The Non-Mysterious Mass Illness in Le Roy, New York

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.4, July/August 2012

The Science of Medicine

The “mystery illness” has become a Rorschach test of sorts: people see in the illness a diagnosis that fits their worldview or pet cause. But now that the dust has settled somewhat on this outbreak, what can we reliably say about it?

Pseudoscience in Our Universities

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.3, May/June 2012

The Science of Medicine

The group Friends of Science in Medicine has recently formed in Australia, and they now have over 400 professional members. They felt the need to come together over a disturbing trend—the infiltration of rank pseudoscience into once respected universities.

In Multiple Sclerosis Treatments, Hope Trumps Reason

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 36.1, January/February 2012

The Science of Medicine

To patients suffering from an incurable disease a new idea represents one thing: hope. Science, by contrast, cares only about what works and is dispassionate, which is easily portrayed as heartlessness. Hopeful nonsense thus has a public relations advantage over pitiless science every time.

Have You Had Your Antioxidants Today?

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.6, November/December 2011

The Science of Medicine

If you believe the hype, then you want them in your food; you want to take them as pills; and you want the maximum most powerful antioxidants that can be found in nature. Unfortunately, the evidence does not support the claim that there are any health benefits to taking antioxidants.

Selling Stem Cell Hype

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.5, September/October 2011

The Science of Medicine

Stem cells have tremendous potential, and they will likely be playing an increasing role in medical therapies over the next twenty years. But reality has yet to catch up with the hype.

What Is Acupuncture?

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.4, July/August 2011

The Science of Medicine

We must first define what acupuncture actually is before we can ask whether acupuncture works. This is not as easy as it might seem.

The Memory of Water

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.3, May/June 2011

The Science of Medicine

While the practice is indistinguishable from ritual and witchcraft, the modern homeopath would like to cloak himself in the respectability of science.

Magnetic Healing: An Old Scam That Never Dies

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 35.1, January/February 2011

Column

The notion that magnets can be used for healing has existed since humans discovered them.

The Poor, Misunderstood Placebo

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 34.6, November/December 2010

Understanding placebo effects is critical to making sense of medical research and ever-expanding health claims within an increasingly unregulated market.

Autism-Vaccine Link Researcher Andrew Wakefield Accused of Faking His Data

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 33.3, May / June 2009

News & Comment

Andrew Wakefield, the researcher who in 1998 sparked the public controversy over whether the MMR vaccine is linked to autism...

The Anti-Vaccination Movement

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 31.6, November / December 2007

Article

Despite the growing consensus that neither vaccines nor mercury cause autism, a stubborn vocal minority claims otherwise.

Scientific Skepticism, CSICOP, and the Local Groups

Skeptical Inquirer Volume 23.4, July / August 1999

Article

Scientific skepticism defines skepticism around the principles of scientific investigation.