AUGUST 2025 NEWS
Featured topic: mRNA vaccines
Apoorva Mandavilli (New York Times): “Kennedy cancels nearly $500 million in mRNA vaccine contracts.”
Steven Novella (Science-Based Medicine): “HHS to cut funding for vaccine research.”
Edzard Ernst: “Robert F. Kennedy Jr., the HHS Secretary of the US: does he belong in a straight jacket?”
Katie Rogers (New York Times): “Trump just shrugs as Kennedy undermines his vaccine legacy.”
Paul Offitt (Beyond the Noise): “RFK Jr.’s 'Scienze'.”
An editorial from The Guardian: “The Guardian view on RFK Jr's vaccine cuts: an assault on science from a politician unfit for his office.”
Jake Scott (Quillette): “RFK Jr.’s mRNA betrayal: how political ideology trumped Nobel Prize-winning science.”
Michael Hiltzik (Los Angeles Times): “RFK Jr.’s cancellation of mRNA research is even worse than it first seemed.”
Jerome Adams (Washington Post): “I witnessed Operation Warp Speed. Trump’s refusal to defend it is baffling.”
Stephanie Kirchgaessner (The Guardian): “Experts condemn NIH director’s defense of cut to vaccine research.”
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “What do mRNA vaccines, Synthroid, and pharmaceuticals have in common (according to MAHA)?”
Featured topic: vaccines (other)
Paul Offit (Beyond the Noise): “RFK Jr.’s plan to eliminate vaccines” and “RFK Jr. is a one-trick pony.”
Michael Schulson (Undark): “As trust in public health craters, Idaho charts a new path.”
Apoora Mandavilli (New York Times): “On vaccines, Kennedy has broken sharply with the mainstream.”
Christina Jewett and Apoorva Mandavilli (New York Times): “Kennedy’s next target: the Federal Vaccine Court.”
Meg Tirrell and Sarah Owermohle (CNN): “RFK Jr.’s HHS re-establishes childhood vaccine safety task force after pressure from his former anti-vaccine advocacy group.” Rachel Roubein and Lena Sun also covered the story for The Washington Post.
Elizabeth Rosenthal (KFF Health News): “’Alternative facts’ aren’t a reason to skip vaccines.”
Jessica Steier (New York Times): “The playbook used to ‘prove’ vaccines cause autism.” Flawed papers by Mark and David Geier were analyzed.
Lena Sun (Washington Post): “RFK Jr., pediatrician association clash over covid shots for kids.”
Lisa Schnirring (Center for Infectious Disease Research & Policy): “ACIP member critical of COVID vaccines to lead review.”
Christina Jewett and Jacey Fortin (New York Times): “F.D.A. approves Covid shots with new restrictions.”
Maureen Dowd (New York Times): “Vax quack lacks facts.”
Leana Wen (Washington Post): “On vaccine policy, the worst is yet to come.”
Featured topic: CDC
Sheryl Stolberg and other (New York Times): “White House says new C.D.C. director is fired, but she refused to leave.”
Lena Sun and others (Washington Post): “CDC leaders who resigned said RFK Jr. undermined vaccine science, risking lives” and “The CDC is falling deeper into crisis. What it means for the nation’s health.”
Sheryl Stolberg and others (New York Times): “Kennedy sought to fire C.D.C. director over vaccine policy.”
Apoora Mandavilli (New York Times): “Inside the C.D.C., a growing sense of despair.”
Matthew Perrone (Associated Press): “Trump’s new CDC chief: A Washington health insider with a libertarian streak.”
Featured topic: other political developments
Dr. Vinay Prasad:
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “EBM 'Boy Wonder’ Vinay Prasad is toppled.”
Jonathan Howard (Science Based Medicine): “Dr. Vinay Prasad’s legacy is shattered trust & 11 other thoughts on his decision to spend more time with his family”; “No one believes Dr. Vinay Prasad grew tired of his family. To restore trust, we need an honest explanation from our medical establishment. That’s not asking too much”; “Dr. Vinay Prasad’s Catch-22: the only way he can truly succeed at his job is to get fired again”; “I am a private citizen seeking to hold my government accountable. Dr. Vinay Prasad, a government doctor, killed my YouTube channel.”
