I thought this was apropos given the quality of much of the "research" we've seen.
Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science
by XMRV Global Action on Monday, January 17, 2011 at 9:57am
some highlights from today's article in Alliance for Human Research Protection
"A fascinating article in The Atlantic, "Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science" by David Freedman, profiles Dr. John Ioannidis, who says that as much as 90% of the published medical information that doctors rely on is flawed.
Much of what medical researchers conclude in their studies is misleading, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong. So why are doctorsto a striking extentstill drawing upon misinformation in their everyday practice?"
The studies were biased. Sometimes they were overtly biased. Sometimes it was difficult to see the bias, but it was there.Researchers headed into their studies wanting certain resultsand, lo and behold, they were getting them.
Even when the evidence shows that a particular research idea is wrong, if you have thousands of scientists who have invested their careers in it, theyll continue to publish papers on it. Its like an epidemic, in the sense that theyre infected with these wrong ideas, and theyre spreading it to other researchers through journals.
Perhaps worse, Ioannidis found that even when a research error is outed, it typically persists for years or even decades.
We all need to accept the fact that scientists are not superior human beings--they are no less susceptible to human fallibility--such as self-delusion and greed--than the rest of us.Scientists are susceptible to fleeting fads, they cling to comforting, widely held, but unproven beliefs. They are given to bias--generated by financial conflicts of interest, and also bias motivated by ambition and the imperative of academia, "publish or perish."
The reason that many false scientific theories continue to be considered true even after they are proven wrong is powerful stakeholders--in particular, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and government public health service agencies--all of who are invested in their application."
thx to CFSFacts for the link http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/741/9/
Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science
by XMRV Global Action on Monday, January 17, 2011 at 9:57am
some highlights from today's article in Alliance for Human Research Protection
"A fascinating article in The Atlantic, "Lies, Damned Lies, and Medical Science" by David Freedman, profiles Dr. John Ioannidis, who says that as much as 90% of the published medical information that doctors rely on is flawed.
Much of what medical researchers conclude in their studies is misleading, exaggerated, or flat-out wrong. So why are doctorsto a striking extentstill drawing upon misinformation in their everyday practice?"
The studies were biased. Sometimes they were overtly biased. Sometimes it was difficult to see the bias, but it was there.Researchers headed into their studies wanting certain resultsand, lo and behold, they were getting them.
Even when the evidence shows that a particular research idea is wrong, if you have thousands of scientists who have invested their careers in it, theyll continue to publish papers on it. Its like an epidemic, in the sense that theyre infected with these wrong ideas, and theyre spreading it to other researchers through journals.
Perhaps worse, Ioannidis found that even when a research error is outed, it typically persists for years or even decades.
We all need to accept the fact that scientists are not superior human beings--they are no less susceptible to human fallibility--such as self-delusion and greed--than the rest of us.Scientists are susceptible to fleeting fads, they cling to comforting, widely held, but unproven beliefs. They are given to bias--generated by financial conflicts of interest, and also bias motivated by ambition and the imperative of academia, "publish or perish."
The reason that many false scientific theories continue to be considered true even after they are proven wrong is powerful stakeholders--in particular, pharmaceutical companies, healthcare providers and government public health service agencies--all of who are invested in their application."
thx to CFSFacts for the link http://www.ahrp.org/cms/content/view/741/9/