Homeopathy Awareness Week 2018 starts today. Let ’ s help celebrate by reminding people that it ’ s quackery!
Homeopathy Awareness Week starts today. Terrifyingly, the theme this year is "Homeopathy for Pregnancy an Childbirth." Here, Orac does his part to celebrate by reminding his readers once again why homeopathy remains The One Quackery To Rule Them All. The post Homeopathy Awareness Week 2018 starts today. Let’s help celebrate by reminding people that it’s quackery! appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 10, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Homeopathy Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery featured Homeopathy Awareness Week Samuel Hahnemann world homeopathy awareness week Source Type: blogs

Conspiratorial fear mongering about cell phones and cancer, courtesy of The Nation
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that it is incredibly unlikely that cell phone radiation causes cancer or other health problems. That doesn't stop The Nation from constructing a conspiracy theory inn which cell phone companies are likened to tobacco companies in their campaign of denial designed to hide evidence of harm while disingenuously claiming to be neutral regarding the science and saying that scientists should determine whether radiation from cell phones is hazardous. The post Conspiratorial fear mongering about cell phones and cancer, courtesy of <cite>The Nation</cite> appeared first on RESPE...
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 9, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Bad science Biology Cancer Medicine cell phones featured George Carlo International Agency for Research on Cancer Lennart Hardell Mark Dowie Mark Hertsgaard National Toxicology Program The Nation Source Type: blogs

Conspiratorial ear mongering about cell phones and cancer, courtesy of The Nation
The overwhelming scientific consensus is that it is incredibly unlikely that cell phone radiation causes cancer or other health problems. That doesn't stop The Nation from constructing a conspiracy theory inn which cell phone companies are likened to tobacco companies in their campaign of denial designed to hide evidence of harm while disingenuously claiming to be neutral regarding the science and saying that scientists should determine whether radiation from cell phones is hazardous. The post Conspiratorial ear mongering about cell phones and cancer, courtesy of <cite>The Nation</cite> appeared first on RESPEC...
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 9, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Bad science Biology Cancer Medicine cell phones featured George Carlo International Agency for Research on Cancer Lennart Hardell Mark Dowie Mark Hertsgaard National Toxicology Program The Nation Source Type: blogs

Old guard antivaccine activist J. B. Handley loses his best platform to spread misinformation
J. B. Handley and Orac go way back (to 2005), when Orac first encountered Handley's brand of blustering, arrogantly ignorant antivaccine pseudoscience. Lately, Handley's been blogging over at Medium. A couple of weeks ago, Medium kicked him off its platform for violating its TOS. Schadenfreude ensues. The post Old guard antivaccine activist J. B. Handley loses his best platform to spread misinformation appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 6, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Computers Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery featured J.B. Handley Medium social media Source Type: blogs

Quoth antivaccine “ warrior mamma ” Brittney Kara: If vaccines are so great, why aren ’ t they mentioned in the Bible?
Orac has heard some really silly arguments by antivaxers against vaccines in his time blogging. Indeed, he thought he had heard them all. He was wrong. Did you know that the Bible didn't mention vaccines? And that pharmaceuticals are sorcery? Brittney Kara tells us so! The post Quoth antivaccine “warrior mamma” Brittney Kara: If vaccines are so great, why aren’t they mentioned in the Bible? appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 5, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Quackery Religion Brittney Kara featured pharmakeia sorcery The Bible vaccines Source Type: blogs

The previously undiscovered organ known as the “ interstitium ” revisited: The Deepak Chopra connection
Yesterday, Orac discussed a widely hyped new scientific finding of a "new organ" known as the interstitium, in which the authors of the study suggested that their findings might "explain" acupuncture. Today, Orac realizes that the woo goes much, much deeper. Deepak Chopra, anyone? The post The previously undiscovered organ known as the “interstitium” revisited: The Deepak Chopra connection appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 4, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Physics Quackery Religion Science Skepticism/critical thinking acupuncture Deepak Chopra featured interstitium Neil Theise Source Type: blogs

The “ interstitium ” : Interesting science versus PR spin and pseudoscience
Last week, the media were awash with reports of the "interstitium," which was dramatically described as a hitherto undiscovered "organ," a narrative that was definitely a triumph of PR over science that went beyond what even the investigators claimed in their paper. Worse, the investigators themselves even speculated that their discovery could "explain" acupuncture and other kinds of alternative medicine, thus providing an opening for quacks to run wild with their discovery, something I expect to see very soon. The post The “interstitium”: Interesting science versus PR spin and pseudoscience appeared first on R...
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 3, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Biology Cancer Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Science acupressure acupuncture collagen complementary and alternative mediciner featured interstitium lymphatic system Neil Theise quackery Rebecca Wel Source Type: blogs

