEWS AND COMMENT Greek Government Takes Action against Maker of Nanobionic Clothing SIMON DAVIS

Following an investigation published by claims lack scientific documentation. As On June 26, Vaxevanis and his team journalists Kostas Vaxevanis and Ste- for the the claim about reflecting in- featured a story on his investigative jour- fanos Gogos, the General Consumer frared rays back to the body, the GCS nalism show on the Greek state television Secretariat (GCS), a Greek government had doubts about whether Nanobionic broadcaster on how bad science was used agency, ordered the im mediate removal products could do this to a greater degree to make misleading claims for marketing of key health and product claims by than a conventional fabric. In addition, purposes. The products in the story were Viotech Ltd., makers of the Nanobionic the an nounce ment mentions “consumer cosmetics, hologram brace lets, and so- clothing line. de ception” because “the impression is called “nano-vests.” The latter are sold by Nanobionic products include vests given that the products are distributed by Nanobionic—but not exclusively. The and T-shirts that retail for 298 euros a multi-national company.” The GCS show made no mention of brands and ($366). The company claims on its web- also asked for the removal of the claim obfuscated all company logos. None - site that each product “offers relief, in- that the company’s cited study was con- theless, this led to an immediate response creases strength and stamina, reduces fa- ducted “under the supervision of the by Triantafyllo poulos, who devoted an tigue, and offers a sense of well-being. University of Athens”—this after the entire show a few days later to question- Suit able for better recovery.” Vaxevanis HOT DOC investigation and an official ing Vaxevanis’s claims and reiterating his and Gogos claim to have information in- denial by the university’s dean. belief in the efficacy of Nanobionic based dicating that over 20,000 vests have been Viotech Ltd. is based in a suburb of on the numerous testimonials by cus- sold, estimating the company’s revenues Athens and does not list any domestic tomers—including famous athletes— at over 6,000,000 euros ($7,426,000). distributors or retailers on its site. The that he played for his audience. The products are frequently featured company sells directly to consumers and According to Vaxevanis and Gogos, on the television show of well-known accepts orders via phone and its website. this is what prompted them to publish Greek journalist Makis Tri anta - The only other known Greek retailer an investigation specifically into Nano - fyllopoulos. The Vaxevanis/Gogos in- for Nanobionic is the zougla.gr website, bionic and its relationship to Trianta - vestigation of Nanobionic was pub- which is the online presence for journal- fyllopoulos. The relationship appears lished in the July 19, 2012, issue of the ist Triantafyllopoulos. Trianta fyllo - quite close; Nanobionic is based in a Greek magazine HOT DOC. poulos frequently features stories relat- building owned by the Triantafyllo - As reported on Vaxevanis’s news web- ing to Nanobionic on his late night poulos family that also houses his official site on August 6, 2012, the GCS issued television talk show, often accompanied website zougla.gr. At the time that the an announcement asking Viotech Ltd. to by Viotech’s phone number featured HOT DOC article was being written, a withdraw all claims of beneficial health prominently so that viewers can place sign above the Nanobionic offices stated effects since all available data about the orders. “Under the supervision of the National

As shown in an experiment, the Nanobionic product does not reflect far infrared waves back to the body as Viotech Ltd. claims. Arm area: Tmin 31.3°C, Tmax 34.1°C. Nanobionic surface: Tmin 30.9°C, Tmax 33.5°C. T-shirt surface: Tmin 30.4°C, Tmax 34.1°C.

