North Texas Skeptic - Vol 15 No 01 - 2001

Magazine Overview

Title: The North Texas Skeptic
Issue: Volume 15, Number 1
Date: January 2001
Publisher: The North Texas Skeptics

This issue of The North Texas Skeptic features a lead article investigating the claims surrounding "Clustered Water," a product promoted by Cellcore International, Inc. The newsletter also includes updates on the NTS program schedule, the NTS Skeptical Library, and a "Skeptical Ink" comic strip.

Clustered Water: A Brief Investigation of "The Scientific Breakthrough of the Century"

By Daniel R. Barnett

The article begins by introducing "Clustered Water" as a product advertised in publications like Media Bypass magazine, which are associated with conspiracy theories and alternative health claims. The author, Daniel R. Barnett, expresses a desire for news delivered with "common sense, courage, and integrity," contrasting it with "Big Media."

Barnett recounts his first exposure to Clustered Water at Preparedness Expo '99 in Dallas, where promoters displayed charts with images of water molecules. He notes that the product is the invention of Lee H. Lorenzen, PhD, a licensed clinical nutritionist and chairman of Cellcore International, Inc. According to Cellcore-Utah's website, Dr. Lorenzen developed Clustered Water while trying to help his wife, Penny, who was severely ill. His research led him to adapt resonant techniques to water, and he was inspired by the "healing water" of Lourdes, France, which he later examined and found to be "clustered water."

Penny Lorenzen provides a testimonial, describing her recovery from pneumonia, dehydration, and chronic fatigue after using her husband's solutions for 15 years, enabling her to pursue activities like horseback riding and tennis.

The article details the purported benefits of Clustered Water, including hydrating cells, enhancing the immune system, improving cell-to-cell communication, and energizing the body through resonance. The Media Bypass advertisement also claimed it transports nutrients and enzymes and removes waste products.

Barnett describes his attempt to obtain information about Clustered Water, initially calling a wrong number for a weight loss program and later receiving marketing materials that included images of water molecules taken using "cryogenic electron microscopy." The ad claimed these images represented single water molecules. Figure 1 showed tap water, with an accompanying claim from Dr. Morris linking chlorinated water to cancer. Figure 2 showed distilled water, described as having its "memory stripped or erased." Figure 3 depicted polar ice water, described as a "beautiful hexagonally shaped water molecule" and "pure Clustered Water™."

Dr. Lorenzen's own Clustered Water molecule is presented in Figure 4. A newer form, the "Atma molecule" (Figure 5), is described as having a perfect geometric form for "reception and transmission of energy" and is the basis for the Harmony H2O product.

The cost of Clustered Water is noted: $65 for a 4-ounce bottle of SBX-4000, or $30 for a 4-ounce bottle of Harmony H2O (which makes four gallons), and $2 per 16-ounce bottle of ready-to-drink Clustered Water.

Barnett then delves into criticisms of Clustered Water. He mentions negative remarks from a disgruntled supporter addressed to Keith A. McCall, a biochemist at Duke University Medical Center, who had examined a similar product and found it lacking scientific merit. McCall, when shown the Cellcore images, stated that they depicted "many thousand water molecules packed together, forming the solid well known as ice," and that the "clustered" appearance was due to the crystalline matrix formed during freezing, not a unique molecular structure. He noted that slight differences in cooling conditions could produce different crystal appearances.

McCall expressed skepticism about claims that Clustered Water is a "ring of six water molecules found in nature," highlighting the discrepancy with images showing thousands of molecules. He also doubted the possibility of imaging a single water molecule, a sentiment echoed by H. Kumar Wickramasinghe, PhD, from IBM's Imaging Science and Measurement Technology department, who stated that imaging single water molecules would be a "great challenge due to its small size."

Barnett concludes that if Dr. Lorenzen can demonstrate a reliable technique for imaging single water molecules, his contributions would be significant; otherwise, he risks being branded a charlatan. He notes that $30 for a bottle of water is expensive.

What's New

This section, curated by Robert Park, presents several brief reports on various topics:

• Qi and Kirlian Photography: The article questions the validity of Kirlian photography, which claims to reveal an "aura" around objects, stating it is known to be corona discharge. It mentions a physicist who used Kirlian images to diagnose deficiencies, with a PhD physicist correspondent on ABC's Good Morning America finding the claims resonant.
• Predictions for 2001: The newsletter humorously acknowledges a missed prediction from the previous year (BlackLight Power's IPO) and offers new, satirical predictions, including dowsing rods working, the MIR space station splattering across France, PlayStation-2 being worse than power lines for cancer links, and an investigation into "sinister forces" controlling falling oak trees.
• Cell Phones and Cancer: The article revisits the controversy surrounding cell phone use and cancer, noting that past concerns about power lines causing cancer were largely dismissed by a National Cancer Institute study. It reports on two new studies (one industry, one NCI) that found no increased risk of brain cancer for cell phone users.
• The Biochip: This section discusses a device called the "Biochip," marketed to counteract the supposed effects of EMF from computers and cell phones by emitting noise.
• Bioelectric Shield: Another product, the "Bioelectric Shield," is described as a pendant designed to balance and strengthen the natural energy field and shield users from EMF.
• Secrets, Lies, and the United States Congress: The article mentions a proposed increase in DOE Lab employees undergoing polygraph exams and Senator Jeff Bingaman's request for the National Academy of Sciences to study the validity of polygraphs. It references CIA spy Aldrich Ames, who labeled the polygraph "pseudoscience."
• Alternative Physics and AAAS: A seminar hosted by "Friends of Health" at AAAS is discussed, featuring proponents of Qigong and "non-deterministic quantum interconnectedness" in biology and medicine. Gary Swarz appeared on ABC Good Morning America with a PhD physicist to discuss Qi.
• Cold Fusion: The article addresses intelligence warnings about rogue nations potentially using "cold fusion" to create terrorist bombs, linking this to speculation by Martin Fleischmann. It notes the PR campaign by cold fusion proponents to gain respectability, while stating that the American Physical Society (APS) accepts all contributed papers, including those on controversial topics, as preferable to censorship.

The Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal

This section describes the mission of The Skeptical Inquirer magazine, published bimonthly by the Committee for the Scientific Investigation of Claims of the Paranormal (CSICOP). The magazine aims to encourage critical investigation of paranormal and fringe-science claims from a scientific viewpoint and disseminate factual information. It promotes science, scientific inquiry, critical thinking, science education, and the use of reason. Subscription information for The Skeptical Inquirer is provided, along with a link to the CSICOP website.

NTS Program Schedule for the Year 2001

A list of upcoming NTS (North Texas Skeptics) meetings and events for 2001 is provided, including elections and presentations by various speakers.

The NTS Skeptical Library

Information is given about the NTS Skeptical Library, where members can borrow books for research or pleasure. A link to the online book listings is provided, and those without internet access can obtain a printed list by mail.

Skeptical Ink

A comic strip by Prasad Golla and John Blanton is included, featuring a humorous exchange about the dangers of electromagnetic fields, with one character dismissing the topic as "a bunch of bunk."

Recurring Themes and Editorial Stance

The North Texas Skeptic consistently adopts a skeptical and critical stance towards pseudoscientific claims, alternative health remedies, and unsubstantiated paranormal phenomena. The publication prioritizes scientific evidence, critical thinking, and reason in examining various claims. The editorial stance is to debunk misinformation and promote a rational, evidence-based approach to understanding the world. This issue's focus on "Clustered Water" exemplifies this by dissecting dubious scientific claims and marketing tactics. The "What's New" section further reinforces this by covering a range of topics from fringe science to health scares, all viewed through a lens of critical inquiry.