A few months ago, a fellow skeptic told me he was considering personalized genetic testing and wondered what my opinion was on the service. The idea is that any consumer who desires can send a DNA sample to a company, like 23andMe, and get a report back on various genetic risk factors. Sounds like a … Continue reading
Tag Archives: required reading
Follow-Up on the Makayla Sault/J.J./Hippocrates Health Institute Case: J.J. Went Back to Chemo
Finally, two items of good news come out of this dreadful affair in which Aboriginal families stopped chemotherapeutic treatment for their leukemic daughters and sought nonsensical pseudoscientific treatment in Florida. While one of the children passed away this winter, the other, known in the media as “J.J.”, is being reported as feeling well. Could it … Continue reading
Book Review: Is Gwyneth Paltrow Wrong About Everything? by Timothy Caulfield
“Evidence-based entertainment” is the motto and mandate of the production team under whose banner this blog exists. It expresses a desire for subversive education in light of growing apathy, for using the tools of entertainment to foster skepticism. The pill is always easier to swallow in a scoop of ice cream. I love stumbling upon … Continue reading
Darwin Day 2015: Refute Erroneous Arguments
On February 12, 1809, Charles Darwin was born. Along with Alfred Russel Wallace, he formulated the theory of evolution, according to which the struggle for life leads to the survival of the species most fit to their environment. If you are skeptical about evolution (“it’s just a theory!”) or if you know people who are … Continue reading
Read: What Is the Gap Between Evidence and Its Acceptance?
It is one thing for scientists to agree on the evidence, but what is the gap between scientific consensus (or near-consensus) and public acceptance of these same facts? “Asked whether genetically modified food is safe, 88 per cent of the scientists say Yes, but only 37 per cent of the public agreed. That’s a gap … Continue reading
Read (or Listen): NPR on Scientists Giving Up
It used to be that a university degree was not only a rarity but a ticket to job security. Not anymore. In a world in which more and more of what we use is a product of science, should we be training more scientists? I don’t think so. Richard Harris from NPR reports on scientists … Continue reading
Read: Vitamin D, Dementia, and the Missing Link
Do low levels of vitamin D increase your risk of developing dementia? From reading recent headlines, you might think it does. But what did the scientific study actually show? HealthNewsReview.org is a great resource to help separate facts from hype, and they most recently tackled the erroneous reporting that low levels of vitamin D cause dementia. Correlation, … Continue reading
Read: The Food Babe’s Friends… and Critics
If you listen to my podcast, Within Reason, you know my thoughts on Vani Hari’s crusade against ingredients whose names she can’t pronounce. On her blog, FoodBabe.com, she regularly commits logical fallacies in her attempt to “educate” the public on what constitutes healthy food. Kathleen Purvis of the Charlotte Observer recently wrote a fairly lengthy article addressing the … Continue reading
Read: The Med Student Who Wants to Bring Down Dr. Oz
A very interesting read. Some physicians have had enough of Dr. Oz’s pseudoscience and its effect on their patients. “‘Dr. Oz has something like 4-million viewers a day,’ Mazer told Vox. ‘The average physician doesn’t see a million patients in their lifetime. That’s why organized medicine should be taking action.’ “Last year, Mazer brought a policy … Continue reading
Read: Scientific Journal Nature Chemistry Finally Publishes List of Chemical-Free Products
Via @edyong209 on Twitter, here is some good news for people like The Food Babe. Prestigious scientific journal Nature Chemistry has published a fantastic paper by A.F.G. Goldberg and C.J. Chemjobber entitled “A comprehensive overview of chemical-free consumer products”. I invite all of you to have a look at it. It’s a short read. If you’re still … Continue reading
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