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JANUARY 2026 NEWS DECEMBER 2025 NEWS NOVEMBER 2025 NEWS
FEBRUARY, 2026
Measles
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “MAHA leaders are recycling COVID myths to minimize measles.”
Washington Post: “Why South Carolina leads the nation in population growth — and measles.”
New York Times: “Oz offers forceful call for vaccination as measles becomes more dire.”
South Carolina Daily Gazette: “More people in SC are getting vaccinated for measles, but cases continue to spread.”
WCSC: “South Carolina senator proposes mandatory measles vaccines for students.”
PBS: “Newly obtained emails undermine RFK Jr.'s testimony 2019 Samoa trip before measles outbreak.”
Washington Post: “As measles cases climb, these 9 diseases threaten comebacks.”
News Guard’s Reality Check: “Another day, another measles vaccine hoax.”
Guardian: “‘Viruses don’t know borders’: US anti-vaccine rhetoric could impact global measles crisis.”
Surgeon General nominee Casey Means
Washington Post: “Surgeon general nominee Casey Means grilled on vaccines, pesticides in hearing.”
New York Times: “Surgeon general nominee sidesteps questions on vaccines at Senate hearing.”
Genetic Literacy Project: “Viewpoint: The Casey Means hustle - Wellness woo opportunism dressed up as medical wisdom.”
The Hill: “Former Trump surgeon general: ‘Incomprehensible’ Senate is considering Means.”
Gizmodo: “The strangest beliefs of our likely next surgeon general.”
Moderna flu vaccine
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “The FDA: Promoting quack nostrums based on ‘incredible stories’ while rejecting vaccines despite successful RCTs.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “Weaponizing the FDA against vaccines.”
Washington Post: “FDA won’t review Moderna application for first mRNA-based flu vaccine.”
Ars Technica: “Trump official overruled FDA scientists to reject Moderna's flu shot.”
Washington Post: “FDA reverses course and will review Moderna’s mRNA-based flu shot.”
Vaccines (other)
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “Is the FDA is hiding evidence the COVID vaccine killed children?” and “Why should you worry about my vaccinated child if being anti-vaccine works so well.”
Edzard Ernst: “RFK Jr: ‘none of the vaccines that are given during the first 6 months of life have ever been tested for autism’.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “RFK Jr’s war on the world's children” and “What RFK’s CDC doesn't want you to know.”
The Hill: “NIH director says he hasn’t seen evidence that vaccines cause autism” and “Cassidy, Blunt Rochester grill NIH director on Denmark fixation: ‘That’s a crazy idea’.”
Unbiased Science: “The state of U.S. vaccine policy.”
KIWA: “Bill would end childhood vaccination requirements for enrolling in Iowa schools.”
New York Times: “Kennedy allies target states to overturn vaccine mandates for schoolchildren.”
New York Times: “Vaccine manufacturers curtail research and cut jobs.”
NPR: “RFK Jr. made promises to get his job as health secretary. He's broken many of them.”
Reuters: “Medical groups urge US judge to block vaccine policy shifts under RFK Jr.”
Politico: “RFK Jr.’s allies are trying to free anti-vaccine doctors to speak their minds.”
Washington Post: “Inside RFK Jr.’s push against the flu vaccine that he links to his voice condition.”
Dan Wilson (Skeptical Inquirer): “What if we didn’t have vaccines?”
New York Times: “15 states sue H.H.S. over revisions to vaccine schedule.”
Washington Post: “RFK Jr.’s latest lies about vaccines could have major consequences.” [aluminum]
Washington Post: “RFK Jr.’s war on vaccines is coming for the elderly.”
Washington Post: “RFK Jr. is staying quiet about his vaccine changes as GOP pollsters raise red flags.”
Politico: “Florida vaccine push faces bipartisan opposition, pediatrician worries.”
NBC News: “After CDC vaccine changes, states push to keep childhood shots free, accessible.”
Other political developments
Scott Gavura (Science-Based Medicine): “State legislatures as vectors of health information and anti-science.”
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Lysenkoism 2.0 continues: Podcast Jay [Bhattacharya] wants to turn NIH into the 'research arm' of MAHA” and “MAHA: Everything old is new again, except this time antiscience cranks (like Stanislaw Burzynski) are in charge.”
