“The page numbers in this index relate to the printed version of this book; they do not match the pages of your ebook. You can use your ebook reader’s search tool to find a specific word or passage.”
A&E departments: randomised trials in 208; waiting times 73–5
abdominal aortic aneurysms (AAA) 18, 114
abortion; GPs and xviii, 89–91; Science and Technology Committee report on ‘scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act, 1967’ 196–201
academia, bad xviii–xix, 127–46; animal experiments, failures in research 136–8; brain-imaging studies report more positive findings than their numbers can support 131–4; journals, failures of academic 138–46; Medical Hypotheses: Aids denialism in 138–41; Medical Hypotheses: ‘Down Subjects and Oriental Population Share Several Specific Attitudes and Characteristics’ article 139, 141–3; Medical Hypotheses: masturbation as a treatment for nasal congestion articles 139, 143–6; misuse of statistics 129–31; retractions, academic literature and 134–6
academic journals: access to papers published in 32–4, 143; cherry-picking and 5–8; ‘citation classics’ and 9–10, 102–3, 173; commercial ghost writers and 25–6; data published in newspapers rather than 17–20; doctors and technical academic journals 214; ‘impact factor’ 143; number of 14, 17; peer review and 138–46 see also peer review; poor quality (‘crap’) 138–46; refusal to publish in 3–5; retractions and 134–6; statistical model errors in 129–31; studies of errors in papers published in 9–10, 129–31; summaries of important new research from 214–15; teaching and 214–15; youngest people to publish papers in 11–12
academic papers xvi; access to 32–4; cherry-picking from xvii, 5–8, 12, 174, 176–7, 192, 193, 252, 336, 349, 355; ‘citation classics’ 9–10, 102–3, 173; commercial ‘ghost writers’ and 25–6; investigative journalism work and 18; journalists linking work to 342, 344, 346; number of 14; peer review and see peer review; post-publication 4–5; press releases and xxi, 6, 29–31, 65, 66, 107–9, 119, 120, 121–2, 338–9, 340–2, 358–60; public relations and 358–60; publication bias 132–3, 136, 314, 315; references to other academic papers within allowing study of how ideas spread 26; refusal to publish in 3–5, 29–31; retractions and 134–6; studies of errors in 9–10, 129–31; titles of 297
Acousticom 366
acupuncture 39, 388
ADE 651 273–5
ADHD 40–2
Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) 252
Afghanistan 231; crop captures in xx, 221–4
Ahn, Professor Anna 341
Aids; antiretroviral drugs and 140, 185, 281, 284, 285; Big Pharma and 186; birth control, abortion and US Christian aid groups 185; Catholic Church fight against condom use and 183–4; cures for 12, 182–3, 185–6, 366; denialism 138–41, 182–3, 185–6, 263, 273, 281–6; drug users and 182, 183, 233–4; House of Numbers film 281–3; Medical Hypotheses, Aids denial in 138–41; needle-exchange programmes and 182, 183; number of deaths from 20, 186, 309; power of ideas and 182–7; Roger Coghill and ‘the Aids test’ 366; Spectator, Aids denialism at the xxi, 283–6; US Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief 185
Aidstruth.org 139
al-Jabiri, Major General Jehad 274–5
alcohol: intravenous use of 233; lung cancer and 108–9; rape and consumption of 329, 330
ALLHAT trial 119
Alzheimer’s, smoking and 20–1
American Academy of Child and Adolescent Psychiatry 325
American Association on Mental Retardation 325
American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 344
American Medical Association 262
American Psychological Association 325
American Speech-Language-Hearing Association 325
anecdotes, illustrating data with 8, 118–22, 189, 248–9, 293
animal experiments 136–8
Annals of Internal Medicine 358
Annals of Thoracic Surgery 134
anti-depressants 18; recession linked to rise in prescriptions for xviii, 104–7; SSRI 18, 105
antiretroviral medications 140, 185, 281, 284, 285
aortic aneurysm repair, mortality rates in hospital after/during 18–20, 114
APGaylard 252
Appleby, John 19, 173
artificial intelligence xxii, 394–5
Asch, Solomon 15, 16
Asphalia 365
Associated Press 316
Astel, Professor Karl 22
ATSC 273
autism: educational interventions in 325; internet use and 3; MMR and 145, 347–55, 356–8
