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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine

Legal thuggery, antivaccine edition, part 3: Andrew Wakefield rallying the troops

I realize I’ve already written two posts about Andrew Wakefield suing investigative journalist Brian Deer, the first one pointing out how it’s just another example of cranks trying to silence criticism not through producing good science to defend their views but rather through abusing legal process and starting frivolous libel suits, the second one pointing […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Medicine Movies

Anti-vaccine propaganda lands in New York City this weekend

“The Greater Good” is what I like to call an antivaccine propaganda film masquerading as a documentary. And, yes, it’s full of antivaccine misinformation.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine

Whither the anti-vaccine movement?

Yesterday, I congratulated that bane of anti-vaccine movement and great vaccine scientist, Dr. Paul Offit, for having been accepted into the Institute of Medicine. It’s a huge honor, and one well-deserved. At the time, I contrasted Dr. Offit, who has ascended to the highest heights of his profession through good science, with Dr. Andrew Wakefield, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Science Skepticism/critical thinking

Motivated reasoning and the anti-vaccine movement

One theme that I keep revisiting again and again is not so much a question of the science behind medical therapies (although certainly I do discuss that issue arguably more than any other) but rather a question of why. Why is it that so many people cling so tenaciously to pseudoscience, quackery, and, frequently, conspiracy […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Politics

An anti-vaccine protest in New York today

Blame Comcast, I say. Blame Comcast for the fact that I don’t have a typical pearl of Orac-ian logorrheic majesty for your edification this morning. And there’s so much that requires such a pearl to be thrown at it, too, in particular a study claiming that cell phone radiation alters brain metabolism in the areas […]