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rampant

Wednesday, 31 July 2019

American Loon #2221: Gerald Schroeder

Gerald Lawrence Schroeder is an Israeli-American physicist, author, lecturer and teacher at the College of Jewish Studies Aish HaTorah’s Discovery Seminar. Schroeder does indeed have a genuine science background and may have been a real scientist at some point, but he is also a creationist, and...

Read the full lunacy: #2221: Gerald Schroeder Encyclopedia of American Loons

Another blow to quackademia: TCM course at a Sydney university is to be stopped

An article in the Sydney Morning Herald might be interesting to some readers. It informs us that, after more than 25 years of running, the University of Technology Sydney (UTS) intends to stop offering its degree in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). A review of the Chinese Medicine Department found it should be wound up at the end […]

Read the rest here: Another blow to quackademia: TCM course at a Sydney university is to be stopped

The Other Epidemics

We would be lying to you if we didn’t tell you that things other than infectious disease and vaccine-preventable diseases are not the only thing that take up our time. Humanity is kind of a funny set of organisms. We do things to ourselves that harm us and harm others. The opiate epidemic started because […]

Read more at: The Other Epidemics by Reuben

Tuesday, 30 July 2019

Acupuncture for angina pectoris! Too good to be true?

Acupuncture is effective in alleviating angina when combined with traditional antianginal treatment, according to study results published today in JAMA Internal Medicine (the paper is not yet on Medline, I will provide the link when it becomes available). Researchers conducted a 20-week randomized clinical trial at 5 clinical centres in China. Patients with chronic, stable […]

Read the rest here: Acupuncture for angina pectoris! Too good to be true?

Monday, 29 July 2019

Chiropractic for kids: a ‘complete disregard for the evidence and scientific facts’

An article in the ‘Chronicle of Chiropractic’ defends the currently much debated chiropractic care for children. It is authored by ‘ChiroFuture‘, a Risk Purchasing Group founded by chiropractors. Here is the unabridged article (the references were added by me and refer to my comments below): The chiropractic care of children has been the subject of increased […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractic for kids: a ‘complete disregard for the evidence and scientific facts’

American Loon #2220: Jeffrey Schone

Martin Luther College (MLC) is a religious institution (the college of ministry for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod) in New Ulm, Minnesota, that pretends to offer something resembling “education”. It does not, of course – not even remotely. Instead, they profess creationism, teaches the...

Read the full lunacy: #2220: Jeffrey Schone Encyclopedia of American Loons

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #30

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...

Global Footprint Network promotes real-world solutions that #MoveTheDate, accelerating the transition to one-planet prosperity

On July 29, humanity will have used nature’s resource budget for the entire year, according to Global Footprint Network, an international sustainability organization that has pioneered the Ecological Footprint. It is Earth Overshoot Day. Its date has moved up two months over the past 20 years to the 29th of July this year, the earliest date ever.

2019 Past Overshoot Days by Global Carbon Footprint 

 

Earth Overshoot Day falling on July 29th means that humanity is currently using nature 1.75 times faster than our planet’s ecosystems can regenerate. This is akin to using 1.75 Earths. Overshoot is possible because we are depleting our natural capital – which compromises humanity’s future resource security. The costs of this global ecological overspending are becoming increasingly evident in the form of deforestation, soil erosion, biodiversity loss, or the buildup of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. The latter leads to climate change and more frequent extreme weather events.

“We have only got one Earth – this is the ultimately defining context for human existence. We can’t use 1.75 without destructive consequences,” said Mathis Wackernagel, co-inventor of Ecological Footprint accounting and founder of Global Footprint Network.

His just released book, Ecological Footprint: Managing Our Biocapacity Budgetdemonstrates that overshoot can only be temporary. Humanity will eventually have to operate within the means of Earth’s ecological resources, whether that balance is restored by disaster or by design. “Companies and countries that understand and manage the reality of operating in a one-planet context are in a far better position to navigate the challenges of the 21st century,” Wackernagel writes. 

