Supreme Court rules that FTC cannot seek restitution on behalf of consumers
The U.S. Supreme Court recently ruled that the FTC lacks the authority to seek consumer refunds and other monetary relief from scammers. Without a fix from Congress, the ability of the FTC, and perhaps other agencies, to redress financial injuries caused by quacks and other frauds is greatly diminished.
The Causes of Vaccine Hesitancy
The vaccine hesitant are now the front lines of the battle to contain COVID.
Craniosacral Therapy Is Bogus but DOs Are Required to Learn It
The standard textbook used in many schools of osteopathic medicine includes a lamentable chapter on cranial manipulation. It is clearly biased and fails to meet the minimal standards of science-based medicine. Craniosacral manipulation therapy is bogus, and it should no longer be taught to DOs or feature on their exams.
How antimaskers weaponize techniques of scientific analysis to attack mask mandates
There's a new paper out analyzing how antimask activists weaponize the tools of data visualization and scientific argumentation to produce convincing antimask propaganda. Antimaskers are claiming that it shows that they are more "scientific" than those supporting the consensus viewpoint with respect to COVID-19 and masks. What it really shows is that they are good at weaponizing the tools of data visualization...
CDC Data Reveals Frustrating Infant Death Statistics
Since the significant decrease in the rates of sudden unexpected infant deaths in the 90s, we have hit a bit of a wall and there is much we don't know about this complicated problem. A new study analyzing CDC data is a step in the right direction.
Audit reveals supplement regulation and oversight is lacking
A Canadian audit of dietary supplements shows serious problems with the quality and safety of the products you may be buying.
A Blood Test for Fibromyalgia?
The FM/a test is advertised as a definitive test to diagnose fibromyalgia. It isn't definitive. It is expensive. It has not been shown to change patient outcomes.
Should COVID-19 vaccines be administered to children under an emergency use authorization?
Recently, Wesley Pegden, Vinay Prasad, and Stefan Baral argued in The BMJ that "COVID-19 vaccines for children should not get emergency use authorization". Their argument is lacking, and they left out a number of relevant facts.
The COVID-19 “Vaccine Holocaust”: The latest antivaccine messaging
The latest antivaccine disinformation consists of pointing to the large numbers of reports of death (and other adverse events) to the VAERS database. It's nonsense.
Artificial Intelligence and Science-Based Medicine
AI tools in medicine are coming, and they can be powerful, but we have to manage how they are employed.