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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy

Yes, there really are people who don’t accept the germ theory of disease

The longer I’m in this whole skepticism thing, the more I realize that no form of science is immune to woo. For example, even though I lament just how many people do not accept evolution, for example, I can somewhat understand it. Although the basics of the science and evidence supporting the theory of evolution […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

Germ theory denialism explained

Here’s some sheer awesomeness in the form of an explanation of germ theory denialism: The only thing I would disagree with is the conclusion at the end that germ theory denialists are not much of a threat. In fact, germ theory denialism, usually softer germ theory denialism, such as the kind that says a healthy […]

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Biology Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Science

Basic science: An “obstacle” to students who want to study medicine?

If there’s one aspect of medical education that I consider to be paramount, at least when it comes to understanding how to analyze and apply all the evidence, both basic science and clinical, it’s a firm grounding in the scientific method. I advocate science-based medicine (SBM), which is what evidence-based medicine (EBM) should be. SBM […]

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Biology Cancer Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Fructose and pancreatic cancer

I hate science press releases. Well, not exactly. I hate science press releases that hype a study beyond its importance. I hate it even more when the investigators who published the study make statements not justified by the study and use the study as a jumping off point to speculate wildly. True, it’s not always […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Surgery

Andrew Wakefield, exactly where he belongs…again

I haven’t really taken much note of Andrew Wakefield in a while, and in general that’s a very good thing indeed. However, I found out recently that somehow I missed this gem from around the time of Autism One: That’s right. I thought it was pretty bad that Andy Wakefield had appeared on Coast to […]