Australasian Science: Australia's authority on science since 1938
The Bitter Pill
Homeopathy Fails the Test – Again
By Loretta Marron
The National Health and Medical Research Council has found that homeopathy is no better than a placebo. It is one of many such findings around the world, but will it change anything?
Homeopathy doesn’t work. Haven’t we heard that before? Yes! Three years and $140,000 after its first report, the National Health and Medical Research Council (NHMRC) has reconfirmed that “evidence from research in humans does not show that homeopathy is effective”. Australia’s peak medical research body now states officially that homeopathy works no better than a placebo.
Balance Returning to Vaccination Information
By Rachael Dunlop
The Australian Vaccination Network’s status as a charitable organisation has been stripped and its web of half-truths and outright lies damned by authorities.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Seeking the Evidence for Chinese Medicine
By Dave Hawkes
By looking for active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicines, ethnopharmacologists are finding evidence for their efficacy.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Getting to the Bottom of Colon Cleansing
By Joanne Benhamu
Colonic cleansing has persisted as an alternative therapy for centuries despite a lack of evidence.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
A Catalyst for Better Science Journalism
By Rob Morrison
In the wake of the controversial Catalyst reports on cholesterol and statins, Rob Morrison provides a checklist for good science journalism.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
How Charles Darwin Was Cured by Water
By John Hayman
The “water cure” relieved Charles Darwin of periods of nausea, but why didn’t it work at home?
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Darwin’s Diagnoses
By John Hayman
The father of modern biology suffered much at the hands of alternative medical practitioners.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
The Natural Logic of Health Care
By Wendy Daniels
It’s time to debunk the “natural is healthy and good and non-natural is unhealthy and bad” myth.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Call Out the Quacks
By Tory Shepherd
Scientists often complain about the way the media treat their message, but journalists have reason to complain as well, since many scientists don’t help to get that message straight.
Tory Shepherd is the Political Editor of The Advertiser and a columnist at The Punch. She regularly writes columns exposing alternative medicine bunkum and bogus health claims.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
Too Open to Ideas?
By Matthew Browne
Why do intelligent people believe incredible things? Psychological studies suggest that the answer may lie in personality type rather than any measure of intelligence.
Dr Matthew Browne is a Lecturer in Psychology at CQUniversity and a biostatistician at the Institute for Health and Social Science Research.
To view this article subscribe or purchase a yearly pass here.
