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Biology Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Science

Cancer research: Is now our time?

The following is a rather curious promotional video that was shown at the plenary sessions of the AACR 2010 meeting. I first saw it yesterday, and thought my readers might be interested in it while I’m winding my way home: It’s basically a compendium of various facts about cancer and cancer research with a rather […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

How Andrew Wakefield invented “autistic enterocolitis”

I’m almost beginning to feel sorry for Andrew Wakefield. Well, not really. He did bring all the misery that’s poured down upon him like an unending waterfall of woe, such as the British General Medical Council (GMC) finding him guilty of research misconduct and soon very likely to recommend that he be “struck off,” a […]

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics Quackery

The British Chiropractic Association throws in the towel in the Simon Singh case

Today is a great day. Today, British science writer Simon Singh accomplished something I would never have believed possible, given British libel laws and a very bad ruling by Sir David Eady, the presiding judge, a ruling characterized as astonishingly illiberal. Despite the long odds, Singh appealed the ruling and actually won. As a result, […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking

The danger of science denialism

Although this blog is not the Denialism Blog, there is no doubt that one of the overarching themes of Respectful Insolence has been, since its very beginning, combatting science denial. Go back to the very beginning and read a couple of my earliest posts, dating way back to 2004. In one of them I discussed […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Entertainment/culture Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking Television

Dr. Oz: America’s doctor and the abdication of professional responsibility

Believe it or not, there was once a time when Dr. Mehmet Oz didn’t bother me that much. At least, for all his flirting with woo, I never quite thought that he had completely gone over to the Dark Side. Although I probably knew deep down that I was fooling myself. Maybe it was because […]