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Bad science Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Hydroxychloroquine and COVID-19: Science-based medicine has no chance against Donald Trump, Peter Navarro, and Dr. Oz

President Trump’s COVID-19 advisors include Dr. Oz, Rudy Giuliani, and Peter Navarro, the latter an economist who thinks he can science better than Anthony Fauci. Can science- and evidence-based medicine prevail with respect to hydroxychloroquine and coronavirus?

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Bad science Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture Pseudoscience

Drs. Vladimir Zelenko and Stephen Smith: Abandoning evidence-based medicine to promote unproven drugs for COVID-19

Drs. Vladimir Zelenko and Stephen Smith have been claiming that hydroxychloroquine is a miracle drug based on anecdotes. Their shoddy, poorly reported case series are not evidence of efficacy.

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Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Religion

An embarrassing paean to reiki in The Atlantic

For some inexplicable reason, The Atlantic published an embarrassing paean to the mystical magical woo that is reiki.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

COVID-19 pandemic: A golden opportunity for quackery

COVID-19 is upon us. Unfortunately, quacks view the coronavirus pandemic not as a threat, but as an opportunity.

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Bad science Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

GenoPalate and “personalized” DNA-based diet recommendations: More like astrology than science

GenoPalate is a company that claims to give “personalized” dietary recommendations based on DNA testing. Unfortunately, what is provided by such companies is more akin to astrology than science.