Talk by Teng Yu He on her Fossil Hunting Expeditions

"I found out that Peninsula Malaysia has a suture line that splits it (no volcanoes) and types of fossils found here." Terence Tan

The legal and ethical framework of genetic interventions in reproductive technologies Lau Pin Lean

APOSL is 4 Years Old This Year

Yesterday, APOSL celebrated our 4th birthday. There are over nine hundred people in the Facebook group. I am grateful for the handful of members who drive the events and projects.

 APOSL has always been lucky to have speakers to give talks when we are bored of documentaries.

 

 

Tshen gave a talk on Alfred Wallace in Lake Gardens. 

 

Kok Boon, a theoretical physicist, talked about the future of nuclear power in Malaysia.

 

Terence opened his home for APOSL to have BBQ and social meet ups.

 Some of us went to watch The Force Awakens.

 We made three videos for Melawan Sains Palsu.

 I made memes of Pac Kun just for fun.

And we went for a treasure hunt in Tanjung Sepat to celebrate our birthday. We honoured Alan Turing. We made new friends from Iraq and Iran.

It has been a fun 4 years. Thanks to everyone who contributed big and small to keep APOSL going.

Brown Eggs Vs White Eggs

Dengue and Zika: Irresponsible Claims From University

Recently, a senior lecturer from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Dr Harisun Yaakob, claimed to have found a cure for dengue and Zika. The supposed cure came in the form of herbal pills based on papaya leaves. The news was carried by many local newspapers and portals.

Such claims are very irresponsible and misleading. 

Luckily, the Health Department has countered the claims and produced a guide on what constitutes medicine and what constitutes 'claims'.

It goes on to state, "Semakan yang dibuat mendapati produk ‘Anti D’ngue’ tidak berdaftar dengan PBKD dan juga tidak ada kelulusan untuk produk tersebut digunakan dalam kajian ke atas manusia. ('Anti D'ngue' is not registered with the ministry and also has no approval for the product to be used in a study on humans.)

And, "Sehingga kini juga, belum ada produk dengan formulasi berasaskan herba yang didaftarkan oleh PBKD untuk merawat demam Denggi atau Zika." (To date, there has not been a product with herbal formulations registered by the minitry to treat dengue fever or Zika.)

Kenyataan Akhbar KPK 20 Feb 2016: Isu Kapsul dari Daun Betik, Minyak Kelapa Dara & Beberapa Herba Lain yang Dihasilkan oleh Pihak Universiti Teknologi Malaysia sebagai Anti-Denggi & Anti-Zika (http://kpkesihatan.com/2016/02/20/kenyataan-akhbar-kpk-20-feb-2016-isu-kapsul-dari-daun-betik-minyak-kelapa-dara-beberapa-herba-lain-yang-dihasilkan-oleh-pihak-universiti-teknologi-malaysia-sebagai-anti-denggi-anti-zika/)

Melawan sains palsu mesin dan pad detox Bloopers

APOSL Melawan sains palsu mesin dan pad detox

2014: Disagreement, censorship and shaming in APOSL

Yesterday, Afiq posted this and some APOSLs voiced their distaste:
https://www.facebook.com/groups/aposlmy/permalink/1002040719839473/?comment_id=1002330653143813&ref=notif&notif_t=group_comment_follow

APOSL will be 4 years old this year. I remember starting this club with the target of getting 100 members. Today there are over 900 members in our Facebook group!

Our goal is to propagate science and we have done as much as we could over the last four years. We have held monthly meetings, invited speakers to give talks, done street surveys, produced science videos, visited science museums, supported projects and connected with other science-based bodies.

There are two areas we do not touch: politics and religion. Both are touchy subjects. Both bring out the worst of people at times. Now, there is little connection between politics and science, however, I know APOSL will have to face religion and science sometime, sooner or later.

The comments on Afiq's post were interesting to me because a few APOSL members countered him with facts and evidence. I have met Afiq before and I am sure he is not a bigot nor xenophobic. I guess he could have framed his concerns better in his post but I get the gist of what he is trying to say. I must say, I have learned new things by his post and the responses posted.

I feel shaming and censorship should only be left as the last option, for the extreme, dog-headed, die-die-cannot-be-wrong, won't-change-his-mind, loud-mouth person.

Opinions by members are just opinions, they do not represent the club. We should respond to genuine concerns and questions. If we shame and censor people, who will ask any more questions or open new discussions? Instead, we should continue to respond in a civilised manner and be nice.

I do not think APOSL will accept posts that belittle religion (see example below) but we should open ourselves to genuine questions and concerns that may step in the area of religion

Not something to post on APSOL's FB group.

 APSOLs could respond to questions like:

• Age of the Earth
• Origin of the universe
• Origin of life
• Angels and demons 

2016, we can do it!