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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Biology Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Three dozen dead macaque monkeys later: Vaccines still don't cause autism

One of the limitations constraining those of us who do human subjects research is that ethical considerations often prevent us from designing our clinical trials in what would be, from a strictly scientific standpoint, in the most methodologically rigorous way. For example, we can’t intentionally infect human beings with known inocula of deadly bacteria in […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Quackery

The CDC promotes vaccination, and antivaccinationists lose it

If there’s one thing that is true of the antivaccine movement, it’s that its members are rarely willing to admit that they are, in fact, antivaccine. Sure, there are uncommon exceptions who say it loud that they are antivaccine and proud and through their refreshing honesty and lack of self-delusion cause no end of problems […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Politics

Kevin Barry, you magnificent bastard, I read your antivaccine book!

Kevin Barry wrote a book featuring the transcripts of the “CDC Whistleblower’s” conversations with Brian Hooker as evidence that there’s a conspiracy at the CDC to hide scientific evidence that vaccines cause autism. Well, I read Barry’s book, and it is incredibly thin gruel indeed.

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

How “they” view “us”: Filthy pharma lucre buying senators and hit men

About a year and a half ago, I began an intermittent series that I called How “They” View “Us.” There are several posts in the series now. Basically, given the amount of nastiness directed at those of us who refute pseudoscience, in particular quackery and antivaccine pseudoscience, by those who believe in it, I tried […]

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Anti-Semitism Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery Religion Science

Cranks of a feather, part 2: Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. cozies up the Nation of Islam over SB 277

Last Thursday I took note of a rather fascinating confluence of cranks who have come together to oppose SB 277 in California. For those not familiar with SB 277, it is a bill currently under consideration in the California Assembly that would eliminate nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. It was passed by the Senate […]