Category: Science and Medicine
How to make the opioid epidemic worse in Pennsylvania
Two bills are pending in the Pennsylvania legislature - SB 675 aimed at restricting prescription of buprenorphine, and HB 1005 that imposes reporting requirements in cases of suspected drug overdose. Both are a bad idea, and I hope Pennsylvania Governor Tom Wolf will continue his past trends of vetoing bad bills that will harm his constituents.
Would you pay $1 million to enroll in a phase 1 clinical trial of an “anti-aging” gene therapy?
Libella Gene Therapeutics, LLC made the news last week for announcing a "pay-to-play" trial of its telomerase-based anti-aging gene therapy. What was shocking about the announcement was not that it was a "pay-to-play" trial, given that such trials have become all too common, but rather the price of enrollment: $1 million. Worse, the trial is being conducted in Colombia; the therapy doesn't...
Science-Based Satire: Pacifier Vaporizer Manufacturer Denies Marketing to Infants
Have e-cigarette companies really been marketing to infants? Could this actually be a real product? It's an undeniable fact that children have been targeted in an effort to produce customers for life, but thankfully this is satire. The littlest ones are safe…for now.
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...
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.
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!
Shiva Ayyadurai: Antivaxxer for Senate
Did Shiva Ayyadurai invent e-mail? Should he represent the Republican Party? Read below to find out!
Tattoos Won’t Boost Your Immune System
Can getting a tattoo help reduce your risk of catching a cold? What about getting a bunch of 'em? Sadly, no amount of ink is going to boost your immune system.