Homeopathy = a ‘placebo prescription with deception’

Another presentation from the 2nd OFFICIAL SIPS CONFERENCE ON PLACEBO STUDIES caught my eye. As it is not available on-line, I have copied here the unabbreviated abstract: Open-label placebo vs. conventional and alternative medicine – An online study on expected effectiveness 1. Marcel Wilhelm. Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. 2. Winfried Rief. Philipps-University Marburg, Marburg, Germany. […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy = a ‘placebo prescription with deception’

American Loon #2235: Kristine Severyn

Medical Voices is an antivaccine website that seems to pretend to offer scholarly articles written by various quacks, pseudoscientists and denialists on various medical issues loosely related to vaccines (or: it used to be; at present it seems to have reverted to its origin as the...

Read the full lunacy: #2235: Kristine Severyn Encyclopedia of American Loons

WHAT DO CHIROPRACTORS DO? They exploit the healthy and wealthy!

A chiro, a arms dealer and a Brexit donor meet in a bar. The arms dealer: my job is so secret, I cannot tell my neighbour what I do. The Brexit donor: I have to keep things so close to my chest that not even my wife knows what I am doing. The chiro: that’s […]

Read the rest here: WHAT DO CHIROPRACTORS DO? They exploit the healthy and wealthy!

American Loon #2234: Stephanie Seneff

Stephanie Seneff is a real senior research scientist at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL) at MIT, specializing in human–computer interaction and algorithms for language understanding and speech recognition. She is also a crackpot, pseudoscientist and conspiracy...

Read the full lunacy: #2234: Stephanie Seneff Encyclopedia of American Loons

Blowing my own trumpet to the tune of a standardized citation metrics author database annotated for scientific field

After yesterday’s low light, i am in need to cheering up. Here we go: John Ioannidis is a pioneer of meta-research, i.e. research on published research papers. Through this work, he has made seminal contributions to evidence-based medicine. I have met John just once; this was when we were both on the panel creating the […]

Read the rest here: Blowing my own trumpet to the tune of a standardized citation metrics author database annotated for scientific field

Sponsored Skeptic (Edzard Ernst) Continues Attack on Safe Alternatives

The ‘OFFICIAL HOMEOPATHY RESOURCE‘ is an odd publication which, until very recently, I did not know about. They inform us about homeopathy as follows: Homeopathy is a non-corporate  200-year-old system of medicine used successfully by tens of millions worldwide, and the second most utilized complementary health discipline in the world (according to the World Health […]

Read the rest here: Sponsored Skeptic (Edzard Ernst) Continues Attack on Safe Alternatives

American Loon #2233: Judy Seeger

Judy Seeger is an ND. Naturopathy is, of course, little else than a rich array of woo, pseudoscience and quackery, and what Seeger advocates is no exception. Her website, Colon Cleanse Camp, describes her as having been “involved in the alternative medicine field for over 33 years[per 2012]”,...

Read the full lunacy: #2233: Judy Seeger Encyclopedia of American Loons

Veterinary homeopathy: why are farmers allowed to use a disproven therapy on defenceless animals?

Apparently, Hahnemann gave a lecture on the subject of veterinary homeopathy in the mid-1810s. Ever since, homeopathy has been used for treating animals. Von Boennighausen was one of the first influential proponents of veterinary homeopathy. However, veterinary medical schools tended to reject homoeopathy, and the number of veterinary homeopaths remained small. In the 1920ies, veterinary […]

Read the rest here: Veterinary homeopathy: why are farmers allowed to use a disproven therapy on defenceless animals?

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #34

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Reviews... SkS Week in Review... Poster of the Week...

Story of the Week...