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “Why does Dr. Vinay Prasad refuse to answer questions about his job?”
Edzard Ernst: “When nutrition meets bullshit: RFK Jr.’s Super Bowl science” and “In his own words: Robert F. Kennedy Jr. on science, evidence-based medicine and health.”
Paul Knoepfler (Science-Based Medicine): “The peptide craze sweeping America has a fan in RFK Jr.”
Steven Novella (Science-Based Medicine): “Latest autism data.”
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “Who’s really behind the MAHA movement?”
Joe Schwarcz (McGill Office for Science and Society): “America's healthier past is no more than a myth.”
New York Times: “Kennedy makes unfounded claim that keto diet can ‘cure’ schizophrenia.”
Stuart Vyse (Skeptical Inquirer): “RFK Jr. puts facilitated communication users on the HHS autism panel.”
Washington Post: “The autism epidemic is a myth.”
New York Times: “More parents are rejecting a lifesaving vitamin shot for newborns” [vitamin K].”
Ars Technica: “Dewormer ivermectin as cancer cure? RFK Jr.’s NIH funds ‘absurd’ study” and “MAHA moms threaten to turn this car around as RFK Jr. flips on pesticide.”
AP News: “RFK Jr. promised to restore trust in U.S. health agencies. A year later, it’s eroding.”
Steven Salzberg (Science and skepticism): “Making America weak.”
Washington Post: “White House taps Jay Bhattacharya, CDC critic, to lead agency for now.”
Washington Post: “After leaving WHO, Trump officials propose more expensive replacement to duplicate it.”
New York Times: “What happened in Chicago when science became the enemy.”
The Hill: “Trump seeks to boost controversial herbicide glyphosate, drawing MAHA ire.”
Guardian: “Experts warn NIH director now leading CDC will push ‘RFK Jr’s agenda’” [Jay Bhattacharya].
Genetic Literacy Project: “Trump-RFK Jr.’s FDA in science freefall: The leucovorin autism ‘cure’ fiasco is one of many.”
Andrea Love (ImmunoLogic): “This is the black swan I warned about.” “The government is waging war on evidence by legitimizing pseudoscience inside America's health institutions.”
Washington Post: “New dietary guidelines promise science over bias — but come up short.”
The Lancet: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr.: 1 year of failure.”
Other topics
On Science-Based Medicine,
Scott Gavura:
“Implausible apple cider vinegar weight loss study retracted.” “When evaluating claims about weight loss, especially those involving common foods or supplements, start with the size of the reported effect. Large, sustained weight changes require large, sustained shifts in energy balance. Those shifts must come from either reduced intake, increased expenditure, or pharmacologic effects that meaningfully alter appetite or metabolism. These are the only ways you can change energy balance.”
William Mitchell:
“The red marks of pseudo-medicine: Gua Sha.” “Gua Sha celebrates tissue trauma as a sign of healing. While the nature of touch and the placebo effect may provide temporary symptomatic relief, we must be clear about the physiology: we are looking at ruptured capillaries and localized inflammation. Before a patient visits a med spa for a ‘scraping’ session, they should ask themselves why they are paying to undergo a treatment that, in any other context, would be classified as physical assault.”
Edzard Ernst:
“A serious complication of chiropractic manipulation in a patient with Von Willebrand disease.” “The lesson here seems relatively simple: if you have a bleeding abnormality, avoid chiropractic manipulations at all costs! This, of course, raises an interesting question: Considering that ~25% of the general population have some sort of clotting abnormality, do chiropractors routinely check whether their patients have normal blood clotting? Somehow, I doubt it.”
“Auricular acupressure for obesity? No, I don’t think so.”
“The Center for Inquiry (CFI) is raising alarm about new federal legislation of homeopathy.”
“TCM herbal therapy for psoriasis.” “How reliable is this new trial? As we have discussed repeatedly on this blog, there are good reasons to mistrust Chinese studies. If we accept the findings nonetheless, are the conclusions valid? No! Firstly, this study cannot establish the safety of the formula. Secondly, a single trial cannot ‘conclusively’ establish the effectiveness of a therapy. Why does a respected journal publish such a dubious study?”
