FSM News and Articles
How faulty PPE unmasked our health watchdog’s approvals process: “The TGA is meant to ensure that those who make and sell the vitamins, potions and herbal cures you can buy at pharmacies do not make wild, inaccurate and counter-scientific claims about their effectiveness. The TGA has received thousands of complaints that these products are doing just that. It has, essentially, taken no action.”
FSM Friends’ News and Articles
A longitudinal study of ‘ideological’ bias in research of ‘alternative medicine’: “I regularly publish a growing list of SCAM researchers who managed the extraordinary feat of never publishing any negative conclusions about their specific SCAM; I’ve christened it “The Alternative Medicine Hall of Fame.” As the influence of ideological bias can be so dominant in SCAM, it is important to know about it. Consumers need to be aware when SCAM research originates from unreliable sources, and funders of SCAM research would be wise to stop supporting researchers who are prone to generating findings that are false-positive.”
Lies, Damned Lies, and Facebook: What’s driving vaccine hesitancy? Timothy Caulfield on complacency, ideology, and misinformation in the pandemic.
Hope, hype and exploitation — the wild history of stem cell science: “Stem cells and regenerative medicine have been heralded since the mid-20th Century as the best hope for curing countless physical ailments. Decades later, there have been perhaps as many scandals in this field of medicine, as there have been genuine advances in research and application; and the full potential of stem cells is yet to be realised. Physician-scientist Professor John Rasko de-mystifies the science by sharing stories of some of the field’s most influential and infamous figures.”
General
TGA fines Pete Evans’s company $80,000 for repeated advertising breaches: Oh Pete, when will you learn? But at the same time, note that it takes the most egregious repeat offenders before consequences like this start to roll in. And consider the deterrent effect of this fine (or lack thereof). Pete Evens is a multi-millionaire who is already quite successful with an extensive following. He may be being fined now, but Pete doesn’t seem very deterred. It is quite clear that there is little deterrent to quackery until the quack has already experienced significant profit, and that is not a deterrent at all. This needs to change.
Lesser-known Health Professions
Otorhinolaryngologist: Otorhinolaryngology, abbreviated ORL, also called otolaryngology, head and neck surgery (ORL–H&N, OHNS) or ear, nose, and throat (ENT), is a surgical subspecialty within medicine that deals with the surgical and medical management of conditions of the head and neck.