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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Pseudoscience

Gayle DeLong responds to the retraction of her dumpster fire of a study on HPV vaccination and fertility

Gayle DeLong finally responds to the retraction of her incompetent paper linking HPV vaccination to lowered fertility in women in—of course—the antivaccine propaganda blog Age of Autism. It doesn’t go well.

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Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Quackery

Acupuncture for xerostomia: Spin, spin, spin a negative study!

Investigators at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center reported the results of a trial of acupuncture for xerostomia (dry mouth) secondary to radiation therapy for head and neck cancers. It was a negative trial, but investigators still tried to spin it as positive, but with a twist. There was a large difference between results found at M.D. Anderson and the second site in China. What could be going on?

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Humor Medicine Politics

S2173: NJ antivaxxers show up too early and refuse to leave a meeting about NJ Transit. There’s a metaphor there somewhere

Antivaxxers flooded the New Jersey statehouse Thursday to protest S2173, a bill to end nonmedical exemptions to school vaccine mandates. Unfortunately for them, they initially went to the meeting room way too early and wouldn’t leave when informed it was a meeting about NJ Transit. There’s definitely a metaphor there.

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Medicine

The tragic case of John Lawlor and death by chiropractic neck manipulation

John Lawlor trusted a chiropractor. That chiropractor, Arleen Scholten, manipulated his neck to treat leg pain. The result? Mr. Lawlor died. Why do chiropractors keep doing neck manipulation?

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Jami Hepworth (a.k.a. Skeptical Doctor’s Wife): The latest antivaccine activist on the block

Jami Hepworth is a doctor’s wife. Having dubbed herself the “Skeptical Doctor’s Wife,” she has become an antivaccine activist. Unfortunately, doctor’s wife or not, medicine and science are clearly not her forte. She also doesn’t like laughing emojis directed at her.