“Deepak Chopra – Karma can be a real bitch!” “As Deepak is seen to be virtually overflowing with wisdom, spirituality, consciousness, and holistic health, it is perhaps surprising to find his inclusion in the Epstein Files.” Quoting Annie McCubbin on Facebook: “So, this great spiritual leader. This purveyor of divine transcendence. This guru who imbues his incomprehensible gobbledy gook with the historical spiritual relevance of the subcontinent, has shown a complete paucity of decency, care and morality…Perhaps his millions of followers who may have felt spiritually dull witted, may be relieved to discover that his entire shtick is a simple reordering of the following eighteen words: Consciousness, meditation, infinite, universe, god, vibration, stillness, mirror, manifest, luminous. elemental, connection, awareness, love, gratitude, eternal, karma, and divine. His collection of books, videos, podcasts, products like ‘The ritual care kit.’ supplements and ‘wellness retreats.’ are not the result of Deepak’s deep wisdom but merely pseudoscientific quasi spiritual guff…”
“Individualized homeopathy for pain of calcaneal spur?” “This study seems well-designed and is clearly documented. I have read it thoroughly and did not find major flaws. Why, then do I have doubts? I have never heard of a homeopathy advocating homeopathy for calcaneal spur. I don’t see why homeopathy could alleviate pain. The paper reads a little bit as being ‘too good to be true.’ The study was conducted at the Calcutta Homoeopathic Medical College & Hospital, West Bengal, (India’s retraction rate has recently climbed to third place worldwide (5,412 total), rate 2.0002 per 1,000). In any case, before we can accept homeopathy as a treatment of pain caused by calcaneal spur, we need an independent confirmation, preferably not from ardent supporters of homeopathy.”
“The gradual loss of trust in homeopathy.” “Taken together, these dynamics show how rigorous research, scientific critique, regulatory action, and changing public expectations will gradually strip a once‑popular therapy of its medical legitimacy. Or, to put it bluntly: in medicine, evidence will always win against belief, even if it takes several decades.”
“Spinal manipulation and clinician-supported biopsychosocial self-management for acute back pain.” “These findings are very bad news for chiropractors (the profession that uses spinal manipulations more than any other): spinal manipulation does not generate effects that are in the least convincing…I said it many times, and I will say it again: For LBP [low back pain], many therapies generate similarly marginally positive effects but no treatment is truly convincing. In this situation, we should choose one that is at least inexpensive and free of severe adverse effects. And that evidently cannot be spinal manipulation!”
“Trials and tribulations of responsible people trying to uphold scientific standards.” “This article recounts the 5-year long odyssey of a few concerned and fiercely determined individuals [including myself] to get a published paper retracted that clearly was riddled with scientific misconduct and thus detrimental to science and dangerous to vulnerable patients.” The paper (by Frass and others) claimed that homeopathy enhanced cancer survival. Ernst’s article is Sitte et al. Research Integrity and Peer Review (2026) 11:5.
“How does homeopathy work?” “Despite their apparent ingenuity, none of these theories (which interconnect – nanoparticles emitting signals via quantum effects, for instance) are accepted outside homeopathy as the true explanation for homeopathy’s reported effects. As discussed repeatedly on this blog, the true explanation for the outcomes observed after homeopathic treatments lies in the placebo response and other non-specific effects such as the therapeutic encounter.”
“Integrating quantum bollocks into a bullshit model of therapeutic nonsense.” “Geomagnetic field (GMFD) effects on physiology are overstated; while weak links exist to circadian rhythms via cryptochromes in animals, human data show inconsistent, correlational impacts (e.g., r = 0.46 for autonomic changes) without causation or mechanistic clarity. Quantum field (QFD) invocations (biophotons, tunneling) misapply fringe quantum biology concepts—biophotons are ultra-weak emissions with no proven regulatory role, and biological quantum effects (e.g., in photosynthesis) do not scale to macroscopic ‘Qi’ phenomena. Human biofield (HBFD) remains pseudoscientific; therapies like Reiki show placebo-level outcomes in rigorous trials, with no detectable energy fields via standard physics instruments. Equating TCM’s pre-scientific Qi/Yin-Yang to modern biophysics is pure pseudoscience, projecting metaphysical ideas onto preliminary data without falsifiability.”
