April 1998 by Steven Novella, MD How many times have you heard the rumor that “They have a cure for cancer?” Have you ever wondered who “they” are, or how anyone could be so callous as to suppress a treatment for such a deadly disease, or how vast such a conspiracy of silence would have […]
October 1999 by Steven Novella, MD A new phenomenon is sweeping the country, gaining the attention of both consumers and manufacturers alike. Increasingly disenchanted with the cold metallic world our modern technology is producing, people are beginning to take a close look at more natural alternatives. Collectively called Alternative Engineering (AE), a host of new […]
October 1998 by Robert Drysdale Dr. Novella’s comprehensive articles on alternative medicine have led me to a question: since alternative medicine lacks, for the most part, any scientific justification for its use, what then, aside from the given that many Americans are science illiterates to an alarming degree, accounts for its increasing popularity?… according to […]
October 2000 by Robert Novella Of all the scientific terms that have been usurped by pseudoscientists, the word “energy” would have to be the most abused. This word has a very specific meaning to physicists, but the lay press, and many people who are not familiar with its proper usage, distort its meaning and use […]
January 2001 by Stuart Losen, PhD It was only a few years ago that the public heard a lot about psychotherapists dredging up the previously repressed memories of their clients to ward off the development of multiple personalities. There were also many reports of special therapeutic procedures specifically devised to help individuals cope with those […]
October 1996 by Steven Novella, MD The line which sharply demarcates mainstream medicine from alternative medicine is the line of science. It is possible to cross that line, however. Any alternative treatment which is tested in a rigorous scientific manner and found to be safe and effective, will be incorporated into mainstream medicine, it will […]