Andy L – Page 20 – The Quackometer Blog

Research into Homeopathy is Unethical

6th May, 2011 60

On the 17th of May, David Tredinnick MP will be holding a reception in the House of Commons. In conjunction with the Homeopathy Research Institute, the reception is being held “to promote scientific research in the field of homeopathy.” The invitation letter states, There is currently a growing body of scientific evidence suggesting that homeopathy offers an inexpensive, effective treatment option for many chronic conditions, however the only way to [read more…]

Abha Light Foundation: Funded through Violent Cult.

3rd May, 2011 13

So, today has seen a thorough investigation by the Independent into the Abha Light homeopathy clinics in Africa where HIV positive people are told to forgo life saving medicines in favour of superstitious homeopathic sugar pills. What is more, the investigation found that this quack clinic is being funded through NGOs by UK charities. Who are the people that are funding this shocking enterprise? The answer to that question is [read more…]

Abha Light Must Close

1st May, 2011 17

Kenyan leading newspaper, The Standard on Sunday, has reported that an undercover investigator has exposed how a homeopathic clinic, claiming to treat people with HIV, is advising clients to stop taking life saving anti-retroviral drugs. (See Update below: The Independent has now covered this story in detail with article, leader comment and columnist’s reaction.) The paper also reveals that the Abha Light clinic has been receiving funds from UK homeopathy [read more…]

Turn On, Tune In, Quack

25th April, 2011 14

A paper in the open access and non-peer reviewed physics arXiv (Electromagnetic Signals from Bacterial DNA; Widom, Swain, Srivastava, Srivastava 2011) reports that bacteria such as E. coli may have a sort of WiFi communication capability. The authors suggest that a quantum mechanical analysis of electrons moving around loops of bacterial DNA will produce low frequency radio waves. What is even more remarkable is that the authors, physicists Widom and [read more…]

The Homeopaths and the Advertising Standards Authority

1st April, 2011 21

It is now the end of the Nightingale Collaboration’s first month of operation. This newly formed organization was set up to “challenge misleading claims in healthcare advertising”. In particular, TNC is focusing on the bizarre world of Pseudoscientific and Superstitious Medicine: an area that appears to get away with the most ludicrous health claims with little attention from any authority. In its first month, the Nightingale Collaboration asked people to [read more…]

Luc Montagnier’s Porridge Pill Cure for AIDS

30th March, 2011 17

Winning a Nobel Prize is the greatest honour a scientist can achieve. However, the prize means that they will be looked upon as people with special wisdom and insight and their views and endorsements will be eagerly sought. This is a simple error, as excellence in one time and place does not mean that winners need be superlative in all areas. Frenchman, Luc Montagnier received his Nobel Prize for work [read more…]

ASA will not be making individual adjudications against homeopaths – this time.

18th March, 2011 0

Since the 1st of March, the ASA have been taking complaints about adverts on traders web site. The Nightingale Collaboration – a new body set up to counter misleading quack claims – decided to make homeopathy its ‘focus of the month’. In a move th… [read more…]

Society of Homeopaths hope the ASA will believe their scraps of evidence.

14th March, 2011 2

So, it would appear that the Nightingale Collaborations focus on homoeopaths is having an effect. No doubt the ASA have been inundated with complaints about homeopaths’ web sites.The Society of Homeopaths has announced that it is glad that the ASA… [read more…]

Worlds Collide for David Tredinnick MP

12th March, 2011 5

David Tredinnick is a Tory Member of Parliament who appears to be obsessed with a couple of issues. In the past year, he has received 17 written answers to questions he has asked in parliament (below average), and they appear to cover two issues: firstly, the promotion of superstitious forms of medicine; and secondly, protestors making Parliament Square look unsightly. I suppose in such ways Tredinnick feels he is best [read more…]

MPs tell us that libel reform is a ’cause whose time has come’

11th March, 2011 0

From the libel reform campaign…We had a great event in parliament yesterday. Thank you to all of you who urged your MPs to come along – we had a good turn out and lots of good responses from them (see below). We also heard from organisations, … [read more…]