The Salk ‘Miracle’ Myth
An article in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette titled “Sixty Years Later, Recalling the Jonas Salk Polio ‘Miracle’” written by Virginia Linn keeps the myth of the so-called miracle of the Salk polio vaccine alive and well. It also serves as a continuing testimony to the laziness (not to mention incompetence) of the mainstream media to do its historical homework. Ms. Linn’s piece…
Direct-to-Consumer Ads Prompt Patients to ‘Ask Their Doctor’ for Drugs
Direct-to-consumer (DTC) advertisements are a dime and dozen on American television, Internet and radio these days. The United States and New Zealand are the only countries that allow DTC drug ads and it wasn’t until 1997 that the Food and Drug Administration offered guidance on such advertising. Since then, spending in this area quadrupled. In fact, of the $27 billion…
Sting Operation Exposes the Dark Side of Science
Doctors, patients, policymakers and the general public are finding that the integrity of science is questionable, as less people trust journalism and science journals. One 2014 poll found that trust in media dropped 5 percentage points to 52 percent. This also stands true globally, as trust in media has dropped approximately 80 percent across all of the countries surveyed.