Autism Research Centre, Cambridge 348, 354
Bad Science (Goldacre) xvi, 104, 110n, 257, 346
Bad Science column see Guardian
Ballas, Dr Dimitris 58
Barasi, Leo 96
Barden, Paul 101–4
Barnardo’s 394
Baron-Cohen, Professor Simon 349–51, 353–4
Batarim 305–6
BBC xxi; ‘bioresonance’ story and 277–8; Britain’s happiest places story and 56, 57; causes of avoidable death, overall coverage of 20; Down’s syndrome births increase story and 61–2; ‘EDF Survey Shows Support for Hinkley Power Station’ story and 95–6; psychological nature of libido problems story and 37; radiation from wi-fi networks story and 289–91, 293; recession and anti-depressant link, reports 105; Reform: The Value of Mathematics’ story and 196; ‘Threefold variation’ in UK bowel cancer rates’ story and 101–4; Wightman and 393, 394; ‘“Worrying’’ Jobless Rise Needs Urgent Action – Labour’ story and 59
Beating Bowel Cancer 101, 104
Becker muscular dystrophy 121
Bem Sex Role Inventory (BSRI) 45
Benedict XVI, Pope 183, 184
Benford’s law 54–6
bicycle helmets, the law and 110–13
big data xvii, xviii, 71–86; access to government data 75–7; care.data and risk of sharing medical records 77–86; magical way that patterns emerge from data 73–5
Big Pharma xvii, 324, 401
bin Laden, Osama 357
biologising xvii, 35–46; biological causes for psychological or behavioural conditions 40–2; brain imaging, reality of phenomena and 37–9; girls’ love of pink, evolution and 42–6
Biologist 6
BioSTAR 248
birth rate, UK 49–50
Bishop, Professor Dorothy 3, 6
bladder cancer 24–5, 342
Blair, Tony 357
Blakemore, Colin 138
blame, mistakes in medicine and 267–70
blind auditions, orchestras and xxi, 309–11
blinding, randomised testing and xviii, 12, 118, 124, 126, 133, 137–8, 292–3, 345
blood tests 117, 119–20, 282
blood-pressure drugs 119–20
Blundell, Professor John 337
BMA 112
Booth, Patricia 265
Boston Globe 39
bowel cancer 101–4
Boynton, Dr Petra 252
Brain Committee 230–1
Brain Gym 10–12
Brainiac: faking of science on xxii, 371–5
brain-imaging studies, positive findings in 131–4
breast cancer: abortion and 200–1; diet and 338–40; red wine and 267, 269; screening 113, 114, 115
breast enhancement cream xx, 254–7
Breuning, Stephen 135–6
The British Association for Applied Nutrition and Nutritional Therapy (BANT) 268–9
British Association of Nutritional Therapists 270
British Chiropractic Association (BCA) 250–4
British Dental Association 24
British Household Panel Survey 57
British Journal of Cancer: ‘What if Cancer Survival in Britain were the Same as in Europe: How Many Deaths are Avoidable?’ 169–70
British Journal of General Practice 105–6
British Journal of Psychology 305
British Medical Association 251
British Medical Journal (BMJ): Bicycle Helmets and the Law (Goldacre/Spiegelhalter editorial) 110–13, 110n; criticism of medical practice within 251; ‘Explaining the rise in antidepressant prescribing’, 2009 paper 105, 106; hospital waiting times stories and 73; ‘IVF children have bigger vocabulary than unplanned children’ story and 109; MMR: The Scare Stories are Back. Goldacre article. 18th July, 2007 347–55; ‘more research is needed’ phrase banned by 4; studies of how ideas spread and myths grow 26; systematic review of effect of large multi-sports events on population 173, summaries of important new research from around the world 214; Why Don’t Journalists Mention the Data? Goldacre article, 16th June, 2007 292–4
British Psychological Society 329, 331
British Social Attitudes Survey 170
Bromley Times 57
Brooks, Tom 67, 68, 69
Building Evidence into Education. (Goldacre report for UK education minister) 202–18
Bundesbank 56
Burstow, Paul 174–6
Bush, George W. 13, 185, 298, 316
Cabinet Office White Paper on using randomised controlled trials to improve government policy, 2011 202n
Cambridge Film Festival 281, 283
Cambridge University 102, 226, 352, 355
Cameron, David 173
Campbell, Denis 343, 344, 346, 347–55