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Capodis trian University of Athens.” The pany’s claims, Vaxevanis and Gogos set same and the minimum was 0.9°C lower. principals for Viotech Ltd. are the Psip- out to examine the product itself. Their This would indicate that any fabric causes sikas brothers. George Psipsikas is a fre- first step was to purchase an ankle brace some change in temperature but nothing quent guest on Tri anta fyllo poulos’s for fifty-nine euros ($72) plus a value that shows that the Nanobionic material show, particularly when Nanobionic added tax of 13 percent. This is not the behaved substantially differently than the products are being discussed. Viotech value added tax rate for retail clothing, fabric of the researcher’s T-shirt. When Ltd. did not respond to a request for a but rather for medical products. The label shown these results, Samaras agreed and statement regarding the investigation by designates it as an “orthopedic product” also added: “perhaps this is why I was un- Vaxevanis and Gogos. with a composition of “Polyamid 55%, able to locate any information regarding According to the company’s official Elasthan 45%, Ceramic Textile.” This in- the physics of how the fabric works (as website: dicates a polymer fabric with a ceramic opposed to biology or medicine)?” texture, similar to what is used in curtains, Nanobionic® intelligent clothes re - However, the company does cite its flect the emitted by the hats, and other general-use fabrics. This own study. As recently as June 23, 2012, human body, which is 80% infrared was further corroborated by Loukas Viotech claimed on its website (al- waves (IR) and transform it into Far Margaritis, professor of cell biology and though as of August 6 this is no longer Infrared Waves (FIR). electronic microscopy at the University the case) that: The reflection of our body’s Infra - of Athens, who examined a fragment red Rays, with the use of Nano - The study was conducted under the from the sample product under both a bionic® products, essentially pene- supervision of the University of trates our body at a depth of regular and a scanning transmission Athens, in Athens, in September ap proximately 4 cm, creating a sweet electron microscope. According to Mar- 2011. The object of the study was the warmth, with an effect on the tissues garitis in the Vaxevanis/Gogos article: effect of the Nanobionic technology and cells, helping in their faster re- “One side is smooth and the other side on sports performances. The result of generation. has reticulated fibers ... there are many the study was that the Nanobionic® The result from the use of Nano- fabric and technology positively affect bionic® intelligent clothes could be such types of fabric with a metallic athletic performance. ALL STATIS- significant improvement in perform- weave and many of them are used to TICAL DIFFERENCES WERE ance. Nanobionic® technology may in- manufacture curtains, mosquito nets, <0.01. crease endurance, cardio respiratory hats, etc. with the purpose of reflecting Specifically, by wearing the Nano bionic stamina, anaerobic capacity, strength electromagnetic waves. There is no pub- T-shirt: and flexibility. It could also reduce lac- lished peer reviewed study that states tic acid, heart rates, premature fatigue All the parameters of cardiorespira- and sweating. Nanobionic® clothes that such a product has health benefits.” tory endurance significantly in - may be also used for faster recovery. The next step was to go to the Mate- creased. rials Science and Engineering Depart- Vaxevanis and Gogos sent Nano - All the parameters of anaerobic ment of the School of Chemical Engi- capacity significantly increased. bionic product literature to Theodoros neering at the National Technical The explosive strength and power Samaras, associate professor of physics University of Athens (NTUA) where were significantly better in both legs. at Aristotle University and and a spe- Professor and Deputy Dean Moro poulou The vertical leap was significantly cialist in infrared waves and asked him and her team examined the ankle brace higher. if the company’s claim could be true. The flexibility test was signifi- using a thermographic camera. They cantly better. His answer: “Infrared waves cannot placed it on the elbow of one of the penetrate the skin at the depth the com- NTUA researchers. The purpose of the When asked by Vaxevanis and Gogos pany claims, since they do not go past measurements was to investigate whether about Nanobionic’s use of the university the stratum corneum, which is the layer this particular product reflects far infrared name in its advertising, its dean, Theo- that contains dead skin cells. Given that waves back to the body. In order for this dosis Pelegrinis, stated: “The University under normal circumstances over 50 claim to be corroborated empirically, the Board has no jurisdiction, nor does the percent of the body’s heat is released thermographic readings would have to University conduct any studies of this through this mechanism (Cameron show a substantially lower temperature kind. The responsibility for any such J.R., Skofronick J.G., Grant R.M.; on the surface of the Nanobionic product study falls exclusively on the individual Physics of the Body; 2nd edition, 1999; than that of the body. who conducts it.” Medical Physics Publishing), this does The readings did not support the The study was presented at the 59th lead to questions about possible nega- company’s claim. The minimum surface Annual Meeting and Third World tive consequences of wearing these gar- temperature on the ankle brace was 0.4°C Congress on Exercise is Medicine in ments, especially by groups with re- lower and the maximum was 0.6°C lower San Francisco, California, May 29–June duced thermoregulatory capabilities.” than on the bare arm. When comparing 2, 2012. The abstract was included— Having thus ruled out any known the arm temperature to that of the T- along with all the other conference pre- theoretical health benefits in the com- shirt, the maximum temperature was the sentations—in Medicine & Science in

