All posts by Steven Novella

Acupuncture and Migraine – New JAMA Study

Yet another poorly designed acupuncture study with dubious results is being presented as if it were compelling evidence.

/ February 22, 2017

Regulating Health Care Products

How should we optimally regulate health care products to protect consumers? A conversation with the Acting Chairman of the FTC.

/ February 15, 2017

Russian Academy of Sciences Calls Homeopathy Pseudoscience

That homeopathy is pure pseudoscience is not news. Its basic principles are essentially magic, and the preparation of homeopathic products is indistinguishable from brewing a magic potion. Its two core principles, as the commission states, are a priori dogma - that like cures like, and that diluting substances out of existence leaves behind their magical essence. Science has progressed over two centuries...

/ February 8, 2017

Communicating with the Locked In (update)

Researchers have made an incremental advance in using imaging and computers to communicate with patients who are completely locked-in. Let's review the state of this technology.

/ February 1, 2017

Acupuncture for Infantile Colic

Another low-quality acupuncture study falls victim to p-hacking and spreads unsupported claims for the efficacy of this failed treatment.

/ January 25, 2017

Cleveland Clinic Fully Embraces Pseudoscience

A recent and embarrassing anti-vaccine screed from the Director of the Cleveland Clinic Wellness Center produced a media backlash. Toby Cosgrove, CEO and President of the Cleveland Clinic, had the opportunity to re-dedicate his organization to good science and medical practice. Instead he doubled-down on the Cleveland Clinic's embrace of quackademic medicine and pseudoscience.

/ January 18, 2017

Trump Meets with RFK Jr. To Discuss “Vaccine Safety”

Trump and RFK Jr., both with anti-vaccine conspiracy beliefs, met to discuss forming a presidential panel on vaccines and autism. The exact outcome is uncertain, but the possibilities are frightening.

/ January 11, 2017

Detox Scams are Worthless and Potentially Dangerous

A case report of a healthy woman who landed in intensive care due to her New Year's detox regimen highlights that detox treatments are a dangerous scam.

/ January 4, 2017

Support Science-Based Medicine

2016 has been a tough year for reason, science, medicine, and facts. Help Science-Based Medicine make 2017 a better one.

/ December 21, 2016

American Mortality Ticks Up

Life expectancy in the US decreased slightly in 2015. While this is a one-year phenomenon, and the long term trend continues to be one of increasing life expectancy, there are some interesting lessons in the data.

/ December 14, 2016