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Medicine Politics Science

Why do RFK Jr. apologists think eliminating NIH study sections is a good idea?

Since the nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for NIH Director, I’ve been seeing a suggestion from certain contrarian doctors for a “randomized trial” of study sections vs. a “modified lottery” to determine which grant applications are funded by the NIH. Why do RFK Jr. apologists think this is a good idea?

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Antivax ideology: The main influencers are “controlled opposition” and “limited hangouts”

Antivax is more ideology and conspiracy than science. The recent accusation that antivax influencers are running “limited hangouts” as part of “controlled opposition helps illustrate this characteristic, in which the insufficiently radical are portrayed as useful idiots for the enemy or even heretics.

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Antivaccine nonsense Politics Quackery

“MAHA”? Antivax conspiracy monger RFK Jr. is not the one to “make America healthy again”

Shortly after endorsing Donald Trump for President, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. claimed he and Trump will “make America healthy again.” His proposals to do that range from semi-reasonable to outright quackery.

Categories
Clinical trials Pseudoscience Quackery

Quelle surprise. Son of TACT (TACT2) shows that chelation therapy doesn’t work for heart disease

Orac has long argued that chelation therapy for heart disease is quackery. An abstract presented last month finally confirmed that. Why did it take so long?

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Antivaccine nonsense Homeopathy Medicine

Dr. Tess Lawrie expands from ivermectin quackery to homeopathy

Tess Lawrie has been promoting ivermectin for COVID-19 for two and a half years. Of late, she has become more of a general multipurpose quack, promoting ivermectin to treat cancer. Now she’s promoting homeopathy for COVID and long COVID while a Research Fellow at St. Mary’s University Twickenham. What does this tell us about medicine?