Christina Jewett (New York Times): “Ousted F.D.A. vaccine chief returns to agency.”
Other:
David Gorski (Science-Based Medicine): “Every accusation was a confession of what they wanted to do if they were to attain power” and “Jay Bhattacharya’s ‘plan to drive Gold Standard Science’: a Trojan horse for ‘Lysenko-izing’ the NIH.”
Jonathan Howard (Science-Based Medicine): “With our brains pickled by social media, our dishonest, sheltered, juvenile medical establishment keeps trying to sic vengeful online mobs against doctors who actually care for patients” and “A request for founders of Sensible Medicine: Teach us why it was ethical to profit from pro-Kennedy propaganda. We all have so much to learn from your glorious nuance.”
Edzard Ernst: “The hubris of Robert F. Kennedy Jr.”
Lena Wenn (Washington Post): “RFK Jr. may be on the verge of dismantling U.S. preventive health care.”
Carolyn Johnson (Washington Post): “Inside science labs trying to survive in the Trump era.”
Dani Tietz (SJO Daily): “Scientists counter Kennedy administration with evidence-based health report.”
Meg Tirrell (CNN): “HHS staffers implore RFK Jr. to ‘stop spreading inaccurate health information’ in wake of CDC shooting.”
Martin Enserink (Science): “Losing protection.” “The United States helped beat back malaria in Guinea. Now, the disease is set to soar.”
Susan Svrluga (Washington Post): “At Harvard, Trump administration cuts hit young scientists hard.”
An editorial in The Lancet: “RFK Jr and MAHA: dangerous, emboldened, and escalating.”
Eric Garcia (The Independent): “’Horror show’: RFK Jr and Trump fearmong about autism in marathon cabinet meeting while research is axed behind scenes.”
Dan Diamond and others (Washington Post): “As RFK Jr. upends America’s public health system, Trump cheers him on.”
Featured topic: chiropractic and spinal manipulation
Edzard Ernst posted:
“Chiropractic cannot be the treatment of choice for chronic low back pain.” “…we are all not very effective in curing CLBP. In terms of effectiveness, it therefore hardly matters what treatment we opt for. In this situation, our preference should be guided not by the (in)effectiveness of the therapy but by its safety, cost, availability. If you apply these criteria, one thing seems very clear: CHIROPRACTIC CANNOT BE THE TREATMENT OF CHOICE FOR CLBP.”
“Is chiropractic a religion?” “The concept of chiropractic as a religion explains the chiropractors’ stubborn rejection of science, evidence, rationality, etc. as well as their often fanatic belief in their actions.”
“Patient suffers spinal bleed after chiropractor visit.” “This seems a fairly typical example of a serious injury caused by chiropractic spinal manipulation combined with insufficient informed consent. Such incidents do often not show up in the medical literature – instead, they are settled via legal actions which often precludes the publication of the case in a medical journal.”
“Musculoskeletal manipulations in elderly populations with musculoskeletal disorders.” “This, it seems to me, is merely a polite way of stating that neither chiropractic nor osteopathy are supported by sound evidence, and that therapeutic claims by chiropractors and osteopaths are usually hugely exaggerated. Therefore, the prudent thing to do, if you are suffering from back or neck pain, is to use treatments that are less expensive and less likely to cause severe, sometimes life-threatening adverse effects.”
“Cost-effectiveness of spinal manipulation, exercise, and self-management for spinal pain.” “In view of these limitations and the fact that just 8 trials could be included, the relatively firm conclusions are surprising, in my view. To me, much of the data look unconvincing, somewhat random, inconsistent and implausible. Could it be that the authors were trying to generate and emphasize positive results? After all, most of them are affiliated to the ‘Integrative Health and Wellbeing Research Program Earl E. Bakken Center for Spirituality & Healing, University of Minnesota’!”
Other topics
On Science-Based Medicine,
Mark Crislip posted:
“Traditional medicine based extinction: an update.” Threats to the following animals used in traditional medicine were discussed: rhinoceros, tiger, seahorse, donkey, pangolin, and Saiga antelope. “70 different wild animals used in traditional Chinese medicine listed in Pharmacopoeia. However, scientists have evidence of over 2,200 species being used.”
