The University of Northern Iowa is hosting a conference on facilitated communication, despite multiple warnings from academics that it's quackery and overwhelming evidence that it is the "facilitators" who are actually producing the claimed "communication" from nonverbal people and a history of producing false cases of child abuse. Why is UNI being so dangerously irresponsible?
Tag: pseudoscience
Just when I thought Dr. Oz couldn’t go any lower, he proves me wrong—with astrology!
I haven't written much about Dr. Mehmet Oz and his promotion of pseudoscience lately—or even paid that much attention to him. Unfortunately, this week, that changed as Dr. Oz went all in for astrology. Yes, astrology. The backlash was epic.
Orac basks in the adoration of Gary Null
Orac loves to bask in the adulation of his "fans." This time around, one of the old men of quackery, Gary Null, has decided that he really, really doesn't like science-based medicine. That includes Steve Novella, Susan Gerbic, and...Orac.
Only a homeopath has a belief system bizarre enough to defend a remedy based on spit from a rabid dog
Last week, naturopath and homeopath Anke Zimmermann made the news for using lyssinum, a homeopathic remedy based on saliva from a rabid dog, to treat a four year old boy with behavioral problems. This week, Zimmermann strikes back against her critics. Hilarity ensues.
Old guard antivaccine activist J. B. Handley loses his best platform to spread misinformation
J. B. Handley and Orac go way back (to 2005), when Orac first encountered Handley's brand of blustering, arrogantly ignorant antivaccine pseudoscience. Lately, Handley's been blogging over at Medium. A couple of weeks ago, Medium kicked him off its platform for violating its TOS. Schadenfreude ensues.
#SaidNoMother: Combining dehumanization of autistic people with antivaccine pseudoscience in time for Autism Awareness Month
Autism Awareness Month is nearly upon us again. Unfortunately, the antivaccine movement has found a new way to ruin it by hijacking autism awareness to promote their antivaccine pseudoscience and quackery, along with contempt for autistic people. Behold #SaidNoMother and #SaidNoFather.
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?
The Global Coherence Initiative: Woo on a global scale
The HeartMath Institute runs a project that it calls the Global Coherence Initiative. It's main idea is that we are all interconnected, including through the earth's electromagnetic field. Unfortunately, Scientific Reports published some bad science whose purpose is to support Deepak Chopra-level woo.
Dr. Paul Thomas: A rising star in the antivaccine movement
For credibility, the antivaccine movement needs antivaccine pediatricians, such as Dr. Jay Gordon and Dr. Bob Sears. Meet the pediatrician who is the latest rising star in the antivaccine movement, Dr. Paul Thomas. He even claims to have his very own "vaxed vs. unvaxed" study.
More naturopathic propaganda claiming lifestyle interventions as their own and adding quackery
Naturopaths claim that they are the best at preventing heart disease because of their skill in using "natural" treatments. In reality, what they do is to fuse reasonable lifestyle recommendations with pure quackery.