cancer: bladder cancer and fluoride 24–5; bladder cancer and swimming in chlorinated water 342; bowel cancer rates, UK 101–4; brain cancer and mobile phones 116–18; breast cancer and abortion 200–1; breast cancer and diet 338–40; breast cancer and red wine 269; breast cancer screening 114–15; care.data and 78, 83; cervical cancer jab 331–4; using Facebook and 221; herbal medicine and 265, 267; lung cancer and alcohol 107–9; prostate cancer 144; smoking and 3, 22, 319; trials published, only one in four 146; UK survival rates 169–71, 173; urinary tract 265; vaccination and 267, 331–4
Cancer Research UK 339
capital punishment, murder rates and 311–12
Cardiff University 29–31, 40
CardioSEAL 248
care.data 77–86
Cataldo, Janine 20–1
Caterson, Professor 30, 31
Catholic Church, condoms and xx, 183–5, 186
caveats in newspaper articles 338–40
Cellarnot 123
censorship, Brain Gym and 10–12
Central TV 269, 270
Cervarix 332, 333
cervical cancer 332–4
chance, certainty of 56–8
Channel 4 News 118, 121, 197, 251
Charlton, Bruce 140–1, 145
chatnannies.com 393, 395
cherry-picking scientific literature xvii, 5–8, 12, 174, 176–7, 192, 193, 252, 336, 349, 355
Chief Medical Officer for Wales 12
child abuse xix, 157–9, 391–5
children, critiques of adult pseudoscience by 10–12
Chimoio, Archbishop Francisco 183–4
China: girls’ love of pink and 44–5
Chinese traditional medicine xix, 265–7, 388
chlorthalidone 119–20
cholera, Soho outbreak, 1854 365
Christian Medical Fellowship 197
Church, Dr Timothy 336–7
CIA 357
cigarette packaging xxi, 318–21
Cirak, Sebahattin 121
Circulation 248
‘citation classics’ 9–10, 102–3, 173
Citation, network of 26–7
ClimateSock 96
Clinical Trials Units 217
clustered water 388–9
clusters on maps 364–6
coalition government, UK, 2010–14: drugs addicts and sentencing policy 177–9; NHS reform 73, 169–77; ‘Programme for Government’ 177
Cochrane, Archie 209–10, 211, 218, 252, 297–300
Cochrane Group 298
Cochrane Library 298, 300, 336
cod liver oil 29–31
Coe, Robert 189
coffee, hallucinatory effects of 64–6
Coghill, Dr Roger 363–7
College of Natural Nutrition 268, 270
Colquhoun, Professor David 252, 266
Coma Science Group, Belgium 326
comas, communication in xxi, 324–6
Commonwealth Games, 2022 156
Complementary and Alternative Therapy magazine 278
Complementary and Natural Healthcare Council, the (CNHC) 266
computer games, dementia and 3–5
condoms, Catholic Church and xx, 183–5, 186
conference papers 193
conflict-of-interest stories 402
conformity, studies on 15–17
confounding variables xviii, 107–9, 111
Congolese Bishops’ Conference 183
Conservative Party 150, 180, 201
Copp, Professor Andrew 120–2
copy number variants (CNV) 40
copyright 33, 76
cosmetics companies xxii, 254–7, 388–9
Cosmos 250
council overspending xix, 152–4
creationism 13, 281, 284
crime: outrage is lower when a criminal has more victims xxi, 306–9; prevention numbers and DNA database xix, 162–5; sentencing policy 177–9
Crohns Disease 12
Daily Express: council wastage story 152–3; ‘Mum Beats Odds of 50 Million-to-One to Have 3 Babies on Same Date’ story 49; ‘Danger from just 7 cups of coffee a day’ story 64–6; ‘Record numbers of people are being handed antidepressants’ story 105; ‘stilettos tone up your legs’ story 341
Daily Mail 25; breast enhancement cream story 255; cod liver oil ‘nature’s superdrug’ story 29; ‘Council incompetence ‘“costs every household £452 a year’’’ story 152; ‘Up to 10bn a year is wasted by clueless councils’ story 152; ‘Economic woes fuel dramatic rise in use of antidepressants’ story 104–5; ‘How Using Facebook Could Raise your Risk of Cancer’ story 221; increase in number of Down’s syndrome babies story 61, 63; music piracy stories 159–60; prehistoric monuments on a grid of isosceles triangles stories 66, 67; psychological nature of libido problems story 37; sending babies to daycare causes damage to future health story 5–6; ‘Strict diet two days a week “cuts risk of breast cancer by 40 per cent’’’ story 338–9; ‘Swimming too Often in Chlorinated Water “Could Increase Risk of Developing Bladder Cancer’’, Say Scientists’ story 342
Daily Mirror: Down’s syndrome births increase story and 61, 63; reporter has compressed molecule hair treatment 389
