HCQTrial.com: Astroturf and disinformation about hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19 on steroids
Late last week, a "study" published on HCQTrial.com by an anonymous source claiming to be a group of PhD scientists went viral. It claimed that countries that used hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19 had a 79% lower fatality rate than those who didn't. It was horrible science and quickly debunked on Twitter by several epidemiologists. That didn't stop it from going viral. Disinformation...
Science-Based Satire: Area Child Killed by Unwieldy Backpack
Was a child recently murdered by a heavy backpack? Do unwieldy backpacks cause scoliosis and long term general health problems? Should we care what chiropractors have to say about pediatric spinal health? No. This isn't remotely true and honestly I'm a little surprised that you would even ask me that. It's satire.
Vitamin D supplements do not reduce the risk of depression
A newly-published randomized controlled trial finds vitamin D supplementation has no effect on depression. This adds to the long list of medical conditions for which vitamin D supplementation has turned out to be ineffective.
UK Recommendations Wrong on Acupuncture
NICE draft recommendations on acupuncture don't even make sense from an EBM perspective, and utterly fail to consider SBM principles.
The Recipe for Making Stupid Videos
A promotional video for a prostate remedy could serve as a template for deceptive videos about dietary supplements. All marketing, no science, and plenty of red flags.
The perils and pitfalls of “doing your own research” about COVID-19 (or any other science)
Ethan Siegel at Forbes argues that you "must not 'do your own research.'" While the title grates, Siegel is correct that most of us are not really capable of "doing our own research" about most scientific and medical questions because we lack the necessary background. We must therefore be humble and be very, very careful about "doing our own research."
Monsanto gets injunction against California’s mandated cancer warning for glyphosate
A federal district court permanently enjoined California from requiring a cancer warning for glyphosate on First Amendment grounds. The battle between the law and science continues.
Preventing The Next Pandemic
Scientists saw the pandemic coming, but world leaders failed to listen. How can we prevent and minimize the next one?
Shooting the Messenger: Activists Persecute Scientists Whose Findings They Don’t Like
Alice Dreger's book recounts many instances of shooting the messenger, when scientists were persecuted for research findings that activists found objectionable. Social justice matters, but it should rely on science and reality, not ideology.
Hydroxychloroquine to treat COVID-19: Evidence can’t seem to kill it
Despite the accumulating negative evidence showing that hydroxychloroquine doesn't work against COVID-19, activists continue to promote it as a way out of the pandemic. This week, the AAPS and a Yale epidemiologist joined the fray with embarrassingly bad arguments.