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[ NEWS AND COMMENT

Sports & Exercise, the official journal of the American College of Sports Medi- Cattle Mutilation ‘Mystery’ Likely Normal Predation cine (ACSM). To date it has not been published in a peer-reviewed publication. ACSM is not an academic institution. Ranchers in Colorado are on edge fol- the product of sacrificial rituals. But a According to its website: “We are a world- lowing the latest of several apparent look at an earlier, similar case suggests wide membership organization (like the bizarre attacks on horses and livestock— that the deaths were perfectly natural. college of surgeons) for more than 20,000 the latest in July 2012. Accord ing to an professionals in the sports medicine and In many cases mundane explanations article in the Denver Post, “In recent exercise science fields. We don’t have a have been found for initially mysterious weeks, a horse was shot and had its campus or student body, and you can’t get animal deaths. For example, ranchers head skinned at the LeValley Ranch a degree from ACSM.” and police in Colorado’s El Paso County property, which is part of the Esty Ranch Vaxevanis and Gogos showed the were baffled by the strange deaths of holdings about eight miles east of Gun- study to Konstantinos Natsis, president sixteen horses and mules in a pasture nison. The horse also had its tongue and of the Sports Medicine Association of in 2005. Like the animals on the Esty anus removed. Less than two months Greece. According to Natsis: Ranch, authorities at first believed that ago, a prize heifer in the same heavily This study has not been conducted by the animals had been shot because traveled area just off of Colorado 50 and some carcasses were found with what doctors. Someone who has not studied Colorado 114 had its tongues, lips, and medicine cannot conduct medical appeared to be bullet wounds. No other anus removed. ‘To me it looks like a rit- studies. Their claims do not hold up obvious injuries or marks were found on ualistic issue. Either that, or they are scientifically. The sample size (22) is the animals, making the deaths all the too small and the methodology is not high on drugs. There is just no logical ex- more mysterious. scientifically documented. There is no planation for it,’ said Esty Ranch owner scientifically documented evidence that However, a more thorough medical ex- Mike Clarke.” would corroborate the properties they The foreman on the ranch stated amination found no trace of bullets in the assign to this vest. In these cases studies wounds and determined that the injuries have to be large and need to be proven that though they assumed the animals over a large sample. The study would had been shot, no bullets had been were superficial and could not have killed also have to state the mechanism by found in the wounds—which made it all the animals. Finally, veterinary investiga- which its conclusions are proven. For the more mysterious. Apparent cattle tors concluded that most of the animals, me to say that I took these some peo- if not all of them, had in fact been killed ple, did a study, and got these results mutilations have plagued ranchers in doesn’t prove anything. There is no Colorado, New Mexico, Texas, and other by lightning. The mysterious “bullet other published study on the internet parts of the Southwest for decades. wounds” never existed. Often, “mysteri- or in a journal abroad that relates to Many explanations have been put forth, ous” or “surgical” wounds are actually this matter, nor an approval by the created by ordinary predators and scav- FDA. including extraterrestrial aliens, religious cults, and chupacabras. engers, both large (such as vultures, In their article, Vaxevanis and Gogos So far, the favored theory of the fab- ravens, and crows) and small (such as conclude: “Makis Triantafyllo poulos ulists in this case is that the killings are blowflies and maggots). chose to become a television salesperson for his own reasons. It is his right to do so. All he has to do is drop the facade of journalism and start a telemarketing show ... it is now the responsibility of the GCS, the National Council for Radio and Television, and of course the District Attorney to intervene.... Makis can do whatever he wants—even invent ‘nano-shoes’ and claim to walk on water like a new Jesus.” Simon Davis is the director of online marketing at a healthcare publications company and event coordinator for the Center for Inquiry–Washing- ton, DC. He was a resident of Greece for twenty- five years.

