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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

David Kirby admits that mercury in vaccines is no longer “the smoking gun”

Longtime readers of this blog know that my original exposure to antivaccination conspiracy theories first occurred in the context of the now pseudoscientific and discredited hypothesis that somehow the mercury in the thimerosal preservative that used to be used in vaccines was the cause of autism. Despite the backpedaling among antivaccination zealots such as J. […]

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Bioethics Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Using placebos outside of clinical trials

The other day, I thought it was about time that I did some of that cool and fancy ResearchBlogging.org stuff, you know, to keep this blog from being nothing more than a collection of not-so-Respectfully Insolent spleen venting at generalized stupidity. I realize that those are some of the funnest posts here and that people […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Dr. Rashid Buttar wants you to ask him a question

You remember Dr. Rashid Buttar, don’t you? He’s that blight on North Carolina’s medical establishment, known for his “transdermal chelation therapy” that he’s unable to demonstrate as being able to be absorbed through the skin, much less chelate anything (arguably a good thing, actually, because at least it probably doesn’t hurt anyone, as a real […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Breast Cancer Awareness Month abused by Mike Adams, 2008 edition

I’ll give Mike Adams one thing. He’s consistent. Consistently a crank, that is. Yes, that purveyor of woo, paranoia, and conspiracy theories, not to mention the creator of one of the five largest repositories of quackery support on the Internet, NaturalNews.com, the other three being Mercola.com, Whale.to, CureZone, and Gary Null, is up to his […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Medicine Quackery Television

Should pro-vaccine advocates try to get on The Oprah Winfrey Show?

Oprah Winfrey supports quackery. That has been richly demonstrated over the last few years, particularly with her gauzy, praise-filled segments featuring such pro-woo luminaries as Jenny McCarthy, her frequently having physicians boosters of “alternative medicine” like Mehmet Oz and Christiane Northrup on her show, and her tight embrace of New Age “spirituality.” Alarmed at the […]