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Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

In Singapore, the TCM Practitioners Board shows why quacks shouldn’t self-regulate

In Singapore, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner treated a diabetic for “yang deficiency” by applying a heatlamp to his foot. The diabetic suffered a burn that didn’t heal and lost his foot. The TCM Practitioners Board did almost nothing, showing that quacks can’t self-regulate.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Religion

Ginger Taylor, MS dubiously invokes “religious freedom” to argue against vaccination

On the eve of Easter and Passover, Ginger Taylor, MS (the MS is in Dunning-Kruger, apparently) tried to invoke several religions to argue for the right not to vaccinate on religious grounds. As usual, it did not go well.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Politics

The GOP has become the party of antivaxers, 2019 edition

Antivaccine beliefs occur at the same prevalence on the left and right, only the GOP promotes policies to make opting out of vaccines easier. All over the country, Republican politicians are opposing making school vaccine mandates stricter, proposing laws to loosen vaccination requirements, and falling for antivaccine pseudoscience.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Popular culture

Daily Beast reporter Jackie Kucinich falls prey to the perils of reporting on antivaxer Del Bigtree

So I’m finally back. As many of you surmised, I needed surgery; I had it two and a half weeks ago; and I’m back. I’ll say little more than that it was spine surgery and that no fusion was involved, hence my relatively rapid return to work. I must say, a lot of things happened […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience

Oakland County, Michigan: Measles arrives close to home

Measles has arrived in the form of an outbreak on Oakland County, MI. That’s too close for comfort to Orac. Way, way too close for comfort.