G7 can’t turn a blind eye to ecocide in the Amazon

Leaders must ask themselves if Jair Bolsonaro’s destructive attitude to the forest and its peoples should be considered a crime

 

The fires in the world’s largest rainforest have triggered a global outcry and are dominating the G7 meeting in Biarritz in southern France. Photograph: Victor Moriyama/Getty 

hen G7 leaders sit in judgment on Brazilian president Jair Bolsonaro this weekend, the question they should ask themselves is whether the rape of the natural world should finally be treated as a crime. The language of sexual violence will be familiar to the former army captain, who publicly admires the sadistic torturers of the dictatorship era and once said to a congresswoman, “I would never rape you because you are not worth it.” Last month, after Pope Francis and European leaders expressed concern about the Amazon, Bolsonaro lashed back by claiming: “Brazil is a virgin that every foreign pervert desires.”

As a nationalist, the president sees the Amazon in terms of ownership and sovereignty. As a chauvinist, he sees the region as a possession to be exploited and opened up, rather than cherished and nurtured.

Since taking power eight months ago, Bolsonaro has, layer by layer, stripped the rainforest of protections. First, he weakened the environment ministry and put it in the hands of a minister convicted of environmental fraud. Second, he undermined the agency responsible for monitoring the forest, Ibama. Third, he alienated Norway and Germany, the main donors to forest-protection causes. Fourth, he tried to hide what was happening by sacking the head of the space agency responsible for satellite data on destruction. Fifth, he accused environmental charities of starting fires and working for foreign interests. And sixth, he verbally attacked Amazon dwellers – the indigenous and Quilombola communities who depend on a healthy forest.

With these defences down, the president has encouraged outsiders from the mining, logging and farming industries to take advantage of economic opportunities. The results have been brutal. Last month, deforestation surged by 278%. This month is almost certain to be a record for August under the current monitoring system. The wounds are impossible to cover up. The Amazon’s fires are now burning on front pages, news broadcasts and social networks across the world.

G7 can’t turn a blind eye to ecocide in the Amazon by Jonathan Watts, Environment, Observer/Guardian, Aug 25, 2019 

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Toon of the Week...

 

Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Why German coal power is falling fast in 2019 (Karsten Capion)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #34 (Doug Bostrom)
• A lecture program about climate change for people with learning disabilities (Baerbel)
• What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman)
• Consensus on consensus hits half million downloads (John Cook)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #35 (John Hartz)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #35 (John Hartz)

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Climate Feedback Reviews...

 [To be added.]

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #34 by John Hartz
• The North Atlantic ocean current, which warms northern Europe, may be slowing by greenman3610 (Yale Climate Connections)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #33, 2019 by Doug Bostrom
• Market Forces and Coal by Riduna
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #33 by John Hartz

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Should the Royal Warrants of ‘Ainsworths Homeopathic Pharmacy’ be withdrawn?

Dr Tony Pinkus has been featured on this blog before. The reason for this is that he claimed – falsely, of course – I have ‘faked’ research data. Recently, he re-appeared on my radar when he (or another spokesperson of his firm) was quoted in The Telegraph accusing me of ‘ignorance’. Subsequently, Mr Ullman published […]

Read the rest here: Should the Royal Warrants of ‘Ainsworths Homeopathic Pharmacy’ be withdrawn?

American Loon #2232: Mary Helen Sears

Mary Helen Sears is a Michigan-based wingnut and, at least formerly, vice-chair of the Republican party for the 1st congressional district of Michigan. In 2014 she was also (unsuccessfully) a candidate for being Michigan’s representative on the Republican National Committee. At that point, she...

Read the full lunacy: #2232: Mary Helen Sears Encyclopedia of American Loons

Don’t let a chiropractor near your kids!

I have written about this more often than I care to remember, and today I do it again. Why? Because it is important! Chiropractic is not effective for kids, and chiropractic is not harmless for kids – what more do we need to conclude that chiropractors should not be allowed anywhere near them? And most […]

Read the rest here: Don’t let a chiropractor near your kids!

