The vile vitriol of some alternative medicine promoters | Edzard Ernst

If you feel that, on this blog and elsewhere, some sceptics sometimes use harsh language, you haven’t recently read what ‘the other side’ of the debate regularly publish. A good example is ‘NATURAL NEWS’; slander and insult seem to be the daily fare of this publication. A good example is this recent article; it is so disgustingly vile that […]

Read on: The vile vitriol of some alternative medicine promoters

Vaxxed threatens Fiona O’Leary – Phillipe Diaz doubles down

In a previous post, I addressed the question whether there was any basis to the threat of a defamation suit by Phillipe Diaz, CEO of the Vaxxed distributor, Cinema Libre, against Irish autism advocate Fiona O’Leary, and concluded that most likely there isn’t. Since then, Ms. O’Leary has been interviewed and spoken on the issue in Irish newspapers (here and here), Jezebel, and an Irish radio show, and it’s clear the attempt to silence her failed, and probably backfired. This article is an update to what has happened after Vaxxed threatens Fiona O’Leary.

 Read the full post: Vaxxed threatens Fiona O’Leary – Phillipe Diaz doubles down

Promoting Rhino horn as medicine at an Australian university: Has this contributed to the exponential rise in Rhino poaching? | Edzard Ernst

Guest post by Frank Van der Kooy 

Something happened in 2008. Something, or a number of things, triggered an exponential rise in the number of rhinos being killed in South Africa. Poaching numbers remained quite low and was stable for a decade with only 13 being killed in 2007. But then suddenly it jumped to […]

Read on: Promoting Rhino horn as medicine at an Australian university: Has this contributed to the exponential rise in Rhino poaching?

Ansbach suicide-bomber had alternative treatments for severe psychological trauma | Edzard Ernst

Last Sunday evening, the Syrian, Mohammad D., tried to enter an open air festival in Ansbach, Germany. As he had no ticket, he was barred from entering. Later he exploded his bomb in front of one of the entrances of the festival. It killed him and injured 15 others, 4 seriously. 

According to a report published in […]

Read on: Ansbach suicide-bomber had alternative treatments for severe psychological trauma

Does the tolerance of extreme quackery makes acupuncturists quacks? | Edzard Ernst

Acupuncture Today is a much-read online publication for people interested in acupuncture. It informs us that:

... Chinese medicine is quite complex and can be difficult for some people to comprehend. This is because TCM is based, at least in part, on the Daoist belief that we live in a universe in which everything is interconnected. What […]

Read on: Does the tolerance of extreme quackery makes acupuncturists quacks?

Is there something rotten in the state of Denmark? | Edzard Ernst

A survey published in 2011 showed that one-third of Danish hospitals offered alternative therapies. In total, 38 hospitals offered acupuncture and one Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Light Therapy.

The most commonly reported reason for offering CAM was “scientific evidence”. Many readers of this blog might be amazed with both the high level of alternative medicine presence in […]

Read on: Is there something rotten in the state of Denmark?

Chiropractic care increases costs to Medicare | Edzard Ernst

Several investigations have suggested that chiropractic care can be cost-effective. A recent review of 25 studies, for instance, concluded that:

... cost comparison studies suggest that health care costs were generally lower among patients whose spine pain was managed with chiropractic care. 

However, its authors cautioned that:

... the studies reviewed had many methodological limitations. Better research is […]

Read on: Chiropractic care increases costs to Medicare

A revealing map of the world’s most and least ethnically diverse countries - The Washington Post

Ethnicity, like race, is a social construct, but it's still a construct with significant implications for the world. How people perceive ethnicity, both their own and that of others, can be tough to measure, particularly given that it's so subjective. So how do you study it?

When five economists and social scientists set out to measure ethnic diversity for a landmark 2002 paper for the Harvard Institute of Economic Research, they started by comparing data from an array of different sources: national censuses, Encyclopedia Britannica, the CIA, Minority Rights Group International and a 1998 study called "Ethnic Groups Worldwide." They looked for consistence and inconsistency in the reports to determine what data set would be most reliable and complete. Because data sources such as censuses or surveys are self-reported – in other words, people are classified how they ask to be classified – the ethnic group data reflects how people see themselves, not how they're categorized by outsiders. Those results measured 650 ethnic groups in 190 countries....

Read the full story: A revealing map of the world’s most and least ethnically diverse countries - The Washington Post

I was wrong about homeopaths! They do have sense of humour after all! | Edzard Ernst

Yes, I admit it: over the years, I had formed a vague impression that homeopaths lack humour. Certainly, many comments on this blog seemed to confirm the notion. But now I changed my mind: some homeopaths are intensely funny. 

Yesterday, I found a tweet which read: “NCH and homeopathy to be highlighted at the 2016 American Public […]

Read on: I was wrong about homeopaths! They do have sense of humour after all!

Video campaign: "Vaccines do NOT cause Autism"

***Please share thank you *** pic.twitter.com/Or8vFl36Ef

— Fiona Pettit O'Leary (@fionapettit71) 24 July 2016

Acupuncture found to be pointless | Edzard Ernst

A thorough report by the Australian group ‘Friends of science in medicine’ has just been published. It casts considerable doubt about the therapeutic value of acupuncture. As I think it is a report well worth reading, I reproduce (with the permission of the authors) a large section below: 

What could be the mechanisms by which acupuncture […]

Read on: Acupuncture found to be pointless

Vaxxed anti-vaccine film distributor threatens autism rights advocate | reasonable hank

Cinema Libre Studio, the distributor of the dishonest, Andrew Wakefield anti-vaccination fiction-film, Vaxxed, has threatened an Irish, autism-rights advocate with defamation.

 Fiona O’Leary has posted the threats, from Cinema Libre Studio CEO Philippe Diaz, on her Facebook profile...

 Read full story: Vaxxed anti-vaccine film distributor threatens autism rights advocate | reasonable hank

Chinese officials admit that their TCM-exports are of dubious quality | Edzard Ernst

On this blog, I have discussed the lamentable quality of TCM products before (e. g. here, here and here). In a nutshell, far too high percentages of them are contaminated with toxic substances or adulterated with prescription drugs. It is no question: these deficits put many consumers at risk. Equally, there is no question that the problem has been known for decades.

For the Chinese exporters, such issues are a great embarrassment […]

Read on: Chinese officials admit that their TCM-exports are of dubious quality

“Don’t mention the war when speaking to a German” | Edzard Ernst

On a good day, I get several emails from complete strangers; some are complimentary, others are critical, and others again are just strange. Few are stranger than the exchange I am about to disclose.

The author asked me twice to treat his/her emails with ‘trust and confidence’; after the second email, I nevertheless felt that I should not respect […]
Read on: “Don’t mention the war when speaking to a German”

@ShaulaEvans on the Faustian bargain of Twitter's blue 'Verified' checkmark