The concept of the memory of water goes back to 1988 when the late Professor Jacques Benveniste published, in the international scientific journal Nature, claims that extremely high 'ultramolecular' dilutions of an antibody had effects in the human basophil degranulation test, a laboratory model of immune response. In other words, the water diluent 'remembered' the antibody long after it was gone. His findings were subsequently denounced as 'pseudoscience' and yet, despite the negative impact this had at the time, the idea has not gone away.

In this special issue of Homeopathy, scientists from the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Italy, Russia, USA as well as the UK present remarkably convergent views from groups using entirely different methods, indicating that large-scale structural effects can occur in liquid water, and can increase with time. Such effects might account for claims of memory of water effects.

Commenting on the special issue, Professor Chaplin said: "Science has a lot more to discover about such effects and how they might relate to homeopathy. It is unjustified to dismiss homeopathy, as some scientists do, just because we don't have a full understanding of how it works." In his overview he is critical of the "unscientific rhetoric" of some scientists who reject the memory of water concept "with a narrow view of the subject and without any examination or appreciation of the full body of evidence."

• Not 'one iota' of exercise is needed to lose weight, says scientific study
• Why exercise by itself is insufficient for weight loss
• Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

• Not 'one iota' of exercise is needed to lose weight, says scientific study
• Why exercise by itself is insufficient for weight loss
• Why Exercise Won't Make You Thin

• Are Boys Turning in to Girls Because of Man Made Chemicals?
• Men under threat from 'gender bending' chemicals
• Phthalates May Impact a Child's Development
• Hormone Experts Worried About Plastics, Chemicals
• 1,300+ Chemicals Are Messing with Your Hormones
• Phthalate Warning: Medications Contain Chemicals that "Feminize" Unborn Baby Boys
• Landmark study exposes the impact of hormone-disrupting chemicals on you, your family and the environment
• Shocking Health Effects of Commonly Used Pesticide: Brain Problems, Sexual Deformities and Paralysis
• Phthalate exposure in pregnancy adversely affects masculinization of male genitals in babies

• EPA lists two pesticides that are detrimental to the environment while ignoring glyphosate

According to The Guardian, "Almost all of the 1,700 most endangered plants and animals in the U.S. are likely to be harmed by [ these two pesticides]... Malathion, an insecticide registered for use in the U.S. since 1956, is likely to cause harm to 97 percent of the 1,772 mammals, birds, fish, reptiles, and plants listed under the Endangered Species Act."

The pesticide is often used on fruit, vegetables, plants, and on pets to remove ticks. The second pesticide of chlorpyrifos, commonly used to exterminate termites, roundworms, and mosquitoes, was found to have an equally detrimental effect on America's flora and fauna. Of the hundreds of species listed, the few that were deemed not at risk are primarily the ones that have already been classified as extinct.

EPA officials also mentioned a third pesticide, diazinon, that has a slightly lesser impact, clocking in at harmful to about 79 percent of the endangered species. In addition, the World Health Organization announced in March of last year that malathion and diazinon are "probably carcinogenic to humans."

Perhaps most frightening about this announcement is that the EPA is the first agency of its kind to examine in depth the effects these chemicals have on wildlife. Even then, their results are lacking: they fail to mention other high-profile pesticides like glyphosate that could potentially have an equally harmful effect on the environment.

• Dark Chocolate 'As Good As Exercise'
• Hot chocolate: The tasty drink that could help boost memory & thinking skills
• Precise reason for health benefits of dark chocolate: Thank hungry gut microbes
• Study finds eating chocolate lowers risk of heart disease, strokes, and reduces heart pressure