The role of placebo effects in mindfulness-based analgesia

An abstract from the recent ‘2nd OFFICIAL SIPS CONFERENCE ON PLACEBO STUDIES’ caught my attention. It is not available on-line; therefore let me reproduce it here in full: The role of placebo effects in mindfulness-based analgesia 1. Jonathan Davies. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 2. Louise Sharpe. University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW, Australia. 3. […]

Read the rest here: The role of placebo effects in mindfulness-based analgesia

The UK media report about my new book … and the Berlin wall

Yesterday, I had the honour and pleasure to present to the UK press my new book entitled ‘ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF 150 MODALITIES’. The SCIENCE MEDIA CENTRE had invited me to do a ‘media briefing’ on the occasion of its publication. I did this by outlining the background around so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) […]

Read the rest here: The UK media report about my new book … and the Berlin wall

A framework for critical thinking

The journal NATURE has just published an excellent article by Andrew D. Oxman and an alliance of 24 leading scientists outlining the importance and key concepts of critical thinking in healthcare and beyond. The authors state that the Key Concepts for Informed Choices is not a checklist. It is a starting point. Although we have […]

Read the rest here: A framework for critical thinking

A new ‘self care tool kit’ by the ‘College of Medicine and Integrated Health’

The ‘College of Medicine and Integrated Health’ (CMIH) has been the subject of several previous blog posts (see for instance here, here and here). Recently, they have come up with something new that, in my view, deserves a further comment. The new ‘SELF CARE TOOL KIT’ began, according to the CMIH, in 2009 with a […]

Read the rest here: A new ‘self care tool kit’ by the ‘College of Medicine and Integrated Health’

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #33

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Quote of the Week... Graphic of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review...

Story of the Week...

Assessing the Global Climate in July 2019

July was the warmest month on record for the globe

 

The global land and ocean surface temperature departure from average for July 2019 was the highest for the month of July, making it the warmest month overall in the 140-year NOAA global temperature dataset record, which dates back to 1880. The year-to-date temperature for 2019 tied with 2017 as the second warmest January–July on record.

This monthly summary, developed by scientists at NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, is part of the suite of climate services NOAA provides to government, business, academia, and the public to support informed decision-making.

Assessing the Global Climate in July 2019, NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Aug 15, 2019 

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Toon of the Week...

 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Market Forces and Coal (Riduna)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #33 (Doug Bostrom)
• The North Atlantic ocean current, which warms northern Europe, may be slowing (Peter Sinclair)
• Why German coal power is falling fast in 2019 (Karsten Capion)
• What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #34 (John Hartz)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #34 (John Hartz)

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Climate Feedback Claim Review...

 

[To be added.] 

 

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review...  

• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #33 by John Hartz
• Millions of times later, 97 percent climate consensus still faces denial by Dana Nuccitelli (Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #32, 2019 by Doug Bostrom
• State of the climate: 2019 set to be second or third warmest year by Zeke Hausfather (Carbon Brief)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #32 by John Hartz

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American Loon #2230: Steven Seagal

More celebrity loons, and we suppose it comes as no shock to many that Steven Frederic Seagal struggles with reason, fact and comprehension. Seagal has been a lot of things, from martial artist, musician and aspiring politician to apologist for dictators, but is perhaps best known for a...

Read the full lunacy: #2230: Steven Seagal Encyclopedia of American Loons

Leprosy: some homeopaths advise to treat it with homeopathy

Leprosy can be a devastating infection. But, since many years, it is treatable. The WHO developed a multidrug therapyTrusted Source in 1995 to cure all types of leprosy. It’s available free of charge worldwide. Additionally, several antibiotics are used to kill the bacteria that causes leprosy, e.g.: dapsone rifampin clofazimine minocycline ofloxacin   Yes, leprosy is treatable […]

Read the rest here: Leprosy: some homeopaths advise to treat it with homeopathy

Reviewing a study of homeopathy. How do we best prevent pseudoscience from getting published?

