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Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine

Threats to science-based medicine: Pharma ghostwriting

There is no doubt that the infiltration of quackademic medicine into medical schools in this country represents a profound threat to science-based medicine. By mixing mysticism, non-science, and pseudoscience along with science-based medicine, medical schools are in essence endorsing quackery and elevating it to the same level as science-based and science-tested modalities. Worse, they’re running […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

M.D. Anderson enters the blogosphere–and goes woo

Did you know that acupuncture is very much related to astrology? No, it’s not just because both of woo. Rather, it’s likely true that the whole concept of “meridians,” those invisible “channels” through which our life energy (a.k.a. qi) allegedly flow were indirectly based on astrological signs, which had been used to guide points used […]

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History Politics Skepticism/critical thinking

Birthers on parade, revisited: Happy Birther Day, Mr. President!

Wow. After I wrote a post last week about the “birthers,” cranks who believe that Barack Obama was not born in Hawaii, and therefore is not a natural born U.S. citizen, and therefore is not eligible to be President of the United States. Like all good conspiracy theorist cranks, they trot out all sorts of […]

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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine

Cancer research and clinical trials

During the month of June on this blog, I got annoyed not once, but twice. First, I got annoyed at Sharon Begley for a truly annoying and evidence-free (other than cherry-picked anecdotes) broadside against the NIH for its “culture of caution” that, according to her, is largely responsible for the “lack of progress” against cancer […]

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Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Yes, scientists can be jerks, but that doesn’t invalidate science

Due to annoying stuff at work and good stuff personally, I didn’t have time to grind out my usual bit of Insolence, either Respectful or not-so-Respectful, today. Fortunately, there is a long history on this blog, full of good stuff that I can repost. So, as I did when I went to TAM7, I’m picking […]