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Medicine

Senator Patrick Colbeck’s embrace of pseudoscience goes farther than I thought

My state senator, Patrick Colbeck, has repeatedly sided with antivaxers in promoting legislation that would make it easier to get personal belief exemptions to school vaccine mandates. Now I find out that he’s an “electromagnetic hypersensitivity” crank as well. And he’s running for governor.

Categories
Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

A bad week for homeopathy is a good week for science

It’s been a bad week for homeopathy. First, the NHS in the UK has stopped funding homeopathy in London. Then, news stories appeared about research fraud and a retracted clinical trial of homeopathy for cancer in which the investigators had already been arrested. So sad!

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Clinical trials Medicine Politics Popular culture

The cruel sham that is “right-to-try” will be up for a vote in the House tomorrow

It’s finally happened. A “right-to-try” bill is coming up for a vote in the House of Representatives. It’s been slightly modified from the version that passed the Senate last year to make it less patient-hostile, but it’s still the same cruel sham that right-to-try has always been.

Categories
Bad science Cancer Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery

Quackademic medicine versus being “science-based”

A couple of weeks ago, I was interviewed by the a reporter from the Georgetown student newsletter about its integrative medicine program. It got me to thinking how delusion that one’s work is science-based can lead to collaborations with New Age “quantum” mystics like Deepak Chopra. “Integrative medicine” doctors engaging in what I like to refer to as quackademic medicine all claim to be “evidence-based” or “science-based.” The words apparently do not mean what integrative medicine academics think they mean.

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

Get out the popcorn! Leslie Manookian attacks fellow antivaxer James Lyons-Weiler

I always love a good crank fight, and we seem to be witnessing an entertaining one, as Leslie Manookian attacks fellow antivaxer James Lyons-Weiler for not being antivaccine enough. Get out the popcorn!