Blog Profile / Respectful Insolence
| URL : | http://scienceblogs.com/insolence | |
|---|---|---|
| Filed Under: | Health | |
| Posts on Regator: | 1957 | |
| Posts / Week: | 7.5 | |
| Archived Since: | June 8, 2008 | |
Blog Post Archive
Another Burzynski patient dies
If there's one thing that practitioners of dubious cancer therapies rely upon, it's testimonials. If there's one such practitioner who really, really relies on testimonials, it's Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, founder of the Burzynski Clinic. Show More Summary
Using conflicts of interest to try to sow fear, uncertainty, and doubt about vaccines
Remember Gayle DeLong? Last summer, DeLong published a paper in the Journal of Toxicology and Environmental Health, entitled A Positive Association found between Autism Prevalence and Childhood Vaccination uptake across the U.S. Population. Show More Summary
The boneyard of forgotten woo, but better
A fascination with quackery was one of the things that inspired me to start this blog. Some of it was disbelief that anyone could take some of the modalities that I write about seriously. Perhaps one of the most prominent examples of this reaction was when I first learned that there were people who are actually antivaccine. Show More Summary
Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski strikes again
I was originally going to write about an amazing article that appeared in the NEJM today, but then, as happens all too often, something more compelling caught my eye. Unfortunately, it's compelling in exactly the wrong way. It's infuriating and saddening, all at the same time. Show More Summary
Politics versus science
I've always been reluctant to attribute antiscientific attitudes to one political persuasion or another--and justly so, or so I thought. While it's true that antiscience on the right is definitely more prominent these days, with the Republican candidates conducting virtual seminars on how to deny established science. Show More Summary
The curious case of Patricia Finn, Esq., antivaccine lawyer
If there's one thing I've learned over the last seven years, it's that there are a handful of people in the "natural health" movement (a.k.a., quackery movement) who can reliably counted upon to bring home the crazy in spades. ThereShow More Summary
Boiling "integrative medicine" down to its essence in 34 words
Yesterday was a rough day for me; so I'll be uncharacteristically brief today. As I've pointed out time and time again, these days, advocates of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) don't like it so much anymore when theirShow More Summary
Once again: Antivaccine, not pro-safe vaccine
Every so often, something happens that rekindles the need in me to discuss what, exactly, it means to be "antivaccine." As many of my readers know, if there's one thing about antivaccinationists, it's that they assiduously avoid ever admitting that they are antivaccinationists. Show More Summary
"Microcompetition" with antivaccinationists for woo
Back in September, I merrily applied a little not-so-Respectful Insolence to the service of deconstructing the overwhelmingly silly fear mongering by a group known as SANE Vax over the alleged discovery of HPV DNA in the HPV vaccine....Show More Summary
Andrew Wakefield hits up his supporters for cash
Any regular reader of this blog knows who Andrew Wakefield is. He's the British gastroenterologist who almost singlehandedly ignited a panic about the MMR vaccine (well, not quite single-handedly; the sensationalistic British press helped...Show More Summary
On "anti-science" again
There's something about the prefix "anti" that provokes all too many people, even some who consider themselves "skeptics," to clutch at their pearls and feel faint. Antivaccine? Oh, no, you can't say that! They're not "antivaccine"?Show More Summary
Vaccines and autism: Same as it ever was
If there's one thing I've learned during the last seven years about the antivaccine crowd invested in the idea that vaccines cause autism, it's that it reacts with extreme hostility to any sort of studies that cast doubt upon their pet idea that vaccines cause autism. Show More Summary
Say it ain't so, Amy Farrah Fowler!
Like many geeks, I enjoy The Big Bang Theory. I know, I know, you're shocked to hear that, but it's true. I've seen nearly every episode since the first season. Over the last couple of seasons, the male-centric show has been considerably...Show More Summary
Patient satisfaction versus quality of care
If there's one thing that purveyors of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM)--or, the preferred term these days, "integrative medicine" (IM)--and hospital administrators seem to agree on, it's that "patient satisfaction" (whatever that means) is very, very important. Show More Summary
Placebo versus the Law of Attraction
Since 2012 was rung in a month and a half ago, I've been writing a lot more about placebo medicine than I have in a while. Specifically, I've written a lot more about placebo effects than usual. This proliferation of posts on the topic...Show More Summary
A patient you won't hear about from Stanislaw Burzynski or his apologists
It's been a while since I mentioned Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski, the Houston doctor who has somehow managed over the last thirty-plus years to treat cancer patients with something he calls "antineoplastons." Although there was a tiny about...Show More Summary
Surveying the "integrative medicine" landscape (2012 edition)
One of the most potent strategies used by promoters of "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM)--or, as its proponents like to call it these days, "integrative medicine" (IM)--is in essence an argumentum ad populum; i.e., an appeal to popularity. Show More Summary
Oh, no! School wi-fi is making our kids sick! (2012 edition)
As I survey the lack of reason that infests--nay, permeates every fiber of--my country, sometimes I despair. Whether it's because of the freak fest that the race for the Republican nomination has become, with each candidate seemingly...Show More Summary
A study that oversells massage therapy
If there's one form of so-called "complementary and alternative medicine" (CAM) that I find more tolerable than most, it's massage therapy. The reason, of course, is that, whatever else anyone claims about massage, there's no doubt that...Show More Summary
An uncomfortable question
Work called last night. (It happens.) Basically, I had two deadlines for two big things (finishing reviewing the grants assigned to me for study section and a major writeup for a project for my job). Unfortunately, both of them were today. Show More Summary