Categories
Evolution Intelligent design/creationism Medicine Pseudoscience Science Skepticism/critical thinking Surgery

Just when I thought I could put the paper bag away…

…That all around evolution-ignorant but nonetheless eager lapdog of the Discovery Institute, SUNY Stonybrook Professor of Neurosurgery Dr. Michael Egnor, is back. Rats. I thought that the utter drubbing he took at the hands of myself and my fellow ScienceBloggers (in particular PZ Myers) might have given him the message that he needs to lay […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Friday Woo Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Your Friday Dose of Woo: You just might be an “altie” if… (2007 edition)

I didn’t get back home until late last night; unfortunately there was no time to do a segment of Your Friday Dose of Woo that was up to my standards. Fortunately, there’s something that I’ve been holding in reserve for just such an occasion that fits right in. Long-timers may remember that, near the very […]

Categories
Bioethics Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics

Drug safety versus a “Constitutional right” to access to experimental drugs

[Note: There is a followup to this post here.] I’ve been writing a lot about dichloroacetate (DCA) lately, perhaps even to the point of becoming repetitive and risking boring my readers. Fortunately, this post is not primarily about DCA. Unfortunately, it’s about a question that is related to the recent hype over DCA in that […]

Categories
Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine Surgery

Surgical research: “Tinkering” versus “innovation” versus “research”

Well, here I am in sunny Phoenix, having spent pretty much all of yesterday at the conference, sneaking in alterations to and practicing of my talk in between sessions. All in all not a bad day, although I spent the entire day indoors and didn’t get to partake of the bright and cheery warmth, which […]

Categories
Clinical trials Medicine Quackery Surgery

Avoiding scientific delusions

I happen to be in Phoenix today, attending the Academic Surgical Congress, where I actually have to present one of my abstracts. That means, between flying to Phoenix last night and preparing for my talk, I didn’t have time to serve up a heapin’ helping of that Respectful Insolence™ you know and (hopefully) love. Fortunately, […]