Mr Hyde – The Dark Side of Placebo Effect
We hear very often about the benefits of auto-suggestion (a.k.a. placebos) in medicine, but much less about their risks and harms.
COVID vaccine manufacturers should explore legal action against anti-vaxxers spreading disinformation
Perhaps it's time for vaccine manufacturers to consider defamation suits against anti-vaxxers who spread false information about COVID vaccines. Lawsuits by voting technology companies against Fox and others over false "rigged" election claims could serve as a template.
Spike Proteins, COVID-19, and Vaccines
A new study further elucidates the role of spike proteins in COVID-19.
Eye Drops for Dry Eyes
I could have chosen a prescription eye drop for my dry eyes. I decided not to. Here's why.
“The vaccinated are a danger to the unvaccinated because of shedding!”: The latest COVID-19 antivaccine disinformation
Antivaxxers are masters of projection, which is why the latest antivaccine disinformation about COVID-19 vaccines is that they lead the recipient to "shed" spike protein, which can can cause menstrual irregularities or even miscarriages in women who come into contact with the vaccinated and even make people very sick. This trope is nothing more than a clever repackaging of the old antivaccine...
Epidural Labor Analgesia Not Linked to Autism Says New and Improved Study
A new and improved study investigating a potential link between epidural analgesia during labor and autism found no connection. That's great news for mothers and babies.
Some essential oils may trigger seizures
Some essential oils appear to trigger seizures in people with no history of epilepsy.
Long COVID
Medical experts are just starting to bring long COVID into focus, but there is still much we don't know.
Another In a Pattern of Really Stupid Marketing Videos, This One Claiming Tinnitus Has Nothing to Do with the Ear and Is 100% Curable.
This really stupid video was an insult to my intelligence. Nothing in it can be believed. They claim tinnitus has nothing to do with the ears and they sell a 100% effective dietary supplement mixture supposedly developed by MENSA with government funding. It has never been clinically tested. No, there is no cure for tinnitus.
To unblind or not to unblind? That is the question about clinical trials of COVID-19 vaccines
Antivaccine alternative health tycoon Joe Mercola claims that the unblinding of participants in the clinical trials of Moderna and Pfizer COVID-19 vaccines was intended to "blow up the trials" and undermine the science, making it impossible ever to identify long term adverse events. What he's really doing is deceptively oversimplifying complex ethical and scientific issues surrounding these trials in the middle of...