There is little industry of companies that like to sell devices and remedies to protect you from the evils of mobile phones and Wifi. Given that there is no compelling evidence that there is a significant and meaningful threat from such technologies, the major challenge of these outfits is to convince the public that...
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On the 17th of May, David Tredinnick MP will be holding a reception in the House of Commons. In conjunction with the Homeopathy Research Institute, the reception is being held “to promote scientific research in the field of homeopathy.” The invitation letter states, There is currently a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that homeopathy offers...
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So, today has seen a thorough investigation by the Independent into the Abha Light homeopathy clinics in Africa where HIV positive people are told to forgo life saving medicines in favour of superstitious homeopathic sugar pills. What is more, the investigation found that this quack clinic is being funded through NGOs by UK charities. Who...
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Kenyan leading newspaper, The Standard on Sunday, has reported that an undercover investigator has exposed how a homeopathic clinic, claiming to treat people with HIV, is advising clients to stop taking life saving anti-retroviral drugs. (See Update below: The Independent has now covered this story in detail with article, leader comment and columnist’s reaction.) The paper...
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A paper in the open access and non-peer reviewed physics arXiv (Electromagnetic Signals from Bacterial DNA; Widom, Swain, Srivastava, Srivastava 2011) reports that bacteria such as  E. coli may have a sort of WiFi communication capability. The authors suggest that a quantum mechanical analysis of electrons moving around loops of bacterial DNA will produce...
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It is now the end of the Nightingale Collaboration’s first month of operation. This newly formed organization was set up to “challenge misleading claims in healthcare advertising”. In particular, TNC is focusing on the bizarre world of Pseudoscientific and Superstitious Medicine: an area that appears to get away with the most ludicrous health claims...
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Winning a Nobel Prize is the greatest honour a scientist can achieve. However, the prize means that they will be looked upon as people with special wisdom and insight and their views and endorsements will be eagerly sought. This is a simple error, as excellence in one time and place does not mean that...
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David Tredinnick is a Tory Member of Parliament who appears to be obsessed with a couple of issues. In the past year, he has received 17 written answers to questions he has asked in parliament (below average), and they appear to cover two issues: firstly, the promotion of superstitious forms of medicine; and secondly,...
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In today’s issue of Spiked, you can read a review of a new book by Paul Offit entitled Deadly Choices: How The Anti-Vaccine Movement Threatens Us All. However, if you live in the UK, the review is all you can read, as publication of the book has been stopped after the publishers were threatened...
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March 1st sees the Advertising Standards Authority take on complaints about misleading claims on websites. This means that if your local friendly quack is telling people that they can cure gouty toes and windy bowels with the power of a magic knitting needle then you can write to the ASA who may ask them to...
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There are a number of differences between the practices of medicine and the pseudo-medicines, such as homeopathy, acupuncture and herbalism. One of the most important is the practitioners attitude to a treatment’s safety and efficacy. Within the world of alternative medicine, efficacy and safety is axiomatic. That is, practitioners believe in the power of their...
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More leaks from homeopathy land… Tomorrow is the last day that you can submit a response to the MHRA regarding how they should regulate the sale of homeopathic products – or ‘medicines’ as homeopaths like to call them. Meanwhile, it would appear that the homeopaths have been wanting to bombard the MHRA with responses. It would...
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