Global Footprint Network promotes real-world solutions that #MoveTheDate, accelerating the transition to one-planet prosperity. Press Release, Global Footprint Network, July 23, 2019


Toon of the Week...

2019 Toon 30 

 

Hat tip to the Stop Climate Science Denial Facebook page. 


Coming Soon on SkS...

  • 'No doubt left' about scientific consensus on global warming, say experts (Jonathan Watts)
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #30 (Doug Bostrom)
  • The 'war on coal' myth (Karin Kirk)
  • 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 #31 (John Hartz)
  • 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #31 (John Hartz)

Climate Feedback Claim Review...

Data shows the Earth is currently warmer globally than at any time in the past 2,000 years

CLAIM:

"A graph of the Earth’s mean temperature over the last 2,000 years shows two previous periods when temperatures were warmer than they are now; from 1–200 A.D., an epoch called the Roman Warm Period, and more recently the Medieval Warm Period from 900–1100 A.D.[…] It is worth noting that both of these climate optima occurred centuries before the discovery of fossil fuels and the invention of the internal combustion engine."

SOURCE:

Apocalyptic Sea-Level Rise—Just a Thing of the Past?, Opinion by Gregory Rummo, Town Hall, July 23, 2019

 VERDICT:

 Inaccurate 

DETAILS:

Factually Inaccurate: Available climate records show that recent global temperatures are likely the highest of the last 2,000 years and there is no data supporting the claim that, globally, the Earth was warmer during the Roman or Medieval eras.

Flawed Reasoning: Natural climate change events in the past do not provide evidence that human emissions of greenhouse gas are incapable of changing the climate today.

KEY TAKE AWAY:

It's not true that the world has been warmer at other times during the last 2,000 years. But even if that were the case, it would not change the fact that human emissions of greenhouse gases are causing Earth's climate to warm.

Data shows the Earth is currently warmer globally than at any time in the past 2,000 years, Edited by Scott Johnson, Claim Reviews, Climate Feedback, July 26, 2019


Poster of the Week...

 2019 Poster 30


SkS Week in Review... 



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Saturday, 27 July 2019

Facebook and Youtube join the fight against quackery

Facebook and YouTube have in the past been Eldorados for quacks who used it to promote their nonsensical products, false messages, and bogus treatments. A recent article in the Washington Post explained that this might be about to change. Hundreds of thousands of enthusiasts of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) persuade each other on Facebook that […]

Read the rest here: Facebook and Youtube join the fight against quackery

Friday, 26 July 2019

Is the heat bothering you? Try homeopathy, acupuncture or Bach flower remedies!

It is hot, very hot? People have difficulties sleeping at night, not to mention working during the day. If you are one of the millions suffering, do not despair. Luckily, we have so-called alternative medicines (SCAM) that can help. This article, for instance explains what homeopathy can do for you: Glonoine: This is one of the […]

Read the rest here: Is the heat bothering you? Try homeopathy, acupuncture or Bach flower remedies!

American Loon #2219: Jeff Schoep

The National Socialist Movement (NSM) is a Detroit-based neo-Nazi organization, and a part of the Nationalist Front. NSM refers to itself as a “white civil rights organization” but objects to being referred to as “racist” and “Neo-Nazi” in part because such descriptions of their goals are...

Read the full lunacy: #2219: Jeff Schoep Encyclopedia of American Loons

Thursday, 25 July 2019

Is this the quackiest quack of them all?

His name is Uriel. He been studying and controlling energy for over 20 years. Growing up as a young boy in a family that has been doing spiritual healing for over 800 years, he started to feel other people’s emotions, feelings, and illnesses without having to speak to them directly. These days, Uriel makes a […]

Read the rest here: Is this the quackiest quack of them all?