Before a scientific paper gets published in a journal, it is submitted to the process of peer-review. Essentially, this means that the editor sends it to 2 or 3 experts in the field asking them to review the submission. Reviewers usually do not get any reward for this, yet the task they are asked to […]

Read the rest here: Reviewing a study of homeopathy. How do we best prevent pseudoscience from getting published?

American Loon #2229: Patrick Scrivener

A.k.a. Noel Kilkenny Patrick Scrivener is an ostensibly Irish-born, incoherent, fundamentalist conspiracy theorist (we use “ostensibly” since we are unsure whether we can trust a word of what he says). Scrivener’s main schtick seems to be the belief that Catholicism is some sort of Satanic...

Read the full lunacy: #2229: Patrick Scrivener Encyclopedia of American Loons

So-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for disease prevention? PLEASE, DON’T BELIEVE THE FRAUDSTERS

… Many proponents of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) are keen to point out that, while mainstream medicine may be good at treatment of diseases, particularly acute conditions, SCAM’s forte lies in the prevention of disease. Patients seem to have intuitively accepted this notion; a recent survey suggest that more than 50% of those Americans who […]

Read the rest here: So-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for disease prevention? PLEASE, DON’T BELIEVE THE FRAUDSTERS

American Loon #2228: Ben Scripture

J. Benjamin Scripture is a creationist with a PhD in Biochemistry (he is sometimes presented as having a PhD in biology, which is different). Since he has a PhD, he was eligible to sign the Discovery Institute’s silly petition A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism, but calling...

Read the full lunacy: #2228: Ben Scripture Encyclopedia of American Loons

World Federation of Chiropractic, Strategic Plan 2019-2022

The World Federation of Chiropractic, Strategic Plan 2019-2022 has just been published. It is an odd document that holds many surprises. Sadly, none of them are positive. As the efficacy and safety of chiropractic spinal manipulations, the hallmark treatment that close to 100% of all chiropractic patients receive, are more than a little doubtful, one would […]

Read the rest here: World Federation of Chiropractic, Strategic Plan 2019-2022

American Loon #2227: Tamara Scott

Tamara Scott is the Iowa state director for Concerned Women for America, whose mission is to “protect and promote Biblical values among all citizens,” and member of the Republican National Committee. In addition, Scott has promulgated bigotry and delusion on radio and cable TV shows since 1998, and...

Read the full lunacy: #2227: Tamara Scott Encyclopedia of American Loons

HOMEOPATHY: A letter to all MEPs

As reported on this blog, the Spanish minister of health want to change the EU law that governs homeopathy. Now the INH has taken action in support of this idea: THE COMMENT … the Spanish government … no longer wants to accept the medicinal status of homeopathy, wants to ban homeopathy from pharmacies and has already “discontinued” […]

Read the rest here: HOMEOPATHY: A letter to all MEPs

John Dormandy (1937-2019)

John Dormandy was a consultant vascular surgeon, researcher, and medical educator best known for innovative work on the diagnosis and management of peripheral arterial disease. He had a leading role in developing, and garnering international support for, uniform guidelines that had a major impact on vascular care among specialists. The Trans-Atlantic Inter-Society Consensus on Management […]

Read the rest here: John Dormandy (1937-2019)

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #32

Story of the Week... Editorial of the Week... El Niño/La Niña Update... Toon of the Week... SkS in the News... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review...

Story of the Week...

Change food production and stop abusing land, major climate report warns

Land degradation, including deforestation, produces almost a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. Pictured: An aerial view over a chemically deforested area of the Amazon jungle caused by illegal mining activities in the river basin of the Madre de Dios region in southeast Peru, on May 17, 2019. 

Humans have damaged around a quarter of ice-free land on Earth, United Nations scientists warned in a major report* Thursday, stressing that further degradation must be stopped to prevent catastrophic global warming.

The warning comes almost a year after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)concluded in a landmark report that we only have until 2030 to drastically reduce our dependence on fossil fuels and prevent the planet from reaching the crucial threshold of 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels.