Scott Gavura posted:
“GLP-1 patch scams: the science doesn’t support the hype.” The patches are claimed to “deliver GLP-1 or ‘boost’ GLP-1.” There is no evidence for these claims.
Steven Novella posted:
“Health narratives on social media.” Social media “has amplified narrative-based thinking at the expense of fact-based thinking…the narratives which drive engagement and are psychologically appealing will tend to win out – not facts, logic, and reason. I would argue that this captures where we are generally as a society. We need to find a way out, or far worse awaits us.”
Edzard Ernst:
Wrote “And the award for the most spectacular ‘quantum bollocks’ goes to…” The paper is a preprint by Ivan Domuschiev entitled “Quantum measurement and quantum simulation of the human biofield.” “I have rarely seen BS as pure as this!”
Posted “Skepticism versus denialism.” “Skepticism is an essential principle of science. It is characterised by a questioning attitude and by critical thinking…Denialism is an ideological and usually unchangable position that rejects a consensus even in the presence of overwhelming evidence. It is by no means a search for the truth but a rejection of reality.”
Wrote “Osteopathic manipulation for the prevention of cardiac complications?”
Wrote “Artificial intelligence for prescribing in homeopathy?” “Allow me to suggest a conclusion that is a little shorter and more relevant: Whether performed by a homeopaths, AI or anything else, homeopathic remedy finding is a process that is random, irreproducible, unscientific, implausible and meaningless. In terms of its accuracy, it is comparable to tea leaf readings, palmistry, iridology, astrology, etc. This fact highlights yet again the utter absurdity of homeopathy as a form of healthcare.”
Posted “Science versus pseudoscience.” “Science is the systematic, rational approach to understand the world. It has 6 crucial characteristics: 1. Falsifiability…2. Empirical evidence…3. Peer review…4. Science must be reported such that its findings can be reproduced by a third party…5. Self-correction…6. Skepticism…Pseudoscience is the practice of mimicing science without adopting the rules, rigor and commitment to evidence of science. It also has 6 main characteristics: 1. Unfalsifiability…2. Confirmation bias…3. Rarety of peer review…4. Dogmatism…5. Dependence on anecdotes…6. Argument from ignorance…In essence, pseudoscience is an abuse of science.”
Posted “The evidence-base for Hahnemann’s ‘The Organon of the Healing Art’ (and matters arising from it).” Ernst asked the Google chatbot Gemini concerning the evidence base for homeopathy.
Discussed “Conspiracy beliefs and the preference for natural treatments in medical decision-making.” “My conclusion from all this: please be sceptical about the claim that SCAM [so-called alternative medicine] is natural; it is but a clever advertising slogan without substance. SCAM has few qualities that would truly render it natural. And, of course, natural does not necessarily mean harmless…”
Reported on “Acute-onset dystonia following Ashwagandha supplementation.” “My advice, therefore, is to be cautious and to disbelief the often-voiced notions that its long tradition of usage or its naturalness means that a treatment is risk-free.”
Posted “Frank Ludow: the man who cured ‘full blown AIDS in 72 out of 72 patients’???”
Wrote “Is Reiki effective for postmenopausal symptoms? No, I’m afraid not.” “The study was designed along the A+B versus B design which we have discussed ad nauseam on this blog. It does not control for placebo effects which means it generates positive results without fail, even for the most ineffective therapies. In view of this, I should re-write the conclusions as follows: Placebo effects significantly reduce menopausal symptoms and depression levels in postmenopausal women. These findings do not suggest that Reiki may be an effective complementary treatment option for women going through menopause.”
Discussed “Non-physical beings assisting in Reiki sessions: is this the most impressive BS of the year?”
On McGill Office for Science and Society:
Eva Kellner and Hosna Akhgary:
Wrote “Can McDonald’s cure your migraine?” “TikTok’s newest wellness trend is the McMigraine order—a Coke and McDonald’s fries that allegedly hold the miracle cure for migraines. We dug into these claims, finding that once again, an online trend is no replacement for a doctor.”