Wednesday, 24 July 2019

Position Statement From The Spanish Association Of Paediatrics Medicines Committee Concerning The Use Of Alternative Medicine And Pseudo-Science In Children

As most of us know, the use of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) can be problematic; its use in children is often most problematic: There are hardly any SCAMs that have been shown to work for paediatric conditions. Most SCAMs can cause considerable harm to children. Some might even amount to child abuse. Most SCAM practitioners […]

Read the rest here: Position Statement From The Spanish Association Of Paediatrics Medicines Committee Concerning The Use Of Alternative Medicine And Pseudo-Science In Children

Tuesday, 23 July 2019

American Loon #2218: Rob Schneider

Celebrity loonis a pretty common breed; after all, celebrity status is only rarely the result of cognitive skills and qualities. We cannot cover them all, but some celebrity loons are particularly vocal and may actually wield enough influence to have a negative influence on civilization. Actor,...

Read the full lunacy: #2218: Rob Schneider Encyclopedia of American Loons

Smarter Curcumin for dummer consumers?

  This image caught my eye on facebook. It links to an article that makes a multitude of claims for a dietary supplement by the name of ‘smarter curcumin’: Promotes Comfort & Flexibility Studies have shown that curcumin may work by reducing certain key inflammation-promoting enzymes in the body. In some studies curcumin performed well […]

Read the rest here: Smarter Curcumin for dummer consumers?

Monday, 22 July 2019

Wet cupping and dry humour

Cupping is a so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) that has existed in several ancient cultures. It recently became popular when US Olympic athletes displayed cupping marks on their bodies, and it was claimed that cupping is used for enhancing their physical performance. There are two distinct forms: dry and wet cupping. Wet cupping involves scarring the […]

Read the rest here: Wet cupping and dry humour

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #29

Article of the Week... Toon of the Week... Coming Soon on SkS... Climate Feedback Claim Review... SkS Week in Review...Poster of the Week...

Article of the Week...

June 2019: Earth's Hottest June on Record

Hindu priests in tubs 

In this picture taken on June 6, 2019, Hindu priests sit inside large vessels filled with water as they perform the 'Parjanya Japa' and offer prayers to appease the rain god for timely monsoons at the Huligamma Devi Temple in Koppal District, some 300 km from Bangalore, India. A 33-year-old man died after a fight over water in southern India, police said on June 7, as huge parts of the country gasped from drought and a brutal summer heatwave. The heat wave was blamed for 210 deaths in June, making it Earth’s deadliest weather-related disaster of the month. Image credit: STR/AFP/Getty Images.

June 2019 was the planet's warmest June since record keeping began in 1880, said NOAA's National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI) on Tuesday. NASA also rated June 2019 as the warmest June on record, well of ahead of the previous record set in 2015.

The global heat in June is especially impressive and significant given that only a weak (and weakening) El Niño event was in place. As human-produced greenhouse gases continue to heat up our planet, most global heat records are set during El Niño periods, because the warm waters that spread upward and eastward across the surface of the tropical Pacific during El Niño transfer heat from the ocean to the atmosphere.

Global ocean temperatures during June 2019 were tied with 2016 for warmest on record, according to NOAA, and global land temperatures were the warmest on record. Global satellite-measured temperatures in June 2019 for the lowest 8 km of the atmosphere were the warmest or second warmest in the 41-year record, according to RSS and the University of Alabama Huntsville (UAH), respectively.

As of July 15, July 2019 was on track to be the warmest month in Earth’s history (in absolute terms, not in terms of temperature departure from average)--just ahead of the record set in July 2017. 

June 2019: Earth's Hottest June on Record by Jeff Masters, Category 6, Weather Underground, June 18, 2019 


Toon of the Week...

2019 Toon 29 


Coming Soon on SkS...

  • CCC: UK has just 18 months to avoid ’embarrassment’ over climate inaction (Simon Evans)
  • Skeptical Science New Research for Week #29, 2019 (SkS Team)
  • Analysis: How Trump’s rollback of vehicle fuel standards would increase US emissions (Zeke Hausfather)
  • 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 #30 (John Hartz)
  • 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #30 (John Hartz)

Climate Feedback Claim Review...

