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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Biology Medicine

Brain inflammation, autism, and antivaxers

Another study appears to link chronic inflammation of the brain to autism. Antivaxers, as always, conclude that vaccines done it. This is a continuation of yesterday’s discussion.

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Antivaccine nonsense Autism Medicine

Autism and brain inflammation: A study by Theoharis Theoharides used and abused by antivaxers

Prof. Theoharis Theoharides of Tufts University published a study claiming to have found neuroinflammation in autistic brains, and antivaxers go wild. Surprise! Surprise! The study is less impressive than you would think.

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Cancer Medicine Popular culture

A tourist finds breast cancer after a thermal scan at Camera Obscura. That doesn’t mean thermography works.

Bal Gill saw a hot spot on her breast on a thermal image she had taken at Camera Obscura in Edinburgh. This led her to see her doctor, who diagnosed breast cancer. Although a happy coincidence, this incident does not mean that thermography is an effective modality to detect occult breast cancer.

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Antivaccine nonsense Medicine

Harlem Vaccine Forum: RFK Jr.’s fiasco of an attempt to court African-Americans

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. reached out to the African-American Community in Harlem with his antivaccine message. It didn’t go so well. First, Rev. Al Sharpton, whose National Action Committee was going to host it, bailed due to negative publicity. Then RFK Jr. was kicked out of his venue during his speech because the event went way over time. RFK Jr.’s efforts do, however, show how white antivaxers are a danger to African-Americans and other minority communities through their active, albeit hamfisted, attempts to promote antivaccine misinformation to them.

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Antivaccine nonsense Bad science Medicine Popular culture Pseudoscience Quackery

An attempt to “Null”-ify Wikipedia on science

Love it or hate it, Wikipedia is a main go-to rough and ready source of information for millions of people. Although I’ve had my problems with Wikipedia and used to ask whether it could provide reliable information on medicine and, in particular, alternative medicine and vaccines, given that anyone can edit it, I now conclude that Wikipedia must be doing OK, at least in these areas. After all, some of the highest profile promoters of alternative and “integrative” medicine hate Wikipedia, to the point of attacking it and concocting conspiracy theories about it.