Daily Telegraph: British forces seizure of Afghan heroin story 221; ‘Doctors say no to abortion in their surgeries’ story 89–91; ‘economic woes fuel dramatic rise in use of anti-depressants’ story 104–7; ‘IVF children have bigger vocabulary than unplanned children’ story 107; Krügel missing person locator story 275–6; ‘Man Cut Off Own Head with Chainsaw’ story 362; nutritionists, coverage of 268, 269; pornography for sperm donors story 179–82; public sector pay stories 149, 150, 151; Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’, coverage of 194; Sarah’s Law prevention of abuse figures story, coverage of 159; ‘why stilettos are the secret to shapely legs’ story 341; ‘wind farms blamed for stranding of whales’ story 340–1; ‘women who dress provocatively more likely to be raped, claim scientists’ story 329
Dangerous Drugs Act, 1920 229
Dartmouth Medical School, New Hampshire 358–9
datamining, terrorism and 51–3
Davies, Nick 227
Davies, Philip 318
Dawkins, Richard 13
daycare, development of child brain and 5–8
Deer, Brian 354, 357–8
Deleuze, Gilles 297, 298
dementia, computer games and 3–5
Deming, Dr W. Edwards 57–8
dental health, fluoride and 24
Department for Communities and Local Government xix, 153
Department for Education: Independent External Review for on improving use of evidence and data in schools, 2012 202n
Department for Education and Employment: commissions research review on educational interventions in autism, 1998 325
Department of Health 23, 169, 176, 229, 365
DHA 343
diabetes 120
Diamond, Dr Michael 37–8
diarrhoea, handwashing/rehydration and 182, 186–7
‘difference in differences’ 130–1
DNA: database xix, 162–5, 193; new techniques for measuring 135; muscular dystrophy and 121; ‘tracking-device’ 275–7
Do People Want Choice 171
Doing What Works (US government website for teachers) 214
Doll, Richard 22, 187
Doncaster Today 57
Dorset Echo 57
Doubleday 262
Down, John Langdon: ‘Observations on the Ethnic Classification of Idiots’ 141–2
Down’s syndrome: increase in live births as proof that we live in a more caring universe story xviii, 61–3; ‘Down Subjects and Oriental Population Share Several Specific Attitudes and Characteristics’ article, Medical Hypotheses xix, 139, 141–3, 144
Dowson, Dr Andrew 249
doxazosin 119–20
Dr Rath Health Foundation 388
Dr Strangelove (movie) 22–3
Drayson, Lord 331
Drug Dependency Units (DDUs) 231, 233, 234
Drug Enforcement Agency 232
‘Drug Testing and Treatment Orders’ (DTTOs) 178–9
drugs, recreational xx, 219–44; British forces drug seizure figures in Afghanistan 221–4; drug-related deaths, government figures for 225–6; heroin on prescription 226–44; sentencing policy and 177–9
‘Drugs: Protecting Families and Communities Action Plan 2008–11’ 226
du Sautoy, Marcus 194, 196
Dubowitz Neuromuscular Centre 121
Duchenne’s muscular dystrophy (DMD) 118–22
Duelfer Report 316
Duesberg, Peter 139, 140, 283
Dungeness 95, 381
Durham University 189
dystrophin 118–22
Eady, Mr Justice 250
early snarks xii, 387–98; artificial intelligence 394–5; Bad Science column manifesto 399–400; Ionic Hair Retexturising (IHR) 388–9; Nanniebots used to catch paedophiles 391–5; Oxygizer water 390–1; readers of Bad Science column spot pseudo-science 387–9
EDF 95–6
Edmunds, Jr, MD, Dr L. Henry 134
education: building evidence into xvi, xvii, xx, 202–18; exam difficulty 188–90; omega-3 fish oil and 343–7
electrosensitivity xxi; journalists’ failure to mention the data 292–4; wi-fi, dangers of 289–91
Ellison, Jane 85
Elsevier 139, 143, 144, 283
employment/unemployment numbers 59–61
Epicure 197–8
epidemiology xviii, xxii, 3, 18, 99–108, 298, 299, 349–50, 365; anecdotes, illustrating data with 118–22; bicycle helmets, the law and 110–13; bowel cancer rates, variation in 101–4; confounding variables 107–9; journalists, primary research and 104–7; magnetic wine 122–6; mobile phone use and cancer 116–18; screening for health problems 113–15
Ernst, Professor Edzard 323
Essex University 293
Etherington, Bill 23
Euromonitor 345
European Court of Justice 241
European Union 56, 169, 192
Eurostat 56
euthanasia 22