Sky News Australia interview falsely claims that global cooling is coming soon

CLAIM:

"the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is misleading humanity about climate change and sea levels, and that in fact a new solar-driven cooling period is not far off"

SOURCE: 

New sun-driven cooling period of Earth ‘not far off’, Alan Jones interviews Nils Axel-Mörner, Sky News Australia, June 2019 

VERDICT:

Incorrect 

DETAILS:

Inadequate Support: These claims contradict all the available data and published research on these topics. There is no support in the scientific literature for the claim that solar activity could significantly cool the climate in the decades to come.

KEY TAKE AWAY:

Scientists have established that observed climate change and sea level rise are clearly caused by human activities, primarily the emission of carbon dioxide through the burning of fossil fuels. Solar activity cannot explain recent warming, and even the occurrence of low solar activity in the near future would have an insignificant effect on human-caused warming.

Sky News Australia interview falsely claims that global cooling is coming soon, Edited by Scott Johnson, Claim Reviews, Climate Feedback, July 18, 2019


SkS Week in Review... 


Poster of the Week...

 2019 Poster 29



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Saturday, 20 July 2019

One in 20 patients is exposed to preventable harm

One of the favourite arguments of proponents of so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is that conventional medicine is amongst the world’s biggest killers. The argument is used cleverly to discredit conventional medicine and promote SCAM. It has been shown to be wrong many times, but it nevertheless is much-loved by SCAM enthusiasts and thus refuses to […]

Read the rest here: One in 20 patients is exposed to preventable harm

Friday, 19 July 2019

A chair of anthroposophical medicine at the Univesity of Basel

I have to admit, I do not often read the ‘Aargauer Zeitung’. But perhaps I should? Certainly this article from yesterday’s issue is most interesting. It reported that the University of Basel will soon have a new chair. Apparently, the move has created a fiercely controversial debate within the university. But the decision to go […]

Read the rest here: A chair of anthroposophical medicine at the Univesity of Basel

Thursday, 18 July 2019

Chiropractic, osteopathy: Yet another lucrative claim turns out to be bogus

The effectiveness of spinal manipulative therapy (SMT) for improving athletic performance in healthy athletes (or anything else for that matter) is unclear. The objective of this systematic review was to systematically review the literature on the effect of SMT on performance-related outcomes in asymptomatic adults. The authors searched electronic databases from 1990 to March, 2018. […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractic, osteopathy: Yet another lucrative claim turns out to be bogus

Wednesday, 17 July 2019

American Loon #2217: Cindy Schneider

Cindy Schneider is – apparently –medical advisor for the antivaccine group SafeMinds. Schneider is very much concerned with mercury in flu vaccines (that would be thimerosal and ehtylmercury, but SafeMinds has never been particularly concerned with details of chemistry), and was for instance...

Read the full lunacy: #2217: Cindy Schneider Encyclopedia of American Loons

Chiropractors’ lip service to public health

Chiropractors often claim that they are working tirelessly towards increasing public health. But how seriously should we take such claims? The purpose of this study was to investigate weight-loss interventions offered by Canadian chiropractors. It is a secondary analysis of data from the Ontario Chiropractic Observation and Analysis STudy (Nc = 42 chiropractors, Np = […]

Read the rest here: Chiropractors’ lip service to public health

Tuesday, 16 July 2019

Homeopathy? Which one?

The current debate about homeopathy is intense and often emotional. Yet, many people who discuss the loudest seem not even to know what homeopathy is; others are unaware that there is not one but many forms of homeopathy. The following passages from my book are an attempt to define some of them: Agrohomeopathy is a […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy? Which one?

Monday, 15 July 2019

Yet another study shows the negative effects of SCAM use for cancer patients

The use of  so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) for changing the natural history of cancer (rather than for alleviating symptoms) is a dangerous thing. Here is yet another study confirming this statement. The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to investigate the patterns of SCAM use and its association with time to conventional treatment. The study was […]

Read the rest here: Yet another study shows the negative effects of SCAM use for cancer patients

2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Digest #28

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

Debunk of the Week...

Non-peer-reviewed manuscript falsely claims natural cloud changes can explain global warming

CLAIM: "Man-made Climate Change Doesn't Exist In Practice... During the last hundred years the temperature is increased [sic] about 0.1°C because of carbon dioxide. The human contribution was about 0.01°C."

