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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

A new study shows where antivaxers are most likely to make measles great again soon

A new study shows where in the US antivaxers are most likely to make measles great again, thanks to driving up nonmedical exemptions and driving down vaccine uptake.

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Bad science Biology Clinical trials Medicine Quackery

The Lung Institute and the stem cell hard sell

The Lung Institute is more evidence that all for-profit stem cell clinics are predatory clinics selling snake oil. EVERY. SINGLE. ONE. OF. THEM. If there’s an exception, I haven’t found it yet.

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Bad science Medicine Naturopathy Pseudoscience Quackery

Chronic Lyme disease: Fake diagnosis or pseudo-diagnosis, NOT fake disease

For once, Twitter actually changed Orac’s mind. Chronic Lyme disease is not a fake disease. Rather, it is a fake diagnosis or pseudodiagnosis disconnected from what is really going on physiologically. That’s why only quacks use the diagnosis.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Rappin’ Hillary Simpson, #crazymothers, and #DearDoctor: Antivaxers blaming doctors for vaccinating children. Again.

Hillary Simpson created the Facebook group #crazymothers to co-opt the perception that the science-based world has of her and her fellow antivax mothers. Now, she’s cooked up a hashtag and social media campaign called #DearDoctor to encourage mothers to harass their child’s former pediatricians by writing letters blaming them for vaccinating and supposedly causing their children’s autism. Oh, and she does freestyle rap, too. Badly. Oh, so badly.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Cancer Medicine Popular culture Quackery

Antivaccine woo attracts “alkaline diet” woo: Elle Macpherson is dating disgraced antivaccine doctor Andrew Wakefield

A recent spate of articles over the last couple of days report that Elle Macpherson is dating an antivaccine “icon,” disgraced antivaccine doctor and scientific fraud Andrew Wakefield. Given her love of “alkaline diet” woo, which she sells through her very Goop-like Wellco website, the attraction shouldn’t be surprising. It is, nonetheless, troubling. It wouldn’t surprise me if Macpherson is antivaccine herself, given that in “alkaline diet” lingo, vaccines are often viewed as “toxic acid” insults that “alkalinization” can reverse.