On McGill Office for Science and Society:
Jonathan Jarry:
“The gold rush of testosterone replacement therapy.” “Take-home message: Many older men are prescribed testosterone replacement therapy even though their testosterone levels are normal. The benefits of testosterone replacement therapy in older men are still debated, with a systematic review concluding that the therapy is unlikely to do anything about sexual dysfunction. ‘Testosterone boosters’ are not supposed to contain testosterone; they are plant extracts that do not have to prove benefit, and these types of herbal supplements are not infrequently contaminated and adulterated.”
“Everyone else is wrong: The Dr. Amen story.” “Take-home message: Celebrity doctor Daniel Amen wants psychiatrists to use SPECT scans of the brain to help diagnose and treat psychiatric conditions. This application of SPECT scans has never been validated with a rigorous clinical trial, and Dr. Amen is not interested in conducting one. Dr. Amen’s treatment options include universal health recommendations combined with a fair amount of pseudoscience, like dietary supplements and illegitimate uses of hyperbaric oxygen chambers.”
Joe Schwarcz:
“Take a broad view of the Mediterranean diet to see benefits.” “Even though only one in 100 may benefit, you may be that one. So go for the extra virgin olive oil, the nuts, fruits and veggies and cut back on the chips, hot dogs and sodas.”
February 1 – Geusens and others: “YouTube as a source of (mis)information for morning sickness self-help – A content analysis and literature review of recommendations for nausea and vomiting in pregnancy” (Midwifery 156:104729). “Women who seek NVP relief on YouTube are exposed to a wide variety of recommendations to reduce their symptoms. However, only few of these are evidence-based, and some may even be dangerous.”
February 2 – Mikkael Sekeres (Washington Post): “I’m an oncologist. Here’s what the science says about cancer and supplements.” “Most dietary supplements are not harmful. Some, however, should be taken with caution, especially in certain populations of people.”
February 2 – Amanda Schupak (New York Times): “Why many doctors don’t like low-carb diets.” “While it’s reasonable to go on a low-carbohydrate diet for, say, three to six months to lose weight quickly, he said, avoiding all carbohydrates for longer than that could lead to a less nutritious diet overall… restricting carbohydrates could cause people to replace them with less healthy foods, such as animal products high in saturated fats…If you cut out starchy vegetables and most fruits, legumes and whole grains while on a low-carbohydrate diet, that could also mean missing out on beneficial fiber, vitamins and other nutrients that are important for cardiovascular health.”
February 5 – Wieland et al. (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2026 Feb 5;2(2):CD013661): “Ginkgo biloba for cognitive impairment and dementia” (Abstract and plain language summary). “For people who are worried about their memory and thinking, it is uncertain whether ginkgo is better than placebo for improving their overall condition at six months…For people with cognitive problems associated with multiple sclerosis, treatment with ginkgo instead of placebo for three months probably makes little or no difference to thinking skills…For people diagnosed with mild cognitive impairment, treatment with ginkgo instead of placebo for six months probably makes little or no difference to their overall condition, thinking skills, or the skills needed to carry out everyday activities…For people diagnosed with dementia, treatment with ginkgo instead of a placebo for six months may lead to some improvements in their overall condition, thinking skills, and the skills needed to carry out everyday activities.”
February 6 – Daniel Gilbert (Washington Post): “Super Bowl ad will promote a cancer test that can produce false results.” Hims & Hers is promoting “a cutting-edge blood test designed to detect more than 50 types of cancer before symptoms show up. But the test’s reliability is questionable, with its manufacturer cautioning that it should be followed by additional medical procedures to diagnose cancer… A large clinical trial showed that the test, called Galleri and based on a single blood draw, is not always reliable — especially on its own. It missed more cases of cancer than it found, according to Eric Topol, director of Scripps Research Translational Institute… Topol said Galleri can be a good tool particularly for people who are at high risk of cancer. However, ‘if it’s too broad a use, it’s going to be a waste of a lot of people’s money, and they’re going to get results that are misleading,’ he said.”
