Categories
Bad science Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Politics Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Helene Langevin is named NCCIH director. Let the quackery flow again!

Helene Langevin has been named the new director of the National Center for Complemenary and Integrative Health. Given her history of dodgy acupuncture research, my prediction is that the quackery will flow again at NCCIH, the way it did in the 1990s when Tom Harkin zealously protected it from any attempt to impose scientific rigor on it.

Categories
Autism Bad science Bioethics Clinical trials Medicine

Duke U.’s stem cell program for autism: The dark(er) side of quackademic medicine (revised and greatly expanded)

Despite a lack of evidence Duke University is all-in on stem cells for autism, thanks to a billionaire benefactor and a Panama stem cell clinic. This is the dark(er) side of quackademic medicine.

Categories
Bad science Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Pseudoscience Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

Quackademic medicine, COVID-19 edition, part 1: Magic amulets

“Quackademic medicine” is a term coined to describe the increasing infiltration of pseudoscience and quackery into medical academia. Unsurprisingly, we’re starting to see quackademic medicine turn its attention to COVID-19. In this case, traditional Chinese medicine is invoked to claim that magic amulets might prevent COVID-19,

Categories
Bad science Clinical trials Complementary and alternative medicine Integrative medicine Medicine Naturopathy Politics Pseudoscience Quackery

Along with the NIH budget hike comes a less welcome large hike in the budget for quackery for the NCCIH

Earlier this month, Congress passed an omnibus budget bill that provided a large hike in the budget the National Institutes of Health. Unfortunately, along with that budget hike was an even bigger percent hike for the NIH’s bastion of quackery, the National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health. How did this happen?

Categories
Bad science Homeopathy Medicine Quackery Skepticism/critical thinking

First anthroposophy, now homeopathy? Quackademic medicine at the University of Michigan marches on.

A few years ago, it was anthroposophic medicine. This year, it’s homeopathy. Quackademic medicine at the University of Michigan marches on.