July 24th, 2010 by Steve Novella, M.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, Health Tips, Opinion, Research
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Recently some Science-Based Medicine (SBM) colleagues (David Gorski, Kimball Atwood, Harriet Hall, Rachel Dunlop) and I gave two workshops on how to find reliable health information on the Web. As part of my research for this talk I came across this recent and interesting study that I would like to expand upon further: Quality and Content of Internet-Based Information for Ten Common Orthopaedic Sports Medicine Diagnoses.
The fact that the article focuses on orthopedic diagnoses is probably not relevant to the point of the article itself, which was to assess the accuracy of health information on the Web. They looked at 10 orthopedic diagnoses and searched on them using Google and Yahoo, and then chose the top results. They ultimately evaluated 154 different sites with multiple reviewers for quality of content and also for their HON rating. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
July 22nd, 2010 by David H. Gorski, M.D., Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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I can’t speak for anyone else who blogs here at Science-Based Medicine, but there’s one thing I like to emphasize to people who complain that we exist only to “bash ‘alternative’ medicine.” We don’t. We exist to champion medicine based on science against all manner of dubious practices. Part of that mandate involves understanding and accepting that science-based medicine (SBM) is not perfect. It is not some sort of panacea. Rather, it has many shortcomings and all too often does not live up to its promise.
Our argument is merely that, similar to Winston Churchill’s invocation of the famous saying that “democracy is the worst form of government except all the others that have been tried,” science-based medicine is the worst form of medicine except for all the others that have been tried before. (Look for someone to quote that sentence soon.) It’s not even close, either. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
July 18th, 2010 by David Kroll, Ph.D. in Better Health Network, Health Policy, News, Opinion, Quackery Exposed, Research
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Today I refer you to an excellent post by Peter A. Lipson, M.D., at the blog Science Based Medicine entitled “HuffPo blogger claims skin cancer is conspiracy.”
The post focuses on an article by someone who contends that the link between sunlight and skin cancer is a conspiracy by dermatologists and the cosmetic dermatology industry. Dr. Lipson’s highly insightful analysis about the “interview” process and how doctors must act these days on behalf of their patients concludes:
This article shows a misunderstanding of journalistic ethics, medical ethics, and medical science. It’s a disaster. And it’s no surprise that it’s in the Huffington Post.
While this is a medicine story, my question relates to why an organization with a lot of great front-page news so frequently posts medical articles that are wrong and, sometimes, downright dangerous.
Read the article first, then read Dr. Lipson’s analysis.
Disclosure: I am an occasional contributor to Science Based Medicine but, like all contributors there, receive no compensation.
*This blog post was originally published at Terra Sigillata*
July 17th, 2010 by Harriet Hall, M.D. in Better Health Network, Book Reviews, News, Opinion, Research
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Wouldn’t it be great if we could find a way to prolong our lives and to keep us healthy right up to the end? Ponce de León never found that Fountain of Youth, but science is still looking. What are the chances science will succeed? How’s it doing so far?
In his new book The Youth Pill: Scientists at the Brink of an Anti-Aging Revolution, David Stipp tries to answer those questions. From the title of the book, I expected hype about resveratrol or some other miracle pill, but instead it is a nuanced, levelheaded, entertaining, informative account of the history and current state of longevity research. It makes that research come alive by telling stories about the people involved, the failures and setbacks, and the agonizingly slow process of teasing out the truth with a series of experiments that often seem to contradict each other.
Anti-aging can mean several things. Extending the average lifespan is not the same as extending the maximum lifespan. Extending lifespan is not the same as preventing the degenerative changes characteristic of aging. Read more »
*This blog post was originally published at Science-Based Medicine*
July 15th, 2010 by Berci in Better Health Network, News, Opinion, Research
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I’ve recently come across Science 2.0, a new community site that doesn’t want to become a Facebook for scientists, but something different. Here’s what Mark Hahnel, the founder, had in mind:
As you know, Science 2.0 is based on real time news and comments, which the users provide. Obviously, places like friend feed do exist and I don’t wish to take anything away from it. The idea of this place though, is a fluid evolving site, where users can suggest, edit or contribute in any way they wish. I’d really like to hear suggestions on what people would like to see, how we can answer the questions that science 2.0 poses collectively. I only started the site last week but the response has been great and the site has evolved quite a lot in a week due to user suggestions. There are several things I am working on in to develop the site, at the forefront of my mind is wikis.
Now it’s added to the extended list of Community Sites for Scientists and Physicians.
*This blog post was originally published at ScienceRoll*
