Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Skepticism/critical thinking

A young antivaccine propagandist plans to teach his mad skillz to other antivaccinationists

As hard as it might be to believe, one time over 20 years ago I actually took the Dale Carnegie course and, as part of that course, read his famous book How To Win Friends and Influence People. I know, I know. It’s probably not obvious from my style of writing on this particular blog, […]

Categories
Autism Biology Cancer Clinical trials Medicine Politics Science

Deregulating stem cell quackery in Italy? A bad omen.

Stem cells are magical, mystical things that can’t be explained. At least, if you listen to what docs and “practitioners” who run stem cell clinics in various parts of the world, usually where regulation is lax and money from First World clientele is much sought after, that’s what you could easily come to believe. Unfortunately, […]

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Politics

Politics versus scientific peer review

In the United States, the federal government has long had a prominent role in funding science research. Be it the $30 billion a year or so that funds the National Institutes of Health or the $5 or $6 billion a year allotted to the National Science Foundation, the government funds a lot of basic and […]

Categories
Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Quackery

AutismOne 2013: A quackfest just as quacky as ever

Well, April is over, which means that Autism Awareness Month is almost over. While antivaccinationists are saying goodbye to April and whining about the very concept of “autism awareness,” I can’t help but realize that the autism quackfest known as AutismOne is less than a month away. Yes, every year around Memorial Day weekend, the […]

Categories
Complementary and alternative medicine Homeopathy Naturopathy Quackery

An amusing “very special issue” of Medical Acupuncture

Every so often, our “friends” on the other side of the science aisle (i.e., the supporters of “complementary and alternative medicine”—otherwise known as CAM or “integrative medicine”) give me a present when I’m looking for a topic for my weekly bit of brain droppings about medicine, science, and/or why CAM is neither. It’s also been […]