Some news outlets are publishing articles stating that this claim is based on a new study. In reality, there is no new published study. The claim comes from a six-page document uploaded to arXiv, a website traditionally used by scientists to make manuscripts available before publication. This means that this article has not been peer-reviewed, so there is no guarantee to its credibility.

If the blogs that covered this as a new study had contacted independent scientists for insight, instead of accepting this short document as revolutionary science, they would have found that it does not have any scientific credibility.

As the scientists who examined this claim explained, the document relies on circular reasoning to claim that cloud cover and relative humidity have caused the change in global temperature, and ignores many additional factors affecting global temperature—including aerosol pollution, volcanic eruptions, and natural ocean oscillations. The published, peer-reviewed scientific research on this topic clearly shows that human activities are responsible for climate change.

Non-peer-reviewed manuscript falsely claims natural cloud changes can explain global warming, Claims Review Edited by Scott Johnson, Climate Feedback, July 12, 2019


El Niño/La Niña Update...

July 2019 El Niño update: I think I’ll go for a walk

El Niño is hanging on by its fingernails, but forecasters predict this event will wind down within the next couple of months. It’s likely that the temperature of the tropical Pacific Ocean surface will return to near-average soon, qualifying for “ENSO-neutral” conditions. Neutral conditions are favored to remain through the fall and winter.

Not dead yet

The June Niño3.4 index, our primary ENSO measurement, was 0.6°C above the long-term average, just above the El Niño threshold of 0.5°C. There is some evidence that the atmosphere over the central Pacific is still responding to that extra heating, as a bit more clouds and rain than average were present in June.

The Southern Oscillation Index and Equatorial Southern Oscillation Index were both slightly negative in June, also indicating some continuation of the weakened Walker circulation we expect to see with El Niño. But the upper-level and near-surface winds over the equatorial Pacific, another component of the Walker circulation, were close to average during June. All in all, El Niño is still present, but just barely.

That’s no ordinary rabbit

As frequent readers of this blog will know, we closely monitor the temperature of the water under the surface of the tropical Pacific. This can tell us if there is a source of warmer-than-average water to supply the surface, continuing to fuel El Niño, or not. In early June, there was a small downwelling  Kelvin wave of warmer waters moving eastward under the surface of the Pacific, but this wave has dissipated recently.

El Nino Animation

Departure from average of the surface and subsurface tropical Pacific sea temperature averaged over 5-day periods starting in early June 2019. The vertical axis is depth below the surface (meters) and the horizontal axis is longitude, from the western to eastern tropical Pacific. This cross-section is right along the equator. Climate.gov figure from CPC data.

Overall, the heat content in the top 300 meters of the equatorial Pacific is just about average now, in early July. This is one of the major factors in our forecast for a return to near-average surface temperatures and neutral ENSO conditions. Once the surface temperatures return to average, and the source of extra heat to the air above the central Pacific is gone, the atmospheric component of El Niño—that weakened Walker circulation—will also return to average.

July 2019 El Niño update: I think I’ll go for a walk by Emily Becker, NOAA's Climate.gov, July 11, 2019 


Toon of the Week...

 Frogs in Boiling Water


Coming Soon on SkS...

  • 10 things a committed U.S. President and Congress could do about climate change (Craig Chandler)
  • New Research Reloaded (Doug Bostrom)
  • 97% consensus study hits one million downloads! (John Cook)
  • 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 #29 (John Hartz)
  • 2019 SkS Weekly Climate Change & Global Warming Weekly Digest #29 (John Hartz)

Poster of the Week...

2019 Poster 28 


SkS Week in Review... 