evidence-based policy xix–xx, 167–218; coalition government NHS reforms and 169–77; coalition government sentencing policy for drug offenders and 177–9; Commons Committee on Science and Technology report on ‘scientific developments relating to the Abortion Act, 1967’ 196–201; education, building evidence into 202–18; exams pass rates/difficulty 188–90; as fascist ideology 297–9; homeopathy and 322; maths, thinktank complains about decline in quality of within Britain 194–6; organic food and 191–4; pornography in sperm donor clinics and 179–82; power of ideas and (diarrhoea and AIDS) 182–7
EvidenceMatters 252
evolutionary psychologists 42–6
exams, difficulty of xx, 188–90
exercise, weight gain and xxi, 335–8
facilitated communication 324–6
Family Nurse Partnership, The 212–13
Fernandez, Bishop Demetrio 184
Finch, Felicity 61–3
fish oil 29–31, 343–6
Fisher, Dr Peter 322
fluoride 22–5
‘The Flynn Effect’ 188
‘fMRI in the Public Eye’ (2005 Nature Reviews Neuroscience paper) 38–9
Food Standards Agency (FSA) 12, 191
Fowler, Lord Norman 285
Fox News 107
Freedom of Information Act 18, 105
fruit, eating 303–4
FullFact 159
funnel plots xviii, 102–4, 132
Galileo 8, 227
Gambia 182
Gardasil 333
Gardner, Martin 261, 262, 263, 264; In the Name of Science 261, 264, 264n; Fads and Fallacies 262
gastric ulcers 9
Geller, Uri 50
General Chriopractic Council 253
General Medical Council (GMC) 227, 249, 251, 347
Geshekter, Charles 285
ghost writers, commercial 25–8
Gimpyblog 252
GM foods 29
government statistics 147–65; child abuse figures 157–8; conflation of two different things into one omnibus figure 155; council spending figures 152–4; crime figures 162–5; impact of major multi-sports events on host population 155–7; music piracy figures 159–62; public and private sector pay figures 149–52
GP Research Database 79
GPs 82; abortions and 90, 91; antidepressant prescriptions and 106; cod liver oil and 2; consortiums/fundholding 171–2, 174, 175, 176; increase in numbers of 170; participation in research 216; surveying of patients in waiting rooms and 60
Gray, Theodore 373–5, 375n
Great Ormond Street Hospital (GOSH) 119, 120, 121–2
Greece: national economic data xviii, 54–6
Greenberg, Steven 26, 27, 28
Greenfield, Susan 3–5
Griffin, Beverly 285
Griffiths, Noola 309
Guardian: Bad Science column see under individual subject area; ‘Cuts protest violence: 149 people charged’ story 155; decision not to print technical information on suicide 362; declines Ben Goldacre article 17–20; recession and anti-depressant link story and 105; Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’, coverage of 194; Taliban narcotics factory story 221; transparency about research methods in articles questioned 17–20
Guattari, Félix 297, 298
Hampshire Chronicle 57
Hansard 76
happiest place, Britain’s 56–8
Harper, Dr Diane 332, 33–4
Harper’s Magazine 261, 263
Harris, Evan 119
Harvard Medical School 26
Harvard School of Public Health 387
Harvard University: Center for Ethics 32
Harwood, Professor John 30–1
Hatzistefanis, Maria 255
HbA1c blood test 120
Health Professional Council 253
Health Select Committee, UK 84
Health and Social Care Information Centre (HSCIC) 80, 84–5, 86
Heard, Gerald: Is Another World Watching? 263
heart attack 8, 9, 79, 119–20, 134–6, 172, 173, 174–6, 209–10, 265
Hegarty LLP 256
Helicobacter pylori 9
hepatitis B 233, 356
hepatitis C 225, 233
heroin, xx, 221–4, 225–44
hierarchies of evidence 359
highly active antiretroviral therapy (HAART) 140
Hinkley Point 95–6
HIV 182–7, 225, 233–4, 244, 254, 281–3, 284, 285, 286 see also Aids
Hodgkinson, Neville 283
Holfordwatch 252
Holt, Peter 19
Home Office xix, 157, 158, 159, 163, 193, 230, 232
home taping 159–62
homeopathy xvii, 20–1, 124, 137, 194, 262, 264, 304, 321–4, 389
Homeopathy News 389
homosexuality: age and 92–4; mental illness and 312–13
hormone-replacement therapy (HRT) 8–9
Hospital Episodes Statistics 18
Houben, Rom 324–6
House of Numbers (film) 281–3, 284
How to be Beautiful (Murray) 387
HPV 334
Huff, Darrell: How to Lie with Statistics 89–91
Hussein, Saddam 316–17
Hutton, John 221, 224
hypoactive sexual desire disorder (HSDD) 38
IARC (International Agency for Research on Cancer) 116
ICM 96
ignoring results from people you don’t trust 20–2
Imperial College 285
inclusion body myositis (IBM) 26, 27
Independent External Review for Department of Education on improving use if evidence and data in schools 202n
Independent 29, 61, 197, 345, 390
Insight Cube™ 154