The second IPCC report highlights the vicious cycle of climate change and land degradation.

"We humans affect more than 70% of ice-free land, a quarter of this land is degraded. The way we produce food and what we eat contributes to the loss of natural ecosystems and declining biodiversity," said Valérie Masson-Delmotte, co-chair of the IPCC. 

Change food production and stop abusing land, major climate report warns by Isabelle Gerretsen, World, CNN, Aug 8, 2019

*Climate Change and Land: An IPCC special report on climate change, desertification, land degradation, sustainable land management, food security, and greenhouse gas fluxes in terrestrial ecosystems

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Editorial of the Week...

Climate change is sapping nutrients from our food — and it could become a global crisis

A farmer plants rice seedlings in a paddy field during a monsoon rainfall in Nuwakot village, Nepal, in July. (Narendra Shrestha/EPA-EFE/REX/Shutterstock) 

Feeding a planet inhabited by 10 billion people by mid-century — already a daunting task — is getting harder due to a little-known impact of global warming: the decline of essential nutrients in the world’s staple foods that exist in almost every single person’s diet around the world.

The mechanism by which rising carbon dioxide saps nutrients from our food crops remains somewhat unclear, but the effect is consistent across most plant types from trees to grasses to edible crops: It is reducing the availability of zinc, iron, protein and key vitamins in wheat, rice and several other fundamental grains and legumes.

The implications are huge: By 2050, hundreds of millions of people could slip below the minimum thresholds of these nutrients needed for good health, and more than 2 billion already deficient could see their conditions worsen. And it extends well beyond human nutrition as every animal in the biosphere depends, directly or indirectly, on plant consumption for nutrients.

These findings, which will appear this week as part of the most comprehensive review ever compiled on the two-way relationship between global warming and land use, highlight the urgent need to slash the greenhouse gas emissions that drive climate change. Human activity has increased atmospheric carbon more than 40 percent since the mid-19th century, enough to unleash a deadly onslaught of extreme weather made more destructive by rising seas. Without a drastic drop in emissions, those levels will climb even more quickly over the coming decades.

Climate change is sapping nutrients from our food — and it could become a global crisis, Opinion by Samuel Meyers*, Washington Post, Aug 5, 2019

*Samuel Myers is a principal research scientist at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health and director of the Planetary Health Alliance.

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El Niño/La Niña Update...

August 2019 El Niño Update: Stick a fork in it

The El Niño of 2019 is officially done. Near-average conditions in the tropical Pacific indicate that we have returned to ENSO-neutral conditions (neither El Niño or La Niña is present). Forecasters continue to favor ENSO-neutral (50-55% chance) through the Northern Hemisphere winter.  

August 2019 El Niño Update: Stick a fork in it by Nat Johnson, ENSO Blog, NOAA's  Climate.gov, Aug 8, 2019

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Toon of the Week...

 Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page.

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SkS in the News...

[To be added.] 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• State of the climate: 2019 set to be second or third warmest year (Zeke Hausfather)
• New Research Reloaded (Doug Bostrom)
• Market Forces and Coal (Riduna)
• Why German coal power is falling fast in 2019 (Karsten Capion)
• What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #33 (John Hartz)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #33 (John Hartz)

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Climate Feedback Reviews...

 

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review... 

• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #32 by John Hartz
• Can Land cause Climate Change? (new IPCC report), YouTube video by Climate Adam
• The consensus on consensus messaging by John Cook
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #31, 2019 by Doug Bostrom
• Climate change made Europe’s 2019 record heatwave up to ‘100 times more likely’ by Daisy Dunne (Carbon Brief)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #31 by John Hartz

 

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American Loon #2226: Ami & Steve Sciulli

Ami and Steve Sciulli are “sacred sound healing musicians who use quartz crystal bowls and electronically enhanced world flutes to create an environment for healing, expansion, and relaxation” under the name Life in Balance. Apparently, Life in Balance “is committed to using sacred...

