All posts by Steven Novella

Founder and currently Executive Editor of Science-Based Medicine Steven Novella, MD is an academic clinical neurologist at the Yale University School of Medicine. He is also the host and producer of the popular weekly science podcast, The Skeptics’ Guide to the Universe, and the author of the NeuroLogicaBlog, a daily blog that covers news and issues in neuroscience, but also general science, scientific skepticism, philosophy of science, critical thinking, and the intersection of science with the media and society. Dr. Novella also has produced two courses with The Great Courses, and published a book on critical thinking - also called The Skeptics Guide to the Universe.

Parasite Cleanse

Tik Tok is a cesspool of wellness pseudoscience and misinformation. All of social media has the potential to spread misinformation without any filter, but for some reason Tik Tok has become the preferred platform for the most outrageous claims and nonsense. A recent trend on Tik Tok (and within the wellness community generally) is the parasite cleanse. The idea is that many...

/ March 13, 2024

Hypervaccination

What would happen if you were vaccinated 217 times against COVID? Let's find out.

/ March 6, 2024

What Is Somatic Therapy?

Is modern medicine descending into pseudoscience, or is scientific medicine still going strong? Unfortunately, I think both of these things can happen at the same time. On the one hand, scientific research in medicine is progressing nicely. We are seeing the results of scientific breakthroughs made decades ago, with monoclonal antibody therapies, new therapeutic targets, the beginning of real genetic therapy, brain-machine...

/ February 28, 2024

Pesticide in Oat Products – Should You Worry?

You know the rule about headlines - if there is a question in a headline the answer is almost always "no". This article is no exception.

/ February 21, 2024

Mayo Clinic Promotes Reiki

The Mayo Clinic is a prestigious medical institution with a deserved international reputation. It also promotes rank pseudoscience. It does this, apparently, for all the reasons we have explored here at SBM over the years. I have seen first hand how one or a few true believers can promote so-called alternative medicine at their institutions, meeting little resistance from colleagues and administrators...

/ February 14, 2024

The Menace of Wellness Influencers

Wellness influencers are often also conspiracy theorists, as both mindsets rely upon the same underlying methods, motivation, and narrative.

/ February 7, 2024

Adulteration of Herbal Supplements Continues

The supplement industry continues to be plagued by deliberate adulteration of products.

/ January 31, 2024

Cameroon Begins First Malaria Vaccine Program

Despite massive efforts to reduce the disease burden of malaria, it remains a significant cause of disease and death in parts of the world, most notably Sub-Saharan Africa. Now we have a new tool in the fight against malaria – two safe and effective vaccines. Cameroon is just beginning a program to give the vaccine for free to children in four doses...

/ January 24, 2024

Hospital Measures Prevented COVID Transmission

A new study finds that hospital measures to limit the spread of COVID-19 worked, and we probably should keep them.

/ January 17, 2024

Dual Sympathetic Reset for PTSD

Dual Sympathetic Reset is being promoted as a treatment for PTSD prior to any convincing clinical evidence.

/ January 10, 2024