The deadly false hope of German alternative cancer clinics, part 3: Hallwang Clinic revisited
I've written twice before about German alternative medicine cancer clinics, the quackery they ply, and how they take advantage of desperate cancer patients. Finally, in a disturbing report a journalist has investigated what one of these clinics (Hallwang) does and how such clinics can continue to operate. The post The deadly false hope of German alternative cancer clinics, part 3: Hallwang Clinic revisited appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - April 2, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Cancer Medicine Quackery alternative medicine Farrah Fawcett featured Hallwang Clinic Hallwang Private Oncology Clinic Source Type: blogs

#SaidNoMother: Combining dehumanization of autistic people with antivaccine pseudoscience in time for Autism Awareness Month
Autism Awareness Month is nearly upon us again. Unfortunately, the antivaccine movement has found a new way to ruin it by hijacking autism awareness to promote their antivaccine pseudoscience and quackery, along with contempt for autistic people. Behold #SaidNoMother and #SaidNoFather. The post #SaidNoMother: Combining dehumanization of autistic people with antivaccine pseudoscience in time for Autism Awareness Month appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 30, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking #SaidNoFather #SaidNoMother featured pseudoscience Source Type: blogs

Children with autism are less likely to be fully vaccinated. Thanks, antivaxers!
One of the central myths of the antivaccine movement is that vaccines cause autism. Consequently, researchers looked at vaccination rates in children with autism spectrum disorder and their younger siblings and found both groups were significantly less likely to be fully vaccinated. Thanks, antivaxers. The post Children with autism are less likely to be fully vaccinated. Thanks, antivaxers! appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 28, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine Science autism spectrum disorder featured vaccine hesitancy Source Type: blogs

Along with the NIH budget hike comes a less welcome large hike in the budget for quackery for the NCCIH
Earlier this month, Congress passed an omnibus budget bill that provided a large hike in the budget the National Institutes of Health. Unfortunately, along with that budget hike was an even bigger percent hike for the NIH's bastion of quackery, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. How did this happen? The post Along with the NIH budget hike comes a less welcome large hike in the budget for quackery for the NCCIH appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 27, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Bad science Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Naturopathy Politics Pseudoscience Quackery featured National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine National Center for Complementary a Source Type: blogs

The World Health Organization: Integrating quackery into the ICD-11
ICD-10 is an a standardized system of alphanumeric codes for diagnoses maintained by the World Health Organization used throughout the world for billing, epidemiology, research, and cataloging causes of death. Its successor, ICD-11, is nearing completion, and unfortunately appears to be taking the “integration” of traditional medicine to a whole new level by integrating quack diagnoses with real diagnoses. The post The World Health Organization: Integrating quackery into the ICD-11 appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 26, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Politics Quackery Science Skepticism/critical thinking Chairman Mao Zedong featured ICD-11 traditional Chinese medicine traditional medicine World Health Organization Source Type: blogs

Bee venom acupuncture: Deadly quackery that can kill
Bee venom acupuncture is a form of apitherapy (treatment with bee products, such as venom, honey, or pollen) in which bee venom is injected along acupuncture points, often by actual bees. It also recently resulted in the death of a woman from anaphylactic shock. Basically, the use of bee venom acupuncture cannot be justified because it has no proven benefits and is potentially deadly. The post Bee venom acupuncture: Deadly quackery that can kill appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 23, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine Popular culture Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking acupuncture anaphylactic shock apitherapy bee pollen bee venom bee venom acupuncture featured Goop Gwyneth Paltrow Source Type: blogs

The Global Coherence Initiative: Woo on a global scale
The HeartMath Institute runs a project that it calls the Global Coherence Initiative. It's main idea is that we are all interconnected, including through the earth's electromagnetic field. Unfortunately, Scientific Reports published some bad science whose purpose is to support Deepak Chopra-level woo. The post The Global Coherence Initiative: Woo on a global scale appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 21, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Bad science Medicine Pseudoscience Skepticism/critical thinking autonomic nervous system cardiology featured Global Coherence Initiative heart rate variance HeartMath Institute solar wind Source Type: blogs

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. The post Senator Patrick Colbeck’s embrace of pseudoscience goes farther than I thought appeared first on RESPECTFUL INSOLENCE. (Source: Respectful Insolence)
Source: Respectful Insolence - March 20, 2018 Category: Surgery Authors: Orac Tags: Medicine antivaccine Bioinitiative Report electromagnetic fields featured Patrick Colbeck vaccines wifi Source Type: blogs