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Saturday, 13 July 2019

German health insurers urged to end homeopathy refunds

The NHS England has stopped paying for homeopathy in 2017. France has just announced to do likewise. What about Germany, the homeland of homeopathy?   In Germany there are about 150,000 doctors, and around 7,000 specialize in homeopathy. Multiple surveys confirm that Germans do like their SCAMs, particularly homeopathy. Two examples: A 2016 cross-sectional analysis […]

Read the rest here: German health insurers urged to end homeopathy refunds

Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia - Scientific American Blog Network

Nearly everyone in middle school biology learned that if you’ve got XX chromosomes, you’re a female; if you’ve got XY, you’re a male. This tired simplification is great for teaching the importance of chromosomes but betrays the true nature of biological sex. The popular belief that your sex arises only from your chromosomal makeup is wrong. The truth is, your biological sex isn’t carved in stone, but a living system with the potential for change.

Read full post: Stop Using Phony Science to Justify Transphobia - Scientific American Blog Network

Sadly, many self-styled skeptics, especially in the UK, subscribe to this oversimplification destined to introduce a child to a complex subject (what Jack Cohen & Ian Stewart dub "lies-to-children")as if science stopped there. It's the same attitude that they lambast in others on other subjects in their blogs and elsewhere. It's easy to demonstrate e.g. that homeopathy is bunk or that vaccines save lives. That doesn't make you a geneticist, endocrinologist, psychologist, social scientist. Or, indeed, a very nice person.

Friday, 12 July 2019

Spinal manipulation in children amounts to abuse

Treating children is an important income stream for chiropractors and osteopaths. There is plenty of evidence to suspect that their spinal manipulations generate more harm than good; on this blog, we have discussed this problem more often than I care to remember (see for instance here, here, here, here and here). Yet, osteopaths and chiropractors […]

Read the rest here: Spinal manipulation in children amounts to abuse

American Loon #2216: Gary Schneeberger

Gary Schneeberger is president of communication at Focus on the Family and editor of their publication Family News in Focus. According to Schneeberger, the biblical view of marriage and sexuality is badly needed for balance in mainstream media, and “what Focus on the Family’s analysts and...

Read the full lunacy: #2216: Gary Schneeberger Encyclopedia of American Loons

Thursday, 11 July 2019

Homeopathy in France: a triumph of reason over profit

It is not that long ago that I published a post entitled HOMEOPATHY IN FRANCE: A TRIUMPH OF PROFIT OVER REASON. Today, I am pleased to post one with the reverse title. It has taken a few years (compared to the UK where it has taken a few decades, it was nevertheless fast), but now […]

Read the rest here: Homeopathy in France: a triumph of reason over profit

Wednesday, 10 July 2019

A new example of ‘excellence in homeopathic research’

Researchers from the National Institute of Homoeopathy (an autonomous organisation under the Ministry of Ayurveda, Yoga & Naturopathy, Unani, Siddha and Homeopathy, Government of India) tested a Dysentery Compound (DC), a ‘bowel nosode’, against individualized homeopathy (IH) in the treatment of irritable bowel syndrome (IBS). For this purpose, they used an open, randomized (1:1), parallel arms, pragmatic, […]

Read the rest here: A new example of ‘excellence in homeopathic research’

American Loon #2215. Bert Schlossberg

Bert Schlossberg is an internet crank and conspiracy theorist, primarily (well, exclusively) associated with conspiracies surrounding the 1983 Korean Air Lines Flight 007 incident. Schlossberg describes himself as “[t]he son-in-law of one of the passengers of the ill-fated Korean Air Lines...

Read the full lunacy: #2215. Bert Schlossberg Encyclopedia of American Loons

Tuesday, 9 July 2019

The two essential principles of homeopathy research

George Vithoulkas, has been mentioned on this blog repeatedly. He is a lay homeopath – one that has no medical background – and has, over the years, become an undisputed hero within the world of homeopathy. Yet, Vithoulkas’ contribution to homeopathy research is perilously close to zero. Judging from a recent article in which he […]

Read the rest here: The two essential principles of homeopathy research

Monday, 8 July 2019

Another ban of homeopathy (and several other SCAMs)

I was alerted to this recent and most interesting announcement by the Australian Government: From 1 April 2019 the following natural therapies will be excluded from the definition of private health insurance general treatment and will no longer receive the private health insurance rebate as part of a general treatment policy: Alexander technique, aromatherapy, Bowen […]

Read the rest here: Another ban of homeopathy (and several other SCAMs)

American Loon #2214: Joe Schimmel

Joe Schimmel, of something called Good Fight Ministries, is a delusional fundie of the kind that gets invited on Rick Wiles’s radio show. He is also pastor of Blessed Hope Chapel in Simi Valley, California, Vice President of Blessed Hope Records, host of the documentary “Hollywood’s War on...

