News: 24-30 April 2017

Sham acupuncture is as efficacious as true acupuncture for the treatment of IBS: A randomized placebo controlled trial: The lack of differences in symptom outcomes between sham and true treatment acupuncture suggests that acupuncture does not have a specific treatment effect in IBS.

Fake science: Taxpayers shell out more than $3 million for unreliable research: Taxpayers have spent more than $3 million on unreliable academic research, as science experts warn that research fraud and plagiarism in Australia is not being properly policed.

Professor Fiona Stanley labels anti-vaccination campaigners ‘evil’: Parents who fail to vaccinate their children against deadly diseases may not be motivated to act until more children are killed or severely disabled, Professor Fiona Stanley warns.

Are you an unvaccinated adult? Here’s what you need to know about catching up: Did your parents choose to not get you vaccinated, and now you’re wondering whether to catch up on all those vaccinations everybody is talking about?

Doctors are human too:  To really understand the suicide problem, we need to consider the issue more broadly and question the simmering distress and burnout among doctors in the early years of their careers.

FDA Takes Action Against ‘Bogus Cancer Cures’:  “14 companies peddling bogus cancer cures have received warning letters”  write physicians at the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

Science or Snake Oil: can turmeric really shrink tumours, reduce pain and kill bacteria?:  Curcumin has been widely studied in relation to numerous ailments, but what does the literature say? Is consuming turmeric beneficial?