Institute of Child Health 120
intelligent design 13
International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare: ‘Deconstructing the Evidence-Based Discourse in Health Sciences: Truth, Power and Fascism’ (International Journal of Evidence-Based Healthcare) 297
International Journal of Obesity 338
International Journal of Psychology 15–16
internet use, autism and 3
The Internet’s Own Boy (documentary) 34
Interphone 118
Ioannidis, Professor John 9–10, 132, 133
Ion-Conditioning Hairdryer 388
IQ scores, gradual improvement in 188
Iraq, detecting bombs in 273–5; weapons of mass destruction (WMD) in 316–17
irrationality, science of xxi, 301–26; cigarette packaging 318–21; crime, outrage is lower when a criminal has more victims xxi, 306–9; evidence-based smear campaigns 316–18; facilitated communication in coma patients 324–6; female musicians’ clothing and performance 309–11; illusions of control 305–6; nocebo effect 321–4; pre-existing view, scientific evidence that challenges a 311–13; superstition and improved performance 313–15; visualisation and fruit intake 303–4
IVF 107, 180, 181
Jack of Kent (blogger) 252
Jammeh, Yahya 182
JCVI (Joint Committee on Vaccination and Immunisation) 353
Jill Dando Institute 163
Johnson, Alan 22, 24
Johnston, Lucy 333
Jordan, David Starr: Higher Foolishness 262
Journal of Aids 139
Journal of Applied Social Psychology 312
Journal of Public Health Nutrition 337
Journal of the American Chemical Society (JACS) 135
Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) 11, 12
Journal of Trionic Physics 388
Journal of Wine Research 125
journalism, bad xxi–xxii, 327–67; academic PR, dodgy 358–60; breast cancer and diet 338–40; caveats, hidden 338–40; cervical cancer jab, dangers of 331–4; exercise, weight gain and 335–8; fish oil and concentration 343–7; journalists linking to primary sources 340–2; MMR and 347–58; rape, women’s clothing, alcohol and 329–31; Roger Coghill and ‘the Aids test’ 363–7; suicide and phone masts 363–5; suicide, press coverage of details of 361–3
JSTOR 32–4
Kelsey, Tim 80, 81
Kelvedon Hatch secret nuclear bunker 94
Kemshall, Professor Hazel 158
Kenyon, Paul 289–90
King’s College London: Mobile Phones Research Unit 125
King’s Fund 19, 176
Kirlian photography 387
Krügel, Danie 275–7
Labour Party 59, 150, 155–6, 176, 177
Ladies Home Journal 44
Lancet 118, 121, 140, 145
Lansley, Andrew 171–4
Laureys, Professor Steven 326
Lawrence, Nikki 267
LayScience 252
libel xvii, xx, 245–58; BCA sue Simon Singh 250–4; breast enhancement cream 254–7; Dr Gillian McKeith calls Bad Science ‘lies’ 257–8; NMT sue Dr Peter Wilmshurst 247–50
libido problems, brain and 37–9
‘Lindsay Syndrome’ 305–6
lipid-lowering drugs 119–20
local council overspending xix, 152–4
‘locked-in syndrome’ 324, 325
Loebner Prize 392
London Raindance Film Festival 284
LSD 230
lucky ball xxi, 314
lung cancer 22, 107–9, 319
Lysenko, Trofim 262–3
McDonnell, Mary 307
McKee, Martin 175–6
McKeith, Gillian xvii, xx, 257–8
McTimoney Chiropractic Association (MCA) 253, 254
Maggiore, Christine 283, 285, 286
Maggiore, Eliza Jane 283, 286
magic boxes xxi, 271–8; ADE 651 273–5; bioresonance 277–8; Krügel missing people locator 275–7
magnetic wine 122–6
Manchester Evening News 155
Manning, Julia 180
Marcus, Adam 134
Marketing Innovations Inc. 21
Martin, Simon 278
masturbation, nasal congestion and 139, 143–6
maths, decline in quality of UK 194–6
MBA California Facial Mask 309
Mbeki, Thabo 185, 285
‘Measuring the Mathematics Problem’ report, Engineering Council 190
Medical Hypotheses 139–46; AIDS denialism 138–41; ‘Down Subjects and Oriental Population Share Several Specific Attitudes and Characteristics’ article 139, 141–3; masturbation as a treatment for nasal congestion, articles discussing benefits and side effects of 139, 143–6
Medical Research Council 252
Medicines and Healthcare Regulatory Authority, The 321–2
Medline 125, 141
Melville, Caspar 281, 283
Merck 333
meta-analysis 235, 304, 359, 401
methadone 227–9, 231, 234–43
Metro 37–8, 66–7
MI5 52
microfinance 204–5
miniature steam railways xxii, 379–81
Ministry of Defence (MoD) 221–3
MinistryofTruth 252
‘Miracle Mineral Solution’ 12
MIT 32–3
