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Medicine Politics Science

Why do RFK Jr. apologists think eliminating NIH study sections is a good idea?

Since the nomination of Dr. Jay Bhattacharya for NIH Director, I’ve been seeing a suggestion from certain contrarian doctors for a “randomized trial” of study sections vs. a “modified lottery” to determine which grant applications are funded by the NIH. Why do RFK Jr. apologists think this is a good idea?

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Antivaccine nonsense Cancer Medicine Science

Forget the antivax lie of “turbo cancer.” Does COVID-19 cause cancer?

The Washington Post recently published an article asking if COVID-19 infection can cause cancer. Probably not, but cancer caused by a virus is more more plausible than “turbo cancer” caused by the vaccine.

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Antivaccine nonsense Biology Cancer Medicine Science

Return of the revenge of “vaccines permanently alter your DNA”

In a new twist on the “vaccines permanently alter your DNA” trope that antivaxxers love, a microbiologist named Kevin McKernan is falsely claiming that contaminating plasmid DNA from COVID-19 vaccines can get into the nucleus during cell division and “permanently alter your DNA” to horrible effect.

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Antivaccine nonsense Biology Medicine Science

Toxins and and monkey DNA and SV40, oh my! COVID-19 vaccines vs. a zombie meme

Quack tycoon Joe Mercola resurrects an antivax trope about SV40 to repurpose it to attack COVID-19 vaccines.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine Science

Variability ≠ “We don’t know” how COVID vaccines work

A study that shows cell type-dependent variability of spike protein production by COVID-19 vaccines leads an antivaxxer to say how little we know about the vaccines.