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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Computers and social media Medicine Quackery

“Just one more thing”

I’ve written quite a bit about Steve Jobs’ battle with pancreatic cancer over the years and, more recently, in the wake of his death nearly four weeks ago. The reason, of course, is that the course of his cancer was of intense interest after it became public knowledge that he had cancer. In particular, what […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Quackery

“Naturopathic obstetrics”? Be afraid. Be very afraid.

Despite having found my niche long ago in the medical blogosphere as a skeptic and supporter of science-based medicine, not to mention a scourge of quacks and anti-vaccine activists (no little ego mine!), I rarely, if ever, write about obstetrics. It’s always been one area of medicine that I’ve felt least comfortable with. True, there […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Humor Medicine Quackery

Quacktion Figure™: Immortalize your favorite promoter of pseudoscience!

It’s a wonder no one ever thought of this before (at least, not to my knowledge), but Todd over at Harpocrates Speaks has. Over there today, what do we find? A Quacktion Figure™: Ever wanted to enjoy the adoration of tens of others? Had an idea for a new product to patent, but had pesky […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Quackery

Mike Adams vs. the flu vaccine

Oh, geez. Mike Adams is at it again. I know, I know, saying that Mike Adams has just laid down yet another hunk of napalm-grade–nay, hydrogen-bomb grade–burning stupid is akin to saying that the sun rises in the east and sets in the west, that water is wet, that we need oxygen to survive, or […]

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Clinical trials History Homeopathy Medicine

Echoes of Semmelweis

As hard as it is to believe, I’ve been a physician for 23 years now and a fully trained surgeon for over 15 years. If there’s one thing I’ve learned in that time, it’s most doctors really, really don’t like to be told what to do. I don’t know if part of it comes from […]