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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Nattokinase: The latest COVID-19 spike protein “detox” quackery

The latest big thing among all the hippest COVID-19 quacks and antivaxxers is nattokinase, which is claimed to bust clots and “detox” spike protein.

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Antivaccine nonsense Movies Pseudoscience

“Virulent: The Vaccine War” Q&A with Dr. Novella and a familiar face

Director/editor/producer Tjardus Greidanus, whose documentary Virulent: The Vaccine War examines the rise of the antivaccine movement before and after the pandemic, joined Dr. Novella and a certain other person for a virtual Q&A.

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

Did Anthony Fauci have a “conflict of interest” because his wife is Chief of Bioethics at NIH?

While Orac was off last week, Twitter’s new owner Elon Musk resurrected an antivax conspiracy theory that Anthony Fauci’s wife was “supposed to make sure” that he “behaves ethically.”

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Movies Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

“Died Suddenly”: Resurrecting the old antivax lie of depopulation

Everything old is new again when it comes to antivax tropes. Died Suddenly resurrects the old antivax conspiracy that vaccines kill, the plan being to cause “depopulation” that would allow “global elites” to control the world.

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Clinical trials Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Aromatase inhibitors and acupuncture in breast cancer

Four years ago, I wrote about an essentially negative study looking at whether acupuncture could alleviate joint pain caused by aromatase inhibitors, a common treatment for estrogen-sensitive breast cancer. The study’s back, and it doesn’t look any more positive.