Results for: publication bias
The stem cell hard sell, Stemedica edition
Stemedica Cell Technologies, a San Diego company that markets stem cell treatments for all manner of ailments, likes to represent itself as very much science-based. There are very good reasons to question that characterization, based on the histories of the people who run the company, as well as the company's behavior.
FTC Sues Predatory Journal
Because I have a university e-mail address I frequently get spam from journals I have never heard of soliciting submissions, and even offering editorial positions. I have generally ignored them, and it’s probably a good thing. Over the last decade we have seen the rise of open-access science journals. The idea is a good one – journals charge a moderate fee to...
Cupping – Olympic Pseudoscience
Four years ago, while watching the 2012 Olympic Games, I noticed a lot of athletes wearing colored strips in various patterns on their body. I discovered that these strips were called kinesiotape, and they were used to enhance performance, reduce injury, and help muscles recover more quickly. I also discovered that these claims for kinesiotape were complete nonsense. This year at the...
Should you try a “natural alternative” before medication?
The idea of taking medication can be frightening. And as consumers and patients that want to make our own informed health decisions, it’s understandable and even appropriate to question our physicians when they recommend drug treatments. We need to understand the rationale for any medication that’s recommended or prescribed, the benefits of therapy, the side effects, and if there are any other...
Use of Dental Appliances in the Management of Tourette Syndrome
Editor’s note: This Science Based Medicine blog post is another collaborative effort between Grant Ritchey and Clay Jones. Not only have they previously co-authored an SBM post on fluoride, their partnership has recently expanded into other areas of science journalism. Since the departure of Dr. Jason Luchtefeld as co-host of The Prism Podcast, Clay has joined Grant as the new co-host. To...
Is there a reproducibility “crisis” in biomedical science? No, but there is a reproducibility problem
Reproducibility is the key to scientific advancement. It has been claimed that we suffer from a "reproducibility crisis," but in reality it is a chronic problem in reproducibility. Here we will look at the scope of the problem and strategies to address it.
Newborn Phototherapy and Cancer: Cutting Edge Research or “Big Data” Failure?
While social media and news outlets were reacting, or in some cases overreacting, to a new rodent-based medical study on the unlikely link between cell phone use and brain cancer last month, two studies and an accompanying commentary were quietly published in Pediatrics that raised similar concerns. Rather than cell phone use, the proposed potential cause of pediatric cancer in these newly...
Tai Chi versus physical therapy for osteoarthritis of the knee: How CAM “rebranding” works
“Complementary and alternative medicine” (CAM), now more frequently referred to as “integrative medicine” by its proponents, consists of a hodge-podge of largely unrelated treatments that range from seemingly reasonable (e.g., diet and exercise) to pure quackery (e.g., acupuncture, reiki and other “energy medicine”) that CAM proponents are trying furiously to “integrate” as coequals into science-based medicine. They do this because they have...
Behold my power, quacks, and despair! Mike Adams publishes several defamatory articles about yours truly…
Internet crank, quack, and conspiracy theorist Mike Adams has launched a campaign of character assassination against yours truly. I didn't know I had so much power.
Chiropractic and Stroke: No Evidence for Causation But Still Reason for Concern
Can neck manipulation (by chiropractors or by other practitioners) cause strokes? Many of us think it can, but definitive proof is lacking. A recently published study looked at the available evidence. A systematic review found a small association between stroke and chiropractic care but concluded that the association was spurious and that there was no evidence for causation. My colleagues and I...