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Blimp Spurs ‘UFO’ Sighting Over Olympics BENJAMIN RADFORD

A UFO was seen by millions of people ing high above an anti-government they see it,” Sheaffer concluded. “The hovering over the opening ceremonies protest in Moscow’s Bolotnaya Square resemblance between this object and at the London Olympics in early Au- in Russia. It was strangely silent, and the unknown object in the video is gust (http://www.youtube.com/watch? clearly not a helicopter. The UFO was obvious. Case Closed: The object was feature=player_embedded&v=gtoZSi caught on video and had some pro- the Goodyear Blimp.” DZ58k). The glowing craft could be testers wondering if they were being Some early commenters stated that seen during the huge fireworks display watched by aliens. Later analysis the specific blimp was the “Spirit of at the end. Most people missed (or ig- showed that the UFO was in fact a Europe II,” however Huffington Post nored) it, but one eagle-eyed TV camera drone used by the news media. writer Lee Speigel “called Goodyear So there’s plenty of precedent for viewer was convinced he’d seen some- headquarters and interviewed one of thing mysterious. unidentified flying objects being seen their execs,” who stated that it was in He posted a video of it on YouTube by thousands—and equal precedent fact the “Spirit of Safety.” Speigel and it went viral, stirring up contro- to believe that they are probably not added, “there’s no mystery about why versy around the Internet. Enhancing extraterrestrial in origin but instead nobody could make out the word the video, some saw a dome atop a have an earthly explanation. disc-shaped spacecraft; others at first In this case, the mystery was fi- ‘Goodyear’ on the blimp. It was never thought it might be a blimp but real- nally put to rest after a few days: it on the blimp because Goodyear isn’t a ized it wasn’t because, as one poster was the Goodyear blimp, which had sponsor of the Olympics.” asked, “Why would a company spend provided aerial coverage of the But, as with most UFO explana- millions getting a blimp in the air and Olympic festivities. SKEPTICAL IN- tions, some true believers insisted that then not put advertising on it?” QUIRER’s own “Psychic Vibrations” it was an unknown craft, saying for ex- This is not the first time that columnist Robert Sheaffer, who ana- ample that the image did not seem to UFOs have been sighted flying over lyzed the case on his Bad UFOs blog, be blimp-shaped. One commenter ad- or near public events. Though extra- noted that the UFO had already been mitted that the object “looks blimpish,” terrestrials have been shy about land- identified by many people: It was the but then (incorrectly) stated that ing on the proverbial White House “Spirit of Safety” blimp. Sheaffer “blimps don’t glow.” It’s true that many lawn, they have (allegedly) appeared compared the image from the video blimps do not glow—except when they above huge crowds many times. For to photos taken from the website of are brightly lit from below by a world- example, in December 2011, an the Goodyear Blimp: “I think those class fireworks display. unidentified craft was spotted hover- people know their own Blimp when Examiner writer Tom Rose noted, “Ardent believers, some with impres- sive video analytical skills, are using the web to make their case that the sighting was authentic.” For example, one person put up a YouTube video analysis that he believes clearly makes the case that “the object filmed Dur- ing the Olympic opening ceremony is not a blimp or drone. ... I am con- firming this as a genuine UFO sight- ing.” He did not explain where the Goodyear blimp—which is known to have been in the same location at the same time as the “mysterious UFO”— actually was, if they were indeed two different crafts. Benjamin Radford is the deputy editor of the SKEPTICAL INQUIRER.

