Science-Based Medicine

Science-Based Medicine focuses on critically assessing medical treatments and products that interest the public through a scientific lens. Our goal is to uphold the highest scientific standards within healthcare. Much of the information available online regarding alternative medicine tends to be overly trusting and lacks scrutiny. Even mainstream media and certain medical schools sometimes fall for the hype, neglecting to ask essential questions. We aim to provide a necessary "alternative" viewpoint: a scientific viewpoint. Reliable science is the most effective means to identify which treatments and products are genuinely safe and effective. This concept is part of a movement known as evidence-based medicine (EBM). While EBM positively influences medical practice, it does have its drawbacks, such as placing too much emphasis on evidence from clinical trials alone. This can lead to issues, like wasting taxpayer money on further research that may not be beneficial. Science-Based Medicine seeks not to compete with EBM but to complement it by advocating for a broader perspective: to truly understand "what works," we must prioritize our comprehensive scientific knowledge from all relevant fields. The contributors to SBM are all trained in medicine and have dedicated years to writing about science and healthcare for the public, passionately promoting high scientific standards in the medical field.

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MAHA and “soft eugenics” revisited: The “autism tsunami,” Dr. Oz, and your “patriotic duty” to stay healthy

3 days ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

I hadn’t intended to write about the longtime antivax activist who is, tragically, now the Secretary of Health and Human Services for the US, namely Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Truth be told, I’d love to forget about RFK Jr. for a while, as I’m getting a bit of RFK Jr. fatigue (and, I suspect, so are you). I’d love nothing more than to be able to do a post or two about standard-issue quackery of the variety that I used to write about routinely back in the day.
How bad is it? RFK Jr.’s extinction-level threat to science-based federal health policy and public health is here

1 week ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

After learning that, in return for his having suspended his independent Presidential campaign to bend the knee to Donald Trump, Trump had said that he’d appoint longtime antivax activist Robert F.
The Misinformation Wars

2 weeks ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | Steven Novella

The core mission of SBM comes down to a few things – examining the complex relationship between scientific evidence and healthcare, exploring issues of how optimally to regulate health care and health products, and fighting misinformation. Over the years I think we have made some solid strides on the first category. The medical infrastructure has been trending increasing towards higher standards of scientific evidence and greater awareness of the many pitfalls of bad science or pseudoscience.
Measles, MAHA, and “soft eugenics”

2 weeks ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

Saturday, a second child died of measles this year, a little more than a month after the first death of a child of measles in two decades had been reported. This brings the total number of measles fatalities so far this year to three, and it’s only early April.
Will AI Save Medicine

3 weeks ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | Steven Novella

Modern medicine is facing many challenges. As the science of medicine advances, it gets harder and harder. We have, in a way, picked all the low hanging fruit. People are living longer, and their medical conditions are getting more challenging to understand and to treat. In order to continue making medical progress we need more advanced technology.
“Make America Healthy Again”: The new Lysenkoism

3 weeks ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

I’ve been thinking about (1898–1976) a lot, ever since it was announced that longtime antivaccine activist Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had been nominated to become Secretary of Health and Human Services. Many regular readers will know why if they are familiar with Lysenkoism, the disastrous political campaign led by Lysenko against science-based agriculture based on Lysenko’s rejection of Mendelian genetics in favor of Lamarckism (more on that later).
David Geier Hired to Study Vaccines and Autism

4 weeks ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | Steven Novella

If you are already tired of hearing about RFK Jr. being the Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), buckle in. I get it – it can be exhausting. Don’t we already know everything we need to about what a medical crank he is? While SBM will not neglect the many topics that we cover, we certainly consider it a high priority to be a watchdog on someone who is at least in the running for the worst cabinet appointment in American history.
The Mercola Tapes: One of the wealthiest antivaxxers in the world is scammed

1 month ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

When I came across this story, it occurred to me that it’s been a long time since I’ve written about Dr. Joe Mercola, who was at one time frequently featured here.
On TikTok, Everything Is a Poison or Superfood

1 month ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | Steven Novella

We have to face the fact that social media is now the primary way that many people get their information. More than half of people in the US get their “news” from social media at least some of the time. But I don’t think asking people where they get “news” captures the full phenomenon. People who watch TikTok videos might not consider that consuming news.
Quackery (still) kills: A five-year-old boy dies in a hyperbaric oxygen chamber

1 month ago | sciencebasedmedicine.org | David Gorski

One thing that I like to do from time to time is to highlight a story or incident relevant to the mission of this blog that has happened in southeast Michigan, where I live. This time around, it’s the tragic story of a five-year-old boy named Thomas Cooper, who met a tragic end six weeks ago undergoing hyperbaric oxygen treatment (HBOT) for ADHD at The Oxford Center, a quack clinic that operates two locations, one in the suburbs of Detroit and one in Brighton, near Ann Arbor.