The Science of Biological Sex

What does the science actually say about biological sex?

/ July 13, 2022

100% Cure Rate Is Hard to Believe

An experimental cancer drug made 100% of rectal cancers disappear in a small trial, allowing subjects to avoid the standard treatment of chemotherapy and surgery . “Some scientists say these kinds of results have never been seen in the history of cancer research.” 100% is hard to believe; the 95% confidence interval was 74 to 100. Whatever the true percentage, if this...

/ July 12, 2022
Plague doctor

Is COVID-19 “the forever plague”?

A recent article claims that Omicron reinfections confer "no immunity" such that it's possible to be reinfected with Omicron variants every two to three weeks and calls COVID-19 the "forever plague". Although it makes a reasonable point that "natural" postinfection immunity doesn't last long because of variants, the article is undermines its reasonable criticisms of COVID policy with maximal fear mongering.

/ July 11, 2022

An Impossible, Unethical Study of Dubious Value That’s Not Meant to be Taken Seriously

Everyone knows it would be impossible to run an RCT of a million children in the middle of a raging pandemic Doctors who suggest such a thing don't expect you to take them seriously.

/ July 10, 2022

Recent trends in pediatric chiropractic use: the good, the bad, and the unhelpful

A new study looks into the numbers behind pediatric chiropractic in the United States. There isn't much new here, but it adds a bit of nuance to the discussion. Still, it's clear that we need better data.

/ July 8, 2022

Melatonin poisonings in children are increasing

Melatonin use is increasing, and accelerated during the pandemic. Overdoses are also increasing in children, and in rare cases are linked to serious harms.

/ July 7, 2022

Possible Universal Coronavirus Vaccine

New research potentially points the way to a universal coronavirus vaccine and other applications.

/ July 6, 2022

Statistical Shenanigans?

The manufacturers of Covid-19 vaccines say they are 95% effective. Peter Doshi re-examined the evidence and estimates they are only 19-29% effective. This pre-print of an as-yet unpublished re-analysis raises many questions but doesn't support the claims being made on antivaccine sites.

/ July 5, 2022

Apples, Oranges, and How Not to Analyze a Vaccine RCT

The evidence is overwhelming that COVID vaccines keep people alive and out of the hospital. Only someone who starts with the conclusion that vaccines don't work and then works backwards to find the evidence could claim otherwise.

/ July 4, 2022

Gender-Affirming Care is Not Experimental, Part II

A lot of the "facts" about providing healthcare to transgender youth turn out to be not actually facts. We present here a summary of the evidence relating to transition-related health care for transgender adolescents.