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[ NEWS AND COMMENT

Bigfoot Hoaxer Killed SGU Launches ‘Occ the Skeptical Caveman’ Video in Accident GURMUKH MONGIA BENJAMIN RADFORD

A Montana man was struck and killed August 26 while trying to hoax a Big foot sighting. The Montana Highway Patrol reported that Randy Lee Tenley of Kalispell was pronounced dead at the scene on U.S. Highway 93 south of Kalispell after being hit by two cars con- secutively. Tenley was wearing a military-style ghillie suit, which is a type of camouflage that resembles vegetation or foliage. Po- lice interviewed Tenley’s friends to de- termine why he would be wearing a full- The folks behind the weekly podcast tribe, each of whom has his own idio- length dark ghillie suit in the right-hand The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe have syncrasies and different faulty ways of lane of the highway at night, and were plans for a brand new skeptical video understanding reality. Though Occ is apparently told of Tenley’s nocturnal series called Occ the Skeptical Caveman. always the voice of reason, he contin- -inspired mischief. Trooper Jim The pilot episode of this series has al- ually finds it difficult to get his peers Schneider, interviewed by Daily Inter ready been created and is available for to understand his message. This leads Lake.com, said that Tenley “was trying viewing. To ensure a successful run, a to comedic situations that are sure to to make people think he was Sasquatch Kickstarter.com campaign was set up resonate with anybody who’s tried to so people would call in a Sasquatch to generate the funds for the additional convince people of reality when they’re sighting. You can’t make it up. I haven’t four planned episodes. stuck in their ways. seen or heard anything like this before. The goal, set at $17,000, has already The idea for this series was ham- Obviously, his suit made it difficult for been reached. More money will help to mered out in a writing session that was people to see him.” Alcohol is believed to increase the production value, so fur- intended to generate ideas for a video have been a factor. ther donations are always welcome at to display at The most famous film of a Big- http://www.theskepticsguide.org/store. (TAM). At one point in the discussion, foot—one shot in 1967 in Bluff Creek, aspx. Depending on the level of dona- the group got to thinking about what it would be like to be a skeptic at different California, by a man named Roger Pat- tion, the Kickstarter donors can expect points in history. When they got to terson—is widely considered a hoax a range of benefits starting at extra thinking about the Paleolithic period, pulled off by a man in a costume. video content all the way up to the maximum prize of a guest rogue slot on the idea of a skeptically thinking cave- Whether Patterson was the hoaxer or man was so appealing that they decided victim of a hoax is unclear, but anyone the podcast, or the option of a speaking role in one of the Occ episodes. to go with it. Episodes of Occ the Skep- pulling such a stunt these days is taking In the show, Douglas Sobon plays tical Caveman will be made available on a real risk. This tragedy also highlights Occ, a slightly effete intellectual in a the Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe the prevalence and dangers of Bigfoot tribe of caveman yokels who, for exam- YouTube channel (www..com hoaxing. It is unknown whether Tenley ple, think it’s a good idea to urinate on /user/TheSkepticsGuide) where you had pulled the same prank previous a fire in order to ensure a good hunt. can also check out some of their past times (and therefore may be responsible Occ prefers to fix broken spears and video projects, such as a parody of a for earlier Bigfoot reports in the area), work on innovations that will improve medium’s performance called Passing but it seems unlikely that he was killed the lives of the cavemen in his tribe. Away, and a parody of the classic film during the one and only time he chose Together with his sidekick Pike (played Goodfellas called True Fellas. to don the suit to scare people into by Bryan Kopp) he challenges the su- Gurmukh Mongia is a computer scientist work- thinking they saw Bigfoot. perstitions and fuzzy thinking of his ing in the field of web development. He cur- rently operates a blog and podcast related to Benjamin Radford is the deputy editor of the fellow cavemen. critical thinking, The Dumbasses Guide To SKEPTICAL INQUIRER. Each episode will feature Occ deal- ing with a different member of his Knowledge (www.dumbassguide.info).

