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Medicine

“Right to try” goes federal, thus far unsuccessfully

It’s been nearly two weeks since a new “right to try” bill (AB 1668) passed the California legislature with overwhelming support and was sent to Governor Jerry Brown’s desk to be signed. Thus far, he has not signed it, which is good, but neither have I seen a story that he has vetoed it either. […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Science Skepticism/critical thinking

A “professor” who isn’t talks science about vaccines that isn’t

One of the great things about having achieved some notoriety as a blogger is that readers send me links to articles that the believe will be interesting to me. They usually come in waves. For instance, after anything having to do with Stanislaw Burzynski, “right to try,” particularly egregious antivaccine idiocy, and the like hits […]

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Medicine

What do used car salesmen and stem cell clinic “entrepreneurs” have in common?

Stem cells are magic. Stem cells cure everything. They are the next big thing in medicine. That’s the narrative one frequently hears about stem cells in the press and courtesy of offshore stem cell clinics in places such as Italy and direct-to-consumer marketing of stem cells in the US. Of course, stem cells aren’t mystical […]

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Movies Politics Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking

In which Andrew Wakefield and Del Bigtree’s antivaccine documentary VAXXED is reviewed…with Insolence!

Andrew Wakefield, with the help of Del Bigtree, has directed and released an antivaccine propaganda “documentary.” It’s so blatant in its manipulation of facts that it would make Leni Reifenstahl blush.

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Complementary and alternative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Kris Kristofferson: The latest celebrity quackery victim

If you grew up, as I did, a child of the 1970s in the US (I graduated from high school in 1980), you probably couldn’t escape the influence of Kris Kristofferson. He was big, and he was at his biggest during the 1970s, pumping out country music and mainstream hits, appearing in movies, and generally […]