How Google listings are used by alternative cancer clinics to lure in desperate patients
I've long been writing about "alternative cancer clinics" (i.e., quack clinics) that sell false hope in the form of very expensive but ineffective treatments to desperate cancer patients. A recent study demonstrates how they use Google to do this.
The Hypocrisy Is The Point. Doctors Who Said Not To Mix Politics & Medicine.
Hypocritical articles on politics and medicine weren't really about politics and medicine, they were a message- the standards we set for you, don't apply to us and everyone knows it.
How conspiracy theories like COVID-19 “lab leak” harm science and public health
Ever since COVID-19 first emerged in 2020, evidence-free claims that it had arisen due to a "lab leak" have proliferated. A recent paper argues that this conspiracy theory has been very harmful to science. I argue that it's more than just lab leak that is harmful.
Measles 2024: ‘Merica, are you okay?
Measles cases are increasing. Kids and even many adults are at risk of injury and death from this vaccine-preventable illness that should be a historical footnote.
Dr. Adam Cifu Should Recognize, Dr. Vinay Prasad Will Never Admit Measures to Limit Viruses “Work”
Opponents of birth control don't object to condoms because they think they don't work, and Dr. Vinay Prasad doesn't object to masks because he thinks they don't work.
Acupuncture and Evidence Based Medicine
Over the last few decades there has been a steady infiltration of acupuncture into Western mainstream medicine. It is not unreasonable to conclude that acupuncture’s journey from an exotic Eastern practice to a fringe treatment to mainstream acceptance has been complete. Knowledgeable proponents of science based medicine (SBM) who remain skeptical of acupuncture now find themselves on the fringe. How did this...
As imperfect as they are, public health interventions save lives
On Friday, JAMA Health Forum published a study that is just more evidence that public health interventions against COVID-19 saved lives.
Making Up Reasons to Let Unvaccinated Kids Get COVID: Pediatricians Will Run Out of Time and Measles Will Return
Doctors who claimed that only enormous RCTs for every variant could demonstrate the COVID vaccine's benefits, were fine just casually inventing reasons not to use it.
The Evidence for Rehabilitation Robots
Rehabilitation robots, first introduced in the 1990s, are just what they sound like – robotics used to aid in regaining function through rehabilitation following an injury. The idea sounds compelling, and the technology has been advancing steadily. But still we have to ask ourselves the question – do they actually help, and what is the evidence? A recent comprehensive meta-analysis and systematic...
Donald Trump bragged that “right-to-try” has saved thousands of lives. It hasn’t.
Former President Donald Trump bragged in his acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention that "right-to-try" had saved "thousands of lives"? What's the real story? (Hint: Nowhere near that.)
So Long 2025