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[ NEWS AND COMMENT

Martin Fleischmann of Cold Fusion Notoriety Dies at Eighty-Five

good reason. Pons and Fleischmann A report of the U.S. Depart ment of En- gave no evidence of their reactions hav- ergy found no evidence for the effect. ing produced neutrons of the high ener- Soon the incident became a case study in gies expected in fusion reactions. apparent self-delusion and pseudo- Major universities and national labo- science. ratories in the United States and the Cold fusion still has its devotees today, United Kingdom quickly set up attempts although the term itself is seldom anymore to replicate or otherwise test the experi- used. There are still sporadic claims of ments, and they consistently failed to get excess heat produced in table-top ex - the same results or show any evidence of periments, but no persuasive evidence of nuclear fusion. true nuclear fusion in them ever surfaced. Pons and Fleischmann found them- selves on the defensive and un able to A number of excellent books about counter the onslaught of scientific criti- the cold fusion furor were published. cism. They maintained their results were Among them was Too Hot to Handle by real, but most scientists, including those physicist Frank Close, head of the theo- who had been attempting controlled fu- retical physics division at Rutherford Ap- Martin Fleischmann, one of the two sion for decades using intense magnetic pleton Laboratory in the United King- once-prominent electrochemists whose fields (magnetic confinement fusion) or dom. He tried to ascertain whether the names, for better or worse, will always be via intense bombardments with high- work of Pons and Fleisch mann was “a associated with the debacle of “cold fu- powered lasers or particle beams (inertial delusion, an error, or a fraud” and found sion,” died August 3, 2012, at the age of confinement fusion), remained dubious. evidence of all three.n eighty-five. In March 1989, Fleischmann and colleague Stanley Pons, both then at the MonsterTalk Wins Parsec Podcast Award University of Utah, startled the scien- tific world by announcing at a press conference that they had achieved a MonsterTalk, a podcast by SKEPTICAL controlled nuclear fusion reaction in a INQUIRER Deputy Editor Benjamin Rad- laboratory apparatus at room tempera- ford, Blake Smith, and Karen Stollz now, ture. They claim ed that they had pro- won a Parsec, a national podcasting duced four times the energy put in and award. The Parsecs are annual awards that their discovery could lead to an in- created to recognize excellence in sci- exhaustible source of energy for the ence fiction podcasts and podcast nov- world. This assertion of “cold fusion” els. MonsterTalk won in the “Best Fact was one of the most sensational scien- Behind the Fiction” category, for pod- tific claims of the century. casts that “explore the facts that influ- The announcement provoked im - ence the fictions—the science, history, culture, and mythology that inspire these stories.” mediate and strong scientific skepti- MonsterTalk is a science show about monsters, an audio podcast that critically examines cism, since nuclear fusion—the reaction the science (and sometimes folklore) behind legendary creatures such as Bigfoot, vampires, that powers the stars, including the genies, werewolves, and chupacabras. MonsterTalk interviews scientists and investigators sun—had been thought to require enor- who shine a spotlight on the things that go bump in the night. mous temperatures and pressures. The award was presented on Septem ber 1, 2012, at Dragon*Con, the world’s largest The fact that the announcement came science fiction and fantasy conference, held in Atlanta, Geor gia, over Labor Day weekend. in a news conference rather than in a le- Podcasts are episodic audio or video downloads similar to radio programs but are typically gitimate scientific forum and was not yet independently created and produced. MonsterTalk began in 2009 and has an archive of published in a peer-reviewed scientific nearly seventy episodes. The MonsterTalk podcast is available free via iTunes; to listen to journal also raised bright red flags. shows or for more information, visit www.skeptic.com/podcasts/monstertalk. A worldwide media storm and a sci- Previous nominees and winners of Parsec Awards have included ’s Skeptoid entific and public controversy of epic podcast, the Geologic Podcast, , The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, and the proportions quickly ensued. Physi cists in Astronomy Cast. For more information about the Parsec Awards, see www.parsecawards.com. particular doubted the claims, and for

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