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Bioethics Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

The dichloroacetate (DCA) “self-experimentation” phenomenon hits the mainstream media

It figures. Whenever I go away for a conference, things of interest to me that I’d like to blog about start happening fast and furious. Indeed, I could only deal with one of them, and I chose to post my challenge to the Paleyist “intelligent design” creationist surgeon, Dr. William Egnor. Now that I’m back, […]

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Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

Sunday afternoon fisk-fest: The mercury militia edition

I’ll be on the road as this posts. However, for your edification, enjoy a tag-team smackdown of some truly ignorant “mercury causes autism” evidence-free handwaving, courtesy of Dad of Cameron and Not Mercury. In keeping with the theme of twos, it’s done in two parts, separated by two weeks: Part 1: A Hot Cup of […]

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Announcements Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

The Egnor challenge, day 2

Yesterday, at the end of a post about the fallacious statements about evolution that Dr. Mike Egnor, a Professor of Neurosurgery, has been routinely serving up at the Discovery Institute, I made a challenge. I think I’ll repeat it daily for a while until we see if he’s up to answering it. It should be […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Humor Medicine Quackery

Getting to the bottom of reflexology

Reflexology, as you may know, is the pseudoscientific “alternative medicine” modality whose central dogma is that each body part or organ maps to a certain place on the feet or hands and that by pressing on those locations on the feet (for example), the reflexologist can have a therapeutic effect. The question, however, is: Why […]

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Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

Dr. Michael Egnor: The gift that keeps on giving

Agh! I say: Agh! Again. Remember how it was just a mere three days ago that I administered some Respectful Insolence™ to Dr. Michael Egnor, the Energizer Bunny of jaw-droppingly, appallingly ignorant anti-evolution posturing based on his apparently nonexistent understanding of what the theory of evolution actually says? Remember how I said how much I […]