Month: November 2019
From the Vault: Newborn Vitamin K Shots Save Baby Lives
I've gone into the vault in order to save new content until after technical difficulties have been ironed out. Here is one of my earliest and most memorable (to me) posts on the newborn vitamin K shot and risks of refusing it.
DDoS?
Hello fellow science lovers and critical thinkers, Over the last couple days on ScienceBasedMedicine.org you may have experienced slowness, browser checks, timeouts, 5xx errors, and other server shenanigans. We wanted to confirm your suspicions that SBM was indeed a victim of a DDOS (Distributed Denial of Service) attack. The DDOS is still ongoing however we have implemented (and will continue) several strategies...
Zapping a Cold with Copper
Will an overpriced piece of copper prevent or treat the common cold? The science is not there.
Aging: Is It a Preventable Disease?
David Sinclair says aging is a disease that can be prevented and treated, and there is no reason life must end. The evidence he presents from scientific studies is intriguing, but far from definitive.
Dichotomous thinking and uncertainty in medicine and science
Medicine is by its very nature uncertain. Unfortunately, humans don't deal well with uncertainty, and our tendency towards dichotomous thinking leads us to think that if we're not absolutely certain about something we don't know anything.
FDA strengthens homeopathic drug enforcement (but falls short of actually enforcing the law)
The FDA may strengthen homeopathic drug regulation with its "risk-based" enforcement policy, but this still leaves illegal homeopathic remedies on the market and falls far short of actually enforcing the law.
Black Salve Still Thriving Online
Black salve is still dangerous quackery, but it thrives online.
Tonaki Tinnitus Protocol
Todd Carson promises to cure tinnitus in 21 days with a 3-ingredient smoothie containing vegetables from Tonaki. Fanciful claim with not a shred of evidence. The webpage even admits it's fiction.
Shame on HBO! Bill Maher interviews Dr. Jay Gordon and the antivaccine misinformation flows.
Friday night, an old "friend" of the blog, pediatrician and antivaccine apologist Dr. Jay Gordon, made an appearance on Real Time With Bill Maher. In a long segment, the antivaccine misinformation flowed fast and furious in a Gish gallop of pseudoscience. WTF, HBO?
Maternal Fluoride and IQ – The Scientific Community Pushes Back
A follow-up on a questionable study of the impact on water fluoridation and IQ. Science marches on, and we're helping it out!