MMR jab 85, 304; Bad Science column manifesto and 399; Lancet 1998 paper on MMR, autism and bowel problems 145, Lucy Johnston stories on 333; return of scare stories about 347–58
mobile phones: cancer and 116–18, 290; council spending and 153, 154; electrosensitivity and 292; stalking your girlfriend using xxii, 382–3; suicides and phone masts 363–7
Mobile Phones Research Unit, King’s College London 125
Monbiot, George 32
Morgan, Rhys 12
Mozambique 183–4
MRI machines 37–9
MRSA 124
Mullen, Dr Michael 249
Mulrow, Celia 6
multiple sclerosis 356
Munro, Professor Geoffrey 312
Muntoni, Francesco 121
Murray, Dale 274
music piracy xix, 159–62
‘Nanniebots’, search for paedophiles and 391–5
nasal congestion, masturbation and 139, 143–6
Nash, Barbara 268–9
National Autistic Society 325
National Centre for the Replacement, Refinement and Reduction of Animals in Research, The 137
National Down Syndrome Cytogenetic Register 62, 63
National Explosive Engineering Sciences Security Center, Sandia Labs 274
National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) 216
Nature Neuroscience 129, 131
Nature Reviews Neuroscience 38
Nazis 22, 23, 262, 300
Nelson, Fraser 284, 285, 286
Nerdydaytrips.com 381
network theory 26–8
neuroscience xix, 37–9, 129, 130–1, 138
Neverland Systems 393
Nevirapine 186
New England Journal of Medicine 9
New Humanist 281
New Scientist xxii, 391, 393, 394, 395
New York Herald Tribune 261
New York Times 39, 273, 274–5
New York University 297
Newsnight 197
NHS xix; abortion and 90–1; Cancer Plan 170; care.data and 78–86; coalition government reforms xix, 73, 169–77; constitution 180; GP Consortiums 171–4, 175, 176; NHS Choices website 18, 63; NHS Information Centre (NHSIC) 84, 85, 170; ‘NHS Operating Framework’ 172; pornography for sperm donors xix, 179–82; price-based competition in 172–3, 174–5; Primary Care Research Network 216; Primary Care Trusts 171–2; waiting times 73–5; ‘Working Together For A Stronger NHS’ government leaflet 169
Nield, Dr Dalia 255–6
Nieuwenhuis, Sander 129, 130–1
Nigeria: polio vaccine scare in 273, 356–7
9/11 13
‘95 per cent confidence intervals’ 59–61
NMT 247–50
nocebo effect 321–4
Nolte, Ellen 175–6
Nordgren, Loran 307
NSA (National Security Agency), US 79–80
NSPCC 394
ntk.net 391
nuclear power xvi, xxii, 85, 94, 95–7, 379, 381
O’Connor, Cardinal Cormac Murphy 183
Observer: Denis Campbell MMR stories 347–55; Denis Campbell ‘fish oil helps schoolchildren to concentrate’ story 343–7; ‘Forensic DNA Tests “Reveal Traces of Madeleine’s Body on Resort Beach”’ story 276
OECD 175
Office of Fair Trading 265
Office of National Statistics (ONS): ‘Annual Survey of Hours and Earnings’ 150–2; births per year statistics 49–50; exam results and 189; ‘Labour Market’ figures 59; Statistical Bulletin 49–50
Olympics: 1992 156; 2012 xix, 155–7
Omand, Sir David 51–3
omega-3 fatty acids 343–6
The One Show 12
open data 20, 80, 85
Open Data (government initiative) 85
Opera Solutions 153–4
Oransky, Ivan 134
organic food xix, 191–4
Overfield, Dr Derek 57
Oxford University 3, 4, 5, 138, 194
Oxygizer 390–1
paedophiles, ‘Nanniebots’ and 391–5
Page, Dawn 268, 269–70
Pain 322
Pakistan 231, 232, 357
Panorama: wi-fi link to radiation story xxi, 289–91, 293
Parker, Matt 68, 69
Parliament 76, 84, 85, 196–7, 200–1, 322
Parry, Vivienne 353
peer review xvii, 4–5, 29, 139–41, 145; alternatives to 139–41, 145–6; dodgy peer reviewers delaying publication of findings they don’t like 10; GP fundholding and 176–7; journals deliberately not peer reviewed 145–6; post-publication xvi, 4–5; problematic nature of 138–41; putting a finding in a press release but not into the paper as a subversion of 66; refusal to submit ideas to 3–5
Pell, Cardinal George 183
Perfect Sommelier 123, 124
Perry, Simon 252–3, 266
pesticides, food and 191–4
Pfizer Trovan drug trial 357
Phelan, Jo: ‘Genetic Bases of Mental Illness – a Cure for Stigma?’ 41–2
Philip Morris 319–20
Philips, Alasdair 289, 290, 291
Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 33
phone masts, suicides and 333, 363–7
pink, girls’ love of 42–6
piracy, music xix, 159–62
Pirate Bay 33
placebos 8, 124, 140, 322, 323, 343, 344, 345, 389
