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The Current Immaturity of Science Blogging

30th August, 2008 12

I have just returned from Europe’s first conference on science blogging. Held at the Royal Institution in London and organised by Nature Network, the conference was attended by science bloggers from all over the world. The conference kicked off with a keynote speech from ‘Britain’s leading science blogger’, Ben Goldacre, who talked about the superiority of bloggers to be first to important science stories, to report them more accurately and [read more…]

The Role of UK Universities in Chiropractic

28th August, 2008 31

The decision by the British Chiropractic Association to sue Simon Singh will undoubtedly bring increased scrutiny of chiropractic. I would like to start with a first look at the education of chiropractors in the UK. This is also timely as Universities have recently been criticised for teaching quackery, resulting in a homeopathy degree being dropped by the University of Central Lancashire. Chiropractic is going to be quite different from homeopathy [read more…]

Chiropractors Try to Silence Simon Singh

16th August, 2008 47

Hot on the heals of New Zealand Chiropractors trying to silence David Colquhoun and the The New Zealand Medical Journal, we learn today in the Telegraph that the British Chiropractic Association has issued a writ against Simon Singh for an article he wrote in the Guardian entitled Beware the Spinal Trap. ‘Dr’ Antoni Jakubowski of the BCA said that this was not a decision they were taking lightly. If justice [read more…]

They are Bone Doctors, Aren’t They?

8th August, 2008 49

Chiropractors have an air of respectability about them. They style themselves, ‘Doctor’. They wear white coats and have brass plaques outside their offices with lots of letters after their name. My friends look at be puzzled when I say they are quacks. But that is what the evidence says. Their practice is founded on strange ideas about mysterious things called ‘subluxions’ and pseudoscientific beliefs in ‘inate intelligence’ running through our [read more…]

Desperate Remedies

2nd August, 2008 26

Homeopathy on the NHS has nearly vanished. We see prescriptions have halved in the past two years and one of the last five hospitals has been confirmed to close. This is as it should be. The last vestigial remnants of nineteenth century quackery in the state health care system are being dropped from the tax payers burden. There is nothing unsurprising here. It is the natural result of an increasing [read more…]

Qu-Chi Coup at the Telegraph

29th July, 2008 11

In a shocking move the Daily Telegraph has got rid of its Business Editor, and subsequently the other Financial and City columnists have left. In the future, its business coverage will be written by their sports, arts and news desk staff and will not undergo thorough and knowledgeable editing. Actually, this is not true. There would be riots on the 0720 commuter train from Surbiton. What is true, is that [read more…]

That’s It for Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital

29th July, 2008 26

Reported today in Pulse, Campaigners look to have lost their fight to save a leading homeopathic hospital, in a landmark case that accelerates the treatment’s deepening crisis over NHS funding.West Kent PCT decided there was ‘not enough evidence of clinical effectiveness’ to justify funding routine homeopathic consultations and treatments at the Tunbridge Wells Homeopathic Hospital, a decision which may force its closure. Amazingly, most patients and GP’s did not want [read more…]

Healing the Wounds of Alternative Medicine

28th July, 2008 7

It has not been a good few weeks to be a supporter of alternative medicine. We have seen reports that GP prescriptions of homeopathic remedies are in terminal collapse. A Nutritional therapist has had to get their insurers to fork out hundreds of thousands of pounds after a patient was left brain damaged. And of course, genocidal maniacs appear to be able to shift their talents quite easily into becoming [read more…]

Vanessa Feltz and Other Mangy Foxes

11th July, 2008 19

This morning on Vanessa Feltz’s BBC Radio London show, the discussion was about London’s urban foxes. Nothing is more likely to split opinions in the UK. For city dwellers, foxes are a common sight for early rising suburban commuters, occasionally upturning bins, but mostly tolerated and even enjoyed. For us country folk, they are vermin. They need to be destroyed along with rats, rabbits, otters, red kites, swans and unwanted [read more…]

Alleged Victim of Oxford Nutritionist ‘Detox Diet’ wins £810,000

7th July, 2008 49

Barbara Nash is a nutritionist based near Oxford. Dawn Page was overweight and sought the advice of Nash. It is alleged she was put on a ‘detox diet’ which included drinking lots of water and consuming no salt. If true, the result was very predictable. Mrs Page suffered ‘uncontrolled vomiting and a fit’ and was rushed to intensive care. The Oxford Mail now reports she has brain damage. Her husband [read more…]