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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Popular culture Surgery

Suzanne Somers “grew a new breast” with stem cells plus fat transfer? Not so fast…

Suzanne Somers is back in the news, claiming that she “grew a new breast” with stem cells and fat transfer. But did she? Did she really? A careful look at what’s public about her story suggests nothing other than a bit of self-promotion during Breast Cancer Awareness Month.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Popular culture Quackery

One Conversation: An antivaccine crankfest adds two more antivaccine cranks

“One Conversation” was originally planned to be a panel discussion between pro- and anti-vaccine advocates. However, as pro-vaccine scientists learned just how disreputable the antivaccine cranks on the panel are, they’ve canceled, leaving an antivaccine crankfest. Yesterday, I learned that this antivaccine confab has added two more cranks, one of whom is a real blast from the past.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

The One Conversation public debate/ discussion devolves into an antivaccine crankfest

One Conversation was originally sold as a public debate or discussion about vaccine that would represent “both sides.” When the real scientists who had been enticed by Britney Valas and Shannon Kroner’s seeming sincerity found out about the antivaxers on the panel and just what they do and believe, things fell apart. Now what’s left is an antivaccine crankiest.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Skepticism/critical thinking

Stroke: An underappreciated complication of chickenpox that we should never see

An 11-month old boy suffered a stroke after chickenpox, an underappreciated risk of varicella zoster infection. This catastrophe could have been avoided if his parents had just vaccinated his two older siblings.

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Antivaccine nonsense Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

An antivaccine nurse (or physician) should not take care of children, period

In Houston, a toddler was admitted to the pediatric ICU at Texas Children’s Hospital with a serious case of the measles. Unfortunately, one of the nurses there is antivaccine and blabbed about him on social media. The hospital quite appropriately fired her, but I would go further and say that antivaccine nurses should not be caring for children. Ditto antivaccine doctors.