February 6 – Gallagher and Emmanuel (Aging Research Reviews): “NAD+ supplementation for anti-aging and wellness: A PRISMA-guided systematic review of preclinical and clinical evidence” (Ageing Res Rev. 2026 Apr;116:103057). “Overall, NAD⁺ augmentation shows clear biological activity, but clinical effectiveness for anti-aging or wellness outcomes remains inconclusive.”
February 9 – Pam Belluck (New York Times): “2 to 3 cups of coffee may reduce dementia risk, but not if its decaf.” “A large new study provides evidence of cognitive benefits from coffee and tea — if it’s caffeinated and consumed in moderation: two to three cups of coffee or one to two cups of tea daily. People who drank that amount for decades had lower chances of developing dementia than people who drank little or no caffeine, the researchers reported. They followed 131,821 participants for up to 43 years.” The paper is: Zhang et al. JAMA. 2026 Feb 9:e2527259 abstract).
February 13 – Nick Tiller (Skeptical Inquirer): “Extraordinary claims: The homeopathy paper that duped a mainstream journal.” The now-retracted paper was published in European Journal of Pediatrics in 2024. “The flaws weren’t subtle; they contaminated every layer of the study, from design and data analysis to reporting. The main concern from a design perspective was that the study was conducted in India, where homeopathy is culturally embedded and widely accepted in mainstream healthcare. It almost guarantees that parents and physicians would overrate homeopathy’s benefits. Incredibly, the authors cited this as a study strength, claiming it reduced selection bias.”
February 15 – Consumer Health Digest: “Paper touted as evidence for drug treatment of autism symptoms gets retracted.” “The European Journal of Pediatrics has retracted a paper published in 2024 reporting on double-blind, placebo controlled trial testing of oral folinic acid supplementation as a symptomatic treatment of autism. The retraction was due to errors in the results and concerns with statistical analyses performed…Folinic acid, also known as leucovorin (brand name Wellcovorin), is a derivative of folate (folic acid), a B vitamin. It is used to counteract the effects of cancer drugs.”
February 16 – Garegnani et al. (Cochrane Library): “Intermittent fasting for adults with overweight or obesity” (Cochrane Database Syst Rev. 2026 Feb 16;2(2):CD015610) (abstract and plain language summary). “Compared to regular dietary advice, intermittent fasting may result in little to no difference in weight loss or quality of life.”
February 17 – Fenit Nirappil (Washington Post): “RFK Jr. claimed that keto diets cured schizophrenia. Here’s what the science says.” “Ketogenic diets do show promise for schizophrenia and bipolar disorder, but the research is preliminary and not backed by randomized controlled trials…Kennedy’s claims on the keto diet reflect how he misstates, exaggerates or strips context from legitimate research, according to medical experts and science fact-checkers who monitor him.”
February 26 – Venter et al. (Nature): “COVID's origins: what we do and don’t know” (Nature. 2026 Feb;650(8103):829-833). Most of the peer-reviewed evidence supports the hypothesis that animals infected with SARS-CoV-2 passed the virus to humans.
February 27 – Anahad O’Connor (Washington Post): “Considering a gut microbiome test? Read this first.” “New research has found that at-home gut microbiome tests lack standardization, resulting in different results from the same stool sample.” The paper is: Servetas et al. Commun Biol. 2026 Feb 26;9(1):269.
Additions to previous month
January 13 – Lizama-Lefno et al. (Healthcare (Basel). 2026 Jan 13;14(2):196): “Mindfulness components and their clinical efficacy: A critical review of an ongoing debate.” “Evidence from meta-analyses and high-quality trials indicates that mindfulness programs achieve moderate efficacy in reducing symptoms of anxiety, depression, and stress, but effect sizes are frequently inflated by methodological limitations.”
January 28 – Autism Science Foundation: “ASF statement on changes to the Interagency Autism Coordinating Committee (IACC).” ““The newly constituted IACC represents a complete and unprecedented overhaul, with no continuity from prior committees and a striking absence of scientific expertise...committee members have been cherry-picked to reach a predetermined conclusion, not to seek broad, good-faith input from qualified experts and stakeholders.”