Read the full lunacy: #2226: Ami & Steve Sciulli Encyclopedia of American Loons

Curcumin: in vivo veritas!

We have looked at curcumin several (tumeric) times before (see here, here and here). It seems to have a fascinating spectrum of pharmacological activities. But do they translate into clinical usefulness? To answer this question, we obviously need clinical trials. Unfortunately, not many have become available. Here are two recent studies: Due to the potential […]

Read the rest here: Curcumin: in vivo veritas!

Vaginal steaming: another SCAM best to be avoided

It is hardly surprising that Gwyneth Paltrow’s obsession with so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for the vagina is motivating women to try some of it. The consequences can be dramatic; not only for the wallet but also for the vagina! Vaginal steaming made global headlines in 2015 after its promotion by celebrity Gwyneth Paltrow. One of […]

Read the rest here: Vaginal steaming: another SCAM best to be avoided

American Loon #2225: Joseph Sciambra

We have encountered a couple of ex-gay activists before, and have to admit that it is sometimes difficult not to feel some empathy or pity for them. In the case of Joseph Sciambra concern might be appropriate as well. Sciambra claims to be an “ex-gay” porn star, and says...

Read the full lunacy: #2225: Joseph Sciambra Encyclopedia of American Loons

Homeopathy is also a diagnostic method

Many so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) traditions have their very own diagnostic techniques, unknown to conventional clinicians. Think, for instance, of: iridology, applied kinesiology, tongue diagnosis, pulse diagnosis, Kirlean photography, live blood cell analysis, the Vega test, dowsing. (Those interested in more detail can find a critical assessment of these and other diagnostic SCAM methods in […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy is also a diagnostic method

My new book: ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF 150 MODALITIES.

Yes, I have just published another book! It is entitles ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF 150 MODALITIES. And yes, I would like you to read it! (You don’t need to buy it, go to your library and ask them to order it.) Therefore, allow me to try and wet your appetite by simply copying […]

Read the rest here: My new book: ALTERNATIVE MEDICINE, A CRITICAL ASSESSMENT OF 150 MODALITIES.

American Loon #2224: Rob Schwarzwalder

Rob Schwarzwalder is currently Senior Lecturer at Regent University, Pat Robertson’s mockery of educational institutions. And prior to that, Schwarzwalder was vice president of the fundamentalist hate group the Family Research Council. In that capacity, Schwarzwalder would for instance...

Read the full lunacy: #2224: Rob Schwarzwalder Encyclopedia of American Loons

Spain wants EU law changed that classifies homeopathy as medicine

According to the European Committee of Homeopathy, the Committee on Health and Consumer Affairs of the Spanish Parliament unanimously adopted a bill in 2009 that recognises homeopathy as a medical act. It urged the government to “take the measures necessary for the exercise of homeopathy exclusively by graduates in medicine and surgery.” On 17 December 2009, the Consejo General de […]

Read the rest here: Spain wants EU law changed that classifies homeopathy as medicine

Pseudoaneurysm of Neck External Carotid Artery Related to Chiropractic Manipulation

Japanese neurosurgeons reported the case of A 55-year-old man who presented with progressive pain and expanding swelling in his right neck. He had no history of trauma or infectious disease. The patient had undergone chiropractic manipulations once in a month and the last manipulation was done one day before the admission to hospital. On examination […]

Read the rest here: Pseudoaneurysm of Neck External Carotid Artery Related to Chiropractic Manipulation

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #31

Story of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Poster of the Week... SkS Week in Review... 

Story of the Week...

China’s emissions ‘could peak 10 years earlier than Paris climate pledge’

Shutterstock

CO2 emissions in China may peak up to a decade earlier than the nation has pledged under the Paris Agreement, according to a new study.

