[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

https://biomedscis.com/fulltext/the-effects-of-solar-activity-and-geomagnetic-disturbance-on-human-health.ID.000203.php

''m) Solar activity may contribute to the development of and be a trigger of the exacerbation of nervous and mental disorders, such schizophrenia, Alzheimer's disease, and multiple sclerosis [38].''

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5805718/

https://blogs.biomedcentral.com/on-health/2019/09/19/geomagnetic-disturbances-and-cardiovascular-mortality-riskutm_sourcebmc_blogsutm_mediumreferralutm_contentnullutm_campaignblog_2019_on-health/

''Our results may be explained through the direct impact of environmental electric and magnetic fields produced during GMD on the human autonomic nervous system. Interactions between GMD and the autonomic nervous system are likely to induce a cascade of reactions in the body's electrophysiology that culminate in the collapse of organ functions and death.''

https://www.newscientist.com/article/dn13769-does-the-earths-magnetic-field-cause-suicides/ Geomagnetic storms and suicides.

https://aepi.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s42494-020-00019-9 geomagnetic activity also causes seizures.

Scientists theorize that this is because when Earth's magnetic field fluctuates, it messes up the pineal gland, causing all sorts of issues. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Geomagnetic_storm

[paul cotter]

All creatures will be influenced by environmental changes but that does not mean a particular set of parameter changes actually cause these pathologies. Heart attacks are known to be caused by a build up of atheroma and I suspect the temperature the individual is exposed to will have far greater effect than the solar wind.

[Bored chemist]

Solar activity may contribute to the development of ...

Or it may not.

That's not a story.

"Our results may be explained through..."

Ditto

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

Solar Storms may cause thousands of heart attack deaths each year: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2324402-solar-storms-may-cause-up-to-5500-heart-related-deaths-in-a-given-year/

[alancalverd]

Given that  worldwide there are about 5,000,000 deaths each year from heart attacks alone, and probably as many more from other "heart-related" causes (whatever they may be), and that the reporting of cause of death varies from country to country and year to year, you'd need to do some pretty shrewd statistics to demonstrate that solar storms are responsible for another 5,500 in any given year.   

There's an odor of bullshit about this story.

[paul cotter]

Indeed, I thought I could smell that aroma, too.

[Bored chemist]

Reminds me of this.
https://www.tylervigen.com/spurious-correlations

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

I just did a quick experiment by rapidly waving a fridge magnet across my heart and also my head. Nothing happened despite a fridge magnet being hundreds of times stronger compared to the Earth's magnetic field. For some odd reason my heart didn't stop despite the studies I linked in my OP suggesting that a much weaker field (Earth's) moving much more slowly has such catastrophic effects on human health.

[paul cotter]

In that case I would expect an mri scanner to instantly kill all patients. Funny, does not seem to happen, weird.

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

In that case I would expect an mri scanner to instantly kill all patients. Funny, does not seem to happen, weird.

Another weird thing: almost all of these articles reporting links between geomagnetic storms and negative health effects are very recent. Like, within the past 3 or so years, cropping up suddenly at a similar time. You'd think people would've noticed the slew people just dying in MRI scanners and everytime they were unfortunate enough to walk past a fridge magnet long before then.

[alancalverd]

I just did a quick experiment by rapidly waving a fridge magnet across my heart and also my head. Nothing happened

Beware the onesided correlation!

Beware self-reported medical statistics!

If you had suffered a fatal heart attack, we would never have learned about it. So there may indeed be a very strong causative correlation, and you are an outlier. Further research is necessary.

Living in the countryside, everything smells of bullshit, so I'm a natural skeptic. What's the correlation between gullibility and urbanisation?

[alancalverd]

In that case I would expect an mri scanner to instantly kill all patients. Funny, does not seem to happen, weird.

You do realise there's a CIA conspiracy to cover up these deaths, don't you?

[Petrochemicals]

there are about 5,000,000 deaths each year from heart attacks

Or is the from a fatty western diet? Or is it from a lack of exercise? Or from dna breakdown during cell replenisment? Or from natural selection due to those more able to store fat during famines having an icreaced representation in the populace? The only under 40 I have heard about having heart attacks have heart defects.

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

Should I be concerned about Harvard peddling this woo? https://ui.adsabs.harvard.edu/abs/2014cosp...40E1114G/abstract#%3A~%3Atext%3DIt%20was%20shown%20statistically%20that%2Ccomparison%20with%20quiet%20geomagnetic%20conditions

[Origin]

Should I be concerned about Harvard peddling this woo?

No, I don't think you need to worry.

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

Should I be concerned about Harvard peddling this woo?

No, I don't think you need to worry.

I'm not too well versed on Harvard, but is it considered a reputable source? I always got the impression that it was but I'm not sure if people were talking about the website I linked to, or something else with the same name.

[Origin]

I'm not too well versed on Harvard, but is it considered a reputable source?

Certainly better than a youtube video.
This is simply one 10 year old paper that may or may not have been peer reviewed. 
So, like I said I wouldn't be too concerned, I'm certainly not going to lose any sleep.  If you're really concerned you could wrap tin foil around your head and for heavens sake don't run by your refrigerator!

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

After reading through some more studies, I've noticed they typically have six things in common.

1. There appears to be a disproportionate amount of studies conducted by Russian authors.

2. Take a shot everytime Schumann Resonances or the Pineal Gland are mentioned.

3. The studies are new, like, published within the past three years. Most of these studies seem to have all suddenly cropped up at once out of nowhere.

4. The studies always specifically blame Earth's magnetism on the negative health effects.

5. The health effects due to solar flares are always very negative.

6. The studies are published or mentioned on reputable-seeming sites.


What exactly are "Schumann Resonances" and "Pineal Gland"?

[paul cotter]

Schumann resonances are the natural resonances of the earth created by the waveguide effect produced by the conductive earth and the conductive ionosphere. At ~7.8hz radiated electromagnetic energy will traverse this cavity and arrive back where it was initiated in phase. Lightning is the source of such energy. The pineal gland is a secretor of melatonin, the sleep hormone. The pineal gland is associated with lots of new age woo-woo.

[SkepticalDebunker (OP)]

Schumann resonances are the natural resonances of the earth created by the waveguide effect produced by the conductive earth and the conductive ionosphere. At ~7.8hz radiated electromagnetic energy will traverse this cavity and arrive back where it was initiated in phase. Lightning is the source of such energy. The pineal gland is a secretor of melatonin, the sleep hormone. The pineal gland is associated with lots of new age woo-woo.

Do Schumann resonances have an effect on human health?