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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Let’s do some real science for a change! The NCCAM Strategic Plan 2011-2015

I’ve made no secret about the fact that I am not a fan of the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM). I consider it a useless, redundant center within the National Institutes of Health because it does nothing that could’t be done as well or better in the institutes and centers of the […]

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Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Quackery Science

What is Francis Collins doing speaking to the Society for Integrative Oncology?

I saw this story on Friday and almost couldn’t wait the weekend to blog about it. However, since the conference that was brought to my attention isn’t until November, I ultimately decided that it would keep. At least until now. This story is about Francis Collins, the director of the National Institutes of Health. Unlike […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

On the evolution of quackery

Once upon a time, there was quackery. It was the term used to refer to medical practices that were not supported by evidence and were ineffective and potentially harmful. Physicians understood that modalities such as homeopathy, reflexology, and various “energy healing” (i.e., faith healing) methodologies were based either on prescientific vitalism, magical thinking, and/or on […]

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Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

Your tax dollars at work: Tai Chi as an immune booster?

If you ever want to wonder why I’m sometimes of the mind that the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine should be disbanded and its functions distributed among the other Institutes of the NIH, you just have to consider the sorts of woo-filled studies (like the Gonzalez protocol) funded by NCCAM mixed in among […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

“Woo-omics” at NCCAM

Just when I start to think that maybe, just maybe, I could stop worrying and learn to love the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine (NCCAM, with apologies to Stanley Kubrick and Peter Sellers), damn if it doesn’t go and do something that renews my cynicism about the entire Center. This time around, Dr. […]