Category: Religion

Cancer quack Stanislaw Burzynski continues to prey on cancer patients in 2023

This year, cancer quack Dr. Stanislaw Burzynski turned 80. Unfortunately, he doesn't seem to be slowing down charging patients with advanced cancer huge sums for false hope.

/ September 18, 2023
Supreme Court

Legislative alchemy and abortion: How the fall of Roe v. Wade will degrade science-based medicine

The U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade on Friday, eliminating the federal right to an abortion. What does that mean for science-based reproductive health and science-based medicine in general? Hint: It's not good, even for areas of medicine outside of reproductive health.

/ June 27, 2022
Harry Potter vs. Lord Voldemort

COVID-19 vaccines versus “purity of essence,” revisited

Antivaxxers frequently make the false claim that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines "permanently alter your DNA". These claims are really a concern about "impurifying" their "purity of essence" and have now gone into some truly disturbing territory, such as antivaxxers calling themselves "purebloods".

/ November 22, 2021
Hasidic Jews in Borough Park

Echoes of measles outbreaks in 2019: Antivaxxers are targeting Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn with COVID-19 misinformation

About a year before the COVID-19 pandemic, large measles outbreaks among Orthodox Jews in Brooklyn and Rockland County were linked to misinformation targeted to their communities by antivaxxers. History is repeating itself with COVID-19.

/ November 1, 2021
Gen. Jack D. Ripper

COVID-19 vaccines versus “purity of essence”

Antivaxxers frequently make the false claim that mRNA-based COVID-19 vaccines "permanently alter your DNA". These claims are really a concern about "impurifying" their "purity of essence".

/ April 12, 2021

The Hallelujah Diet

The Hallelujah Diet is said to be supported by both the Bible and by science. Neither is true.

/ August 18, 2020
COVID party

COVID-19 parties: Urban legend or real thing?

You've probably seen breathlessly scolding stories in the media about young people holding "COVID parties", in which attendees intentionally try to become infected with COVID-19. Are these parties really a thing, or are they an urban legend? The answer is not entirely clear yet, but current evidence (more specifically, the lack of evidence) for them is much more consistent with the latter...

/ July 13, 2020
Reiki

No, editors of The Atlantic, reiki does not work

Over the weekend, The Atlantic published an article by Jordan Kisner touting the benefits of reiki and arguing that you shouldn't listen to all those nasty skeptics calling it woo-woo. Unsurprisingly, the article is a credulous mess citing only token skepticism and relying on weak evidence. The Atlantic's embrace of quackery continues.

/ March 9, 2020

Anti-vaxxers try to kill Florida bill ending childhood vaccination religious exemption

Anti-vaxxers and their misinformation campaign may have killed Senate Bill 64, repealing Florida's religious exemption to childhood immunizations, which is being abused by parents. Sen. Laura Book, the bill's sponsor, remains undeterred, citing the high risk of disease outbreaks in Florida.

/ December 5, 2019

Holotropic Breathwork

Holotropic breathwork is essentially voluntary hyperventilation, and old technique gaining in popularity as a way of generating "spiritual" experiences.

/ October 23, 2019