Month: January 2019

Quackery duck

Pseudoscience invades Social Work

Acutonics, aura infusions and angelic channeling: pseudoscience has invaded the practices of social workers.

/ January 31, 2019

Is An Israeli Company About to Cure Cancer?

Hyped claims for a cure for all cancers are inherently unbelievable. So don't believe them.

/ January 30, 2019

Misleading Ad for Apeaz

An ad for Apeaz in Discover Magazine is misleading. Its active ingredient may provide some temporary relief of pain, but the claims in the ad are overblown. It is not a new blockbuster drug or an anesthetic.

/ January 29, 2019

Antivaccine pseudoscience disguised as autism advocacy in the Minnesota legislature

Recently, Sen. Jim Abeler of Minnesota created the MN Autism Council, an advisory panel tasked with advising the legislature on autism policy. A closer look at the story reveals that Sen. Abeler is a chiropractor, two of the members are antivaxers, and one of them was a founding member tasked with forming the council. This is how antivaccine activism is disguised as...

/ January 28, 2019

Science-Based Satire: 8th Edition of the Neonatal Resuscitation Program to Address Tongue-Tie

Is the NRP really updating its guidelines to include assessment and management of tongue-tie during newborn resuscitation? Should babies maintain skin-to-skin contact with their mother while receiving chest compressions? No. None of this is even remotely true.

/ January 25, 2019

Pharmacies continue to sell sugar pills as flu remedy

Oscillococcinum is a homeopathic remedy that is made by taking the heart and liver of a duck and diluting it to nothing. It's a placebo, but sold widely by pharmacies as a "treatment" for colds and influenza.

/ January 24, 2019

WHO – Vaccine Hesitancy Top Health Threat

The World Health Organization recognizes that vaccine-hesitancy is a top threat to the public health. Now what are they going to do about it?

/ January 23, 2019

Just How Addictive Are Opioids?

There is an opioid epidemic, with increasing overdose deaths from both prescription drugs and illegal drugs. Just how addictive are opioids? It appears they are safe when used appropriately, but there is a high risk of abuse, and they are deadly when misused, especially OxyContin.

/ January 22, 2019
Clinica 0-19

Clínica 0-19: False hope in Monterrey for brain cancer patients (part 4)

Last week, Annabelle Potts, a girl with the deadly brain cancer DIPG, passed away. She had made the news in Australia and worldwide because she had been treated at Clínica 0-19 in Monterrey, Mexico, where Drs. Alberto Garcia and Alberto Siller treat DIPG patients with a secret unproven mix of intra-arterial chemotherapy injected directly into the arteries feeding the brainstem, all while...

/ January 21, 2019

Elephants, Herpes, and Protests: A Zoo Tragedy Distorted

There has been a recent kerfuffle over the death of a young elephant from elephant endotheliotropic herpesvirus hemorrhagic disease. Was it the zoo's fault? Probably not.

/ January 18, 2019