Joe Schwarcz:
Wrote “Supermodel Heidi Klum floats in air and blows hot air.” “I will be more critical about her plan, widely reported in the social media, ‘to rid her body of worms and parasites.’ She says that she is taking pills that contain clove and papaya seeds along with various herbs that ‘parasites do not like’…Infections by parasites and worms are real, but rare in developed countries…If you are looking for scientific advice, Heidi Klum should not be the go-to person.”
August – Schmidt, Qiao, and Bergö published “Effects of antioxidants on cancer progression” (EMBO Mol Med. 2025 Aug;17(8):1896-1901 Paper). “While antioxidants may slow tumor progression in specific cancers such as MYC-driven lymphoma, they can accelerate tumor growth, metastasis, and angiogenesis in other settings, including KRAS-driven lung cancer and BRAF-driven melanoma…Given the well-documented risks associated with non-prescribed antioxidant supplementation, caution is clearly warranted. Until definitive data are available—and policy makers feel confident in making clear recommendations—cancer patients and individuals at risk should avoid antioxidant use outside of medically supervised protocols.”
August 10 – Sabrina Malhi (Washington Post) wrote “The anti-sunscreen movement and what to know about its claims.” “Some wellness figures have claimed that diet changes or building sun exposure gradually can protect against burns, which dermatologists and the scientific community strongly recommend against…Health professionals warn that anti-sunscreen messaging can be harmful for the public because skin cancer remains one of the most common types of cancer, according to the American Cancer Society. Experts say sunscreen is one of the most effective tools for prevention.”
August 19 and 24 – Jen Guntner (The Vagenda) discussed bioidentical hormones in two posts: The first was “Natural, bioidentical, plant-based…Oh my!” “At the end of the day, ‘natural,’ ‘bioidentical,’ and ‘plant-based’ sound comforting — but they’re just marketing terms, not medical ones. The safest hormone therapy is the one where you have worked with your physician to find the studied, regulated and tested formulation that works for you, not the one with a fanciful origin story.” The second was “The birth of bioidentical: tracing the menopause marketing juggernaut.”
August 22 – Jillian Wilson (HuffPost) wrote “More and more people suffer from 'chemophobia' – and MAHA is partly to blame.”
August 22 - Arthur Allen (NBC News) reported “The FTC requires products to prove health claims. A lawsuit could end that protection.” “The agency has traditionally been successful in taking action against marketers that promote bogus medical products.”
August 26 – Thomas Wheeler published a fourth letter critical of reiki studies (Afr J Reprod Health. 2025 Aug 26;29(8):174-175).
August 28 – Gosling and others published “Complementary, alternative and integrative medicine for autism: an umbrella review and online platform” (Nat Hum Behav. 2025 Aug 28. Epub ahead of print. Paper). The authors examined 19 different methods. “We found no high-quality evidence to support the efficacy of any CAIM [complementary, alternative, and integrative medicine] for core or associated symptoms of autism. Although several CAIMs showed promising results, they were supported by very low-quality evidence.”
August 29 – Nick Tiller (Skeptical Inquirer) asked “Can you trust AI to give health advice?” “LLMs make frequent mistakes in medical advice. They provide inaccurate and incomplete responses to health-related questions, potentially spreading misinformation.”
Additions to previous month
July 25 – Nick Tiller (Skeptical Inquirer) wrote “Consumer magazines and the fine art of pseudo-skepticism.”
July 30 – McKenzie Beard (New York Post) published “23-year-old who died of cancer after refusing chemo had ‘five coffee enemas a day’.” “A 23-year-old British woman who died after refusing conventional cancer treatment was allegedly undergoing ‘five coffee enemas a day’ under the care of her mother, a controversial health influencer. Paloma Shemirani’s brother made the claim this week during an inquest into her death, which came seven months after doctors told the Cambridge graduate she had an 80% chance of surviving non-Hodgkin lymphoma with chemotherapy, according to the BBC. Instead, she pursued an unproven alternative cancer regimen promoted by her mother, Kate Shemirani, who claimed to have used it successfully in the past.”