Here's the article and poll in the BMJ: http://www.bmj.com/content/351/bmj.h3735
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http://www.medscape.com/viewarticle/777749_3

I'm glad they're looking at this. Turns out that there are more adverse events with homeopathy than there are with placebo, so there must be something in there. The remedy most common implicated is Rhus Tox, which is a dilution of poison ivy.

(noun) placebo = an innocuous or inert medication; given as a pacifier or to the control group in experiments on the efficacy of a drug

http://www.wired.com/medtech/drugs/magazine/17-09/ff_placebo_effect?currentPage=all

AWESOME article. Nutshell: research has show that the biochemistry of the placebo response is due to anticipation-activated opioids and dopamine. Effects of opioids include pain relief, heart rate and breathing modulation. Effects of dopamine include improved motor function in Parkinson's. Both contribute to elevated mood, sharpened cognitive ability, decreased digestive disorders and insomnia, and lower levels of insulin and cortisol. But the whole article is well worth reading. ( Here's the text. I would take notes but I admire this guy's prose too much to chop it up. This article matters.Collapse )

The Citizen's Commission on Human Rights, on Psychiatry: http://www.cchr.org
The Chemical Imbalance Myth: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-chemical-imbalance-myth/
Placebos as Effective As Antidepressants: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/placebos-as-effective-as-antidepressants/
Dark Side of Antidepressants: http://thehealthyskeptic.org/the-dark-side-of-antidepressants/
Water pollution by big pharma: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/pharmawater_factories
Thanks to owl_clan who posted these.

There's been a round of interesting research, published in Science magazine, about how people crave order when they are under stress, and that craving leads to all manner of interesting choices including adherence to conspiracy theories and superstition. There was a huge increase in the popularity of astrology during the Great Depression. What is about to happen now?? This vid is from one of the authors of the study, talking about how we make irrational decisions on a daily basis:



Dan Ariely, a professor of behavioral economics at Duke University, presents examples of cognitive illusions that help illustrate why humans make predictably irrational decisions.
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This study indicates that use of placebos is widespread and that it is not considered to be unethical.
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