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Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery

Mao triumphant: The World Health Organization officially embraces traditional Chinese medicine quackery

Seven decades ago, Chairman Mao Zedong began promoting traditional Chinese medicine and its “integration” with science-based medicine. His long game has paid off, and he has triumphed, thanks to WHO, which has formally approved integrating mystical and pseudoscientific TCM codes to the new ICD-11.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

The violent rhetoric of the antivaccine movement intensifies

Violent rhetoric has always been part of the antivaccine movement.Leaders of the antivax movement, like Del Bigtree, use apocalyptic and violent rhetoric, and then deny that they’ve done so. Unfortunately, it seems to be getting worse, and I fear violence.

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Computers and social media Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

IonCleanse foot baths: The confluence of antivaccine nonsense and cancer quackery

Antivax and cancer quackery go together, unfortunately. Here, Orac describes yet another example of this, as the (Not-So)-Thinking Moms promote a fundraiser to pay for quackery, including IonCleanse footpaths, for a young woman with cancer.

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Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

In Singapore, the TCM Practitioners Board shows why quacks shouldn’t self-regulate

In Singapore, a traditional Chinese medicine practitioner treated a diabetic for “yang deficiency” by applying a heatlamp to his foot. The diabetic suffered a burn that didn’t heal and lost his foot. The TCM Practitioners Board did almost nothing, showing that quacks can’t self-regulate.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience

Oakland County, Michigan: Measles arrives close to home

Measles has arrived in the form of an outbreak on Oakland County, MI. That’s too close for comfort to Orac. Way, way too close for comfort.