Ben Goldacre
Saturday October 29, 2005
The Guardian

Some might suggest that I don’t know when to stop. And so we begin our third consecutive column on Dr Chris Malyszewicz and his Northants-based Chemsol Consulting: the tabloids’ favourite microbiology laboratory, the lab that gives positive MRSA swab results for undercover journalists who want dirty hospital scoops, where others Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Goldacre
Saturday October 22, 2005
The Guardian

Right. Where were we? Oh yes: there is a small unaccredited laboratory in Northants called Chemsol, run by a man with a non-accredited correspondence-course PhD and no formal microbiology training, and he seems to find MRSA in hospitals where other accredited labs, in universities and the like, cannot. And, weirdly, almost every undercover tabloid Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Goldacre
Saturday October 15, 2005
The Guardian

A while ago an investigative television journalist friend rang me up. “I just went undercover to take some MRSA swabs for my filthy hospital superbug scandal,” he said, “but they all came back negative. What am I doing wrong?” Always happy to help, I suggested he swab “my arse” instead. Ten minutes later Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Goldacre
Saturday October 8, 2005
The Guardian

I think I’m being stalked by a famous media naturopath. First he taunts me through Newsnight: “When Michael van Straten started Read the rest of this entry »

Ben Goldacre
Saturday October 1, 2005
The Guardian

The plot around a BBC online health correspondent gets thicker. Last week, you will recall, we were pondering the ethics and wisdom of Jacqueline Young dishing out preposterous, made-up, pseudoscientific Read the rest of this entry »