With its enormous population and heavy reliance on coal, China is by far the world’s biggest polluter, responsible for more emissions than the US and EU combined.

One of the drivers behind Chinese emissions is the intense urbanisation that has taken place across the country in recent years, as millions of people flock from rural areas to rapidly expanding cities.

However, in new analysis published in Nature Sustainability, a team of researchers has shown that as China’s burgeoning cities become wealthier, their per capita emissions begin to drop.

According to their analysis, this trend could in turn trigger an overall dip in CO2 levels across the nation, and mean that despite the current target for emissions peaking by 2030, they may in fact level out at some point between 2021 and 2025.

It is not the first time a study has suggested a premature dip in China’s emissions, but its timing is significant given an imminent UN summit where world leaders will under pressure to step up their Paris targets.

China’s emissions ‘could peak 10 years earlier than Paris climate pledge’ by Josh Gabbatiss, Rest of World Emissions, Carbon Brief, July 29, 2019 

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Toon of the Week...

 

 

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Coming Soon on SkS...

• Climate change made Europe’s 2019 record heatwave up to ‘100 times more likely’ (Daisy Dunne)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #31 (Doug Bostrom)
• Why German coal power is falling fast in 2019 (Karsten Capion)
• What psychotherapy can do for the climate and biodiversity crises (Caroline Hickman)
• How climate change is making hurricanes more dangerous (Jeff Berardelli)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #32 (John Hartz)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #32 (John Hartz)

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Poster of the Week...

 

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SkS Week in Review...  

• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming News Roundup #31 by John Hartz
• The 'war on coal' myth by Karin Kirk (Yale Climate Connection)
• What role will climate change play in the 2020 presidential election? by Dana Nuccitelli (Yale Climate Connection)
• Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30, 2019 by Doug Bostrom
• 'No doubt left' about scientific consensus on global warming, say experts by Jonathan Watts (Guardian)
• 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #30 by John Hartz

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American Loon #2223: Jeffrey M. Schwartz

Jeffrey M. Schwartz is a psychiatrist with a genuine research background. He is also a religious fundamentalist, signatory to the Discovery Institute’s nonsense petition A Scientific Dissent from Darwinism, and featured in the 2008 creationist promotion “documentary” Expelled: No...

Read the full lunacy: #2223: Jeffrey M. Schwartz Encyclopedia of American Loons

A truly homeopathic survey

The Society of Homeopaths (SoH) is the professional organisation of UK lay homeopaths (those with no medical training). The SoH has recently published a membership survey. Here are some of its findings: 89% of all respondents are female, 70% are between the ages of 35 and 64. 91% of respondents are currently in practice. 87% […]

Read the rest here: A truly homeopathic survey

American Loon #2222: Robert L. Schulz

Robert Louis Schulz is an engineer by training, Founder and Chairman of We the People Foundation for Constitutional Education and We the People Congress, and “a constitutional activist with a decades-long focus on holding government accountable to the Constitution, through the First Amendment Right...

Read the full lunacy: #2222: Robert L. Schulz Encyclopedia of American Loons

The ‘Foundation Course’ of the UK College of Medicine and Integrated Health

Guest post by Toby Katz Who am I? I’m a final-year graduate medic (also hold an Economics degree) studying at St George’s University. I founded the Integrative Medicine Society at the university, with the aim of hosting talks on evidence-based CAM. My interest in evidence-based CAM arose as many of my family members have benefitted […]

Read the rest here: The ‘Foundation Course’ of the UK College of Medicine and Integrated Health

The chiropractic workforce: a global review

In 2016, members of the World Federation of Chiropractic Disability and Rehabilitation Committee conducted an international, cross-sectional survey of all 193 United Nation member countries and seven dependencies to describe the global chiropractic workforce in terms of: the availability (numbers and where they are practising), quality (education and licensing), accessibility (entry and reimbursement), acceptability (scope […]

Read the rest here: The chiropractic workforce: a global review