Dismissing Anecdotes – Are Scientists Jerks?

When sharing an article on social media that is critical of a particular "alternative" treatment, I often get responses from friends and family that appeal to anecdotes in order to argue that the treatment is effective. These may include stories they have heard from others or a story of their own personal experience with the treatment. For …

Mercury in Vaccines: Are We Really STILL Talking About This?

  One basic principle of toxicology is that the dose makes the poison. This means that a substance has observable adverse effects in the body only once a certain dose is achieved. This not only applies to substances that are widely considered "harmful", but also to substances that are generally considered "safe." For example, water is …

“Whoop” There It Is – An Overview of Pertussis Vaccines

Pertussis (whooping cough) is a contagious respiratory disease characterized by uncontrollable, violent coughing which can make it difficult to breathe. The name "whooping cough" comes from the many deep breaths that are needed in order to regain the air that was missed after a fit of coughing. The disease can be fatal and infants less than …

Causality & The Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System

I spend more time than I care to admit having online debates with people. Recently, I was having a discussion with a mother about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS). She was of the opinion that vaccines cause a wide range of things such as autism and death. She argued that all of the …

Experience with Dr. Sherri Tenpenny on Facebook

Recently, I was perusing some anti-vaccination pages on Facebook. I came across the page of Dr. Sherri Tenpenny, quite popular in the anti-vaccine movement. She holds a Bachelor of Arts and a specialization in osteopathic medicine. Tenpenny posted a link to an article by Sayer Ji of greenmedinfo. The headline proclaims "Study Calls Into Question …

Anecdotes of “Vaccine-Injured Children” – What Can They Really Tell Us?

If you're familiar with the information provided by anti-vaccine websites, then you have probably encountered some anecdotal (word of mouth) accounts of children getting injured by vaccines. The story usually goes something like this: a child receives one or more vaccines and then within a short time frame after vaccination, the child experiences an adverse event. Examples of some …