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Here is a recap of the stories that appeared last week at Science-Based Medicine, a multi-author skeptical blog that separates the science from the woo in medicine.

 

Anti-vaccine propaganda from Sharyl Attkisson of CBS News (David Gorski) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=11899 There’s a new propagandist pushing pseudoscience for CBS News. Instead of reporting science accurately, she recycles old misinformation that has been thoroughly refuted elsewhere and she cites implausible hypotheses. She has an agenda; and she tortures the evidence to make it seem to agree with her biases.

Frequencies and Their Kindred Delusions (Harriet Hall) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=11775 “Alternative medicine” proponents and sellers of dubious devices misuse the word “frequency” with no understanding of its real meaning. A couple of new products highlight the insanity: a watch with “embedded frequencies” to help you sleep and Ancestor Bands that help you tap into the frequencies your Ancestors are transmitting through the Cosmos to impart their Newfound Universal knowledge to you and reverse the effects of aging!

Science vs Homeopathic Pseudoscience (Steven Novella) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=11919 So-called complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) seeks to undermine the concepts, execution, and institutions of medical science in order to promote sectarian practices and ideological beliefs. Dana Ullman’s recent ridiculous article in the Huffington Post consists of invalid analogies, innuendo, and a desperate attempt to confuse the public and convince them that homeopathy is an effective treatment for radiation poisoning.

Can Vitamin C Induce Abortion? (guest post by medical students Andrey Pavlov Jr. and Igor Irvin Bussel) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=11922 Rumor holds that large doses of vitamin C can cause an abortion. There is no credible source, validated claim, or independent consensus to support that rumor; and the proposed mechanisms are implausible.

The World Has Moved On (Mark Crislip) http://www.sciencebasedmedicine.org/?p=11926 Medical people are occasionally unable to incorporate the simple concept that unless they are very careful, they can be fooled.  The result is complementary and alternative medicine.  It is the place that remains after the world has moved on. The Huffington Post regresses to that pre-scientific place when it publishes nonsense like Ullman’s article on homeopathy for radiation poisoning.