Physician Blog -- Kate Scannell, MD

By Dr. Kate Scannell, Syndicated columnist; First Published in Print: 03/15/2012

If you've been feeling somewhat anxious about our wobbly world, imagining hoof beats from the four horses of the Apocalypse every time a squirrel scampers across your roof -- you might derive some comfort in news events of the prior week.

For example, if you're reading this column on its publication date -- Sunday, March 18th -- you can rest assured that, despite what many doomsayers had predicted, the end of the world did not occur March 16th when the Large Hadron Collider CMS detector was switched on "somewhere" near the French-Swiss border.

You also might let out a sigh of relief that fiery solar storms did not incinerate the Earth to a crispy nubbin last week -- contrary to several grim prophesies.

Finally, solace may come from knowing that preacher Harold Camping announced last week that he would cease making predictions about the world's end. After spending millions of dollars informing and preparing followers for the Rapture on two separate but failed occasions in 2011, he humbly conceded that he'd been wrong to even try. He furthermore declared that "we have no new evidence pointing to another date for the end of the world."

Yes, last week was a white-knuckled, roller-coaster ride for Apocalypse spotters. (more…)