Read the full lunacy: #2214: Joe Schimmel Encyclopedia of American Loons

Saturday, 6 July 2019

Should Medicare pay for acupuncture?

This article reports that Medicare is exploring whether to pay for acupuncture. Coverage would be for chronic low-back pain only. In its request for comments on acupuncture, the Department of Health and Human Services said that “in response to the U.S. opioid crisis, HHS is focused on preventing opioid use disorder and providing more evidence-based non-pharmacologic treatment options for […]

Read the rest here: Should Medicare pay for acupuncture?

Friday, 5 July 2019

Guess what … I AM THE HOMEOPATHIC WORLD CHAMPION !!!

A bibliometric or scientometric evaluation of the homeopathy literature has been published by a Turkish author (someone who I do not know and have never before heard of). He (of maybe she?) collected data from 4 electronic databases. All documents published between 1975 and 2017 were included. The keywords searched for in detail were “homeopathy“, “homeopathic”, […]

Read the rest here: Guess what … I AM THE HOMEOPATHIC WORLD CHAMPION !!!

Thursday, 4 July 2019

Boiron’s homeopathic visit to the vagina

If homeopaths can make the Berlin Wall into a homeopathic remedy, they can use anything! That’s true; I am not aware of any material that could not be used by clever manufacturers of homeopathics to make a fast buck. But I did not think that they would venture as far as visiting the vagina. This website […]

Read the rest here: Boiron’s homeopathic visit to the vagina

Wednesday, 3 July 2019

SCAM in Switzerland: paediatriticans couldn’t care less

In Switzerland, so-called alternative medicine (SCAM) is officially recognised within the healthcare system and mainly practised in conjunction with conventional medicine. So far no research has been published into the attitude towards, training in and offer of SCAM among paediatricians in Switzerland. This survey addresses this gap by investigating these topics with an online survey […]

Read the rest here: SCAM in Switzerland: paediatriticans couldn’t care less

American Loon #2213: Richard Schiffman

The evidence is pretty clear that popular alternative treatments are, at best, no more effective than placebo, which means for instance that they have no detectable effect on the actual pathophysiology of disease, are (as placebos) variable, unreliable and weak, and that recommending them to...

Read the full lunacy: #2213: Richard Schiffman Encyclopedia of American Loons

Tuesday, 2 July 2019

American Loon #2212: Michael Scheifler

Liam Scheff, famous HIV denialist, woo promoter, antivaccine and anti-GMO activist, and wholesale conspiracy theorist, seems to have passed away (at 46, from a “mystery illness” for which he apparently consulted every naturopathic trick and vitamin supplement in the...

Read the full lunacy: #2212: Michael Scheifler Encyclopedia of American Loons

English critics of homeopathy might have just been libelled by a German homeopathy manufacturer

A few days ago, I reported that the German homeopathy manufacturer Hevert has taken legal action against German critics of homeopathy. This caused a storm of protests on twitter, in the press and even on TV. Hevert has remained silent in all this, but now a spokesperson and part owner of the firm, Mr Mathias […]

Read the rest here: English critics of homeopathy might have just been libelled by a German homeopathy manufacturer

Monday, 1 July 2019

Towards the prohibition of chiropractic spinal manipulation for children

This press-release caught my attention: Following the publication in Australia earlier this year of a video showing a chiropractor treating a baby, the Health Minster for the state of Victoria called for the prohibition of chiropractic spinal manipulation for children under the age of 12 years. As a result, an independent panel has been appointed by […]

Read the rest here: Towards the prohibition of chiropractic spinal manipulation for children