After feeding the scare he’ll sell you the solution

October 29th, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, MRSA, PhDs, doctors, and qualifications, scare stories | 32 Comments »

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 »

The man behind the Mop of Death

October 22nd, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, mail, media, mirror, MRSA, PhDs, doctors, and qualifications, scare stories, sun, very basic science | 29 Comments »

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 »

Lab that finds bugs where others do not

October 15th, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, media, mirror, MRSA, news of the world, PhDs, doctors, and qualifications, scare stories, sun | 78 Comments »

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 »

Don’t dumb me down

September 8th, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in adverts, alternative medicine, bad science, bbc, cash-for-"stories", channel 4, channel five, chocolate, dangers, express, gillian mckeith, independent, letters, mail, media, mirror, MMR, PhDs, doctors, and qualifications, references, scare stories, statistics, telegraph, times, very basic science, weight loss | 85 Comments »

We laughed, we cried, we learned about statistics … Ben Goldacre on why writing Bad Science has increased his suspicion of the media by, ooh, a lot of per cents

Ben Goldacre
Thursday September 8, 2005
The Guardian

OK, here’s something weird. Every week in Bad Science we either victimise some barking pseudoscientific quack, or a big science story in a national newspaper. Now, tell me, why are these two groups even being mentioned in the same breath? Why is science in the media so often pointless, simplistic, boring, or just plain wrong? Like a proper little Darwin, I’ve been Read the rest of this entry »

Never as bad as it looks

September 1st, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, hate mail, letters, scare stories, statistics, times, water | 15 Comments »

Ben Goldacre
Thursday September 1, 2005
The Guardian

· “One of Britain’s most widely prescribed antidepressants has been linked to a seven-fold increase in suicide attempts.” Hold the front page! Oh hang on, it’s on Read the rest of this entry »

Supplementary benefits

August 11th, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in alternative medicine, bad science, herbal remedies, scare stories, times | 16 Comments »

Ben Goldacre
Thursday August 11, 2005
The Guardian

· OK, it’s me and Susan Clarke from the Sunday Times, on the floor, mano a mano. This week someone is asking for Read the rest of this entry »

Outdoor Pursuits

August 2nd, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, scare stories, statistics | 1 Comment »

Shortcuts

Tuesday August 2, 2005
The Guardian

Doing publicity for roller coasters can’t be an easy job, even at the best of times. On one hand, you’re selling dangerousness and Read the rest of this entry »

Party hard

July 21st, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, scare stories, very basic science | 8 Comments »

Ben Goldacre
Thursday July 21, 2005
The Guardian

· In our eagerness to focus on the supply side of pseudoscience – the dismal outpourings of flaky humanities graduates in the media and the bogus pseudoscience of people with products to sell – we’ve neglected an important area of study: the impact on the end market. Take this from reader Richard Read the rest of this entry »

Letter From Lancet Editor

June 22nd, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in bad science, letters, scare stories, statistics | 2 Comments »

Health risks

Wednesday June 22, 2005
The Guardian

I would add one vital element to Ben Goldacre’s sensible list of requirements for understanding health risks (Risky business, June 20). It is essential to convey the reliability of the evidence that Read the rest of this entry »

Risky Business

June 20th, 2005 by Ben Goldacre in mirror, scare stories, statistics, telegraph, times | 20 Comments »

Comment
Risky business

Health-scare stories often arise because their authors simply don’t understand numbers

Ben Goldacre
Monday June 20, 2005
The Guardian

Competence always looks better from a distance, but I have a confession to make: I’m a doctor, and I just don’t understand most of the stories on health risks in the news. I don’t mean I can’t understand the fuss. I mean I literally can’t understand what Read the rest of this entry »

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