Results for: vaccines
Turpentine, the Fountain of Youth According to Dr. Jennifer Daniels
Jennifer Daniels says turpentine is the Fountain of Youth, able to cure many ailments, both real and imaginary. It isn't; it's a poison with no recognized benefits for human health.
Torturing mice, data, and figures in the name of antivaccine pseudoscience
In September, antivaccine "researchers" Christopher Shaw and Lucija Tomljenovic published a study claiming to link aluminum adjuvants in vaccines to neuroinflammation and autism. Naturally, the antivaccine movement pointed to it as slam dunk evidence that vaccines cause autism. It's not. In fact, not only is it bad science, but it might well be fraudulent.
Mainstream Doctors Actually Do What CAM Claims They Don’t
Alternative medicine proponents criticize mainstream medicine and think they can do better. Evidence from medical journals shows that their criticisms are not valid.
Integrative medicine advocates react to criticisms of the Samuelis’ $200 million gift to UC-Irvine
Last month, Susan and Henry Samueli donated $200 million to the University of California, Irvine to promote integrative medicine. We were pleasantly surprised by the unflattering coverage in the press of the gift. We were unpleasantly unsurprised by the reaction of integrative medicine advocates to the criticism.
The Pathological Optimist: More hagiography than documentary about Andrew Wakefield
The Pathological Optimist is a recently released documentary by Miranda Bailey about Andrew Wakefield that I got a chance to see. In interviews and in the film's promotional materials, Bailey takes great pains to emphasize that she "doesn't take a side" about Wakefield. Unfortunately, her film demonstrates that, when it comes to pseudoscience, "not taking a side" is taking a side, and...
Maximized Living: “5 Essentials” of Chiropractic Marketing Propaganda
What do vitalism, old school chiropractic subluxations, germ theory denial, detox supplements, marketing gimmicks, and practicing way beyond a reasonable scope have in common?
Flu Shots: Here We Go Again!
The many myths about flu shots continue to circulate and persuade some people not to get a flu shot. Flu shots are excellent insurance, safe and reasonably effective. Immunization protects not only the recipient but also vulnerable groups in the community.
The influenza vaccine and miscarriages: Much ado about nothing
A study published on Wednesday claims to have found a link between influenza vaccination and miscarriage, and antivaxers are gloating. The study itself suffers mightily from post hoc subgroup analyses on small numbers, so much so that even its authors don’t really believe its results. None of that stopped them from publishing the study, thus justifying "more research" that will almost certainly...
“New vaccine replaces statins?” Not So Fast!
News reports suggest new drugs may replace statins. PSCK9 inhibitors are useful, but only along with statins in high risk patients not controlled on statins alone, or for patients who can't tolerate statins. They're not about to replace statins.
More Integrative Propaganda
Defenders of integrative quackery attack proponents of science-based medicine for simply pointing out the scientific evidence and exposing their poor logic.