PLoS One 137; ‘Beaked Whales Respond to Simulated and Actual Navy Sonar’ 341
Poisson distribution 102, 103
Political Behaviour 316
political stance, beliefs and 13
politicians, knowledge of which policy works best 177–9
pornography, hospitals and 179–82
post-modernism 295–300; Archie Cochrane characterised as a fascist 297–300
postcode information 77
power calculation 125, 132–3, 164
Powerwatch 290–1
Poynter Institute 339
Prasad, Vinay 9
Prescription Cost Analysis 105
Press Association 155
press release: academic xxi, 6–7, 107–9, 358–60; breast cancer rates and 101–4; caveats and 338–40; linking to primary sources 340–2; positive anecdotes and 118–22; putting a finding in a press release but not in a paper 65, 66; without a scientific paper existing 29–31, 65, 116–18
Pringle, Tom 372
Pritchard, Stephen 344
processed foods 11
Project Redsand 94–5
prospective cohort study 117
prospectively defined studies 198–9
psychological or behavioural condition, linking to a biological cause 40–2
Psychological Science 313
PTSD 105
Public Health Observatories, The 104
Public Library of Science, US 25
‘Public Service Agreement Delivery Agreement 25’ 226
publication bias 132–3, 136, 314, 315
Pusztai, Dr Arpad 29
QLIF 192
Quackometer 252, 253
quacks xx, 261–70; alternative therapist regulation 265–7; moron-baiting, tradition of 261–4; nutritionists 267–70
Queen Mary, University of London, School of Mathematics 68
Quilty-Harper, Conrad 159
racial hygiene 22
Radio 4: Born With Down’s 61–3; Today programme 5
Randi, James 273, 274, 276
randomised trials: animal experiments and 137–8; antiretroviral medications and 140; blinding xviii, 12, 118, 124, 126, 133, 137–8, 292–3, 345; drug addiction and sentencing 178–9; in education xvii, 8–9, 12, 137, 138, 202, 202n, 204–13, 214, 216, 217, 218; fish oil and 345; how randomised trials work 204–7; HRT 8–9; methadone and 236, 241–2; myths about 207–13; NHS reforms and xix; placebos/nocebos and 8, 124, 140, 321–4, 343, 344, 345, 389; public policy and xvii, xix, 401; systematic reviews of 6–7, 12, 20–1, 23, 25–8, 140, 156–7, 192–3, 298, 314, 323, 336, 359
Rasnick, David 139, 140
Rath, Matthias 185
Rationalist Association 281
Reader’s Digest 261
recession: anti-depressants and 104–7; public sector pay and 149
Red Bead Experiment 58
reductionism, crass xvii, 37–9, 239, 323–4
Reform: ‘The Value of Mathematics’ 194
registered sex offenders 158
relative risk reduction 115
RetractionWatch 134, 135, 136
‘retrospective case-control study’ 117
risk compensation 111
ritalin 135–6
RK Partnerships Ltd 365
Roberts, Judge Jeremy 265
Rodial 255, 256
Rolleston clinics 240–2
Rolleston Committee Report, Department of Health, 1926 229–30, 231, 235, 239, 240
Romney, Hythe and Dymchurch Railway 379–81
Rosa, Emily 11
rosiglitazone 120
RoundAbout 120–2
Royal Brompton Hospital 249
Royal Institution xvi, 331
Royal London Homeopathic Hospital 322, 389
Royal Mail 77
Royal Society of Chemistry: ‘The Five Decade Challenge’ 188–9
Royal Society 227; JSTOR scanning of papers 33–4; motto ‘Nullius in Verba’ (‘On the word of nobody’) 17–20; Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society 33–4
Rubin, Dr James 125
SABIP (the Strategic Advisory Board for Intellectual Property Policy) 160–2
Sagan, Carl 13
SAGE (a ‘stakeholder’ group) 365
salaries, public and private xix, 149–52
Samaritans 361–2
sampling error 57–61
Sarah’s Law 157–8
Sars 388
Saturday National Post (Canada) 388
‘Scared Straight’ programme 208
science: ‘by press release’ 29–31 see also under individual article or story; how science works 3–34; process of close critical appraisal and xv–xvi; resistance to challenge of orthodoxy 8–10; what is? 124–6
Science and Technology Committee, House of Commons 196–7, 200–1, 322
Science Citation Index 22
Scientific American 261
Scott, Fiona 352, 353–5
Scottish Health Survey 106
screening for diseases xviii, 113–15, 334
Seasilver nutrient potion 387
‘second-round’ effects 111, 112
select committees xx, 84, 196–201, 322
Sense About Science 256
Sgreccia, Bishop Elio 184
Shape Up for Summer 269
Sharp, Dr Julie 339
Shaw, Sophia 329–31
Sheffield Philharmonic Orchestra 310
Sheldrake, Rupert 190, 304
Sigman, Aric 5–8
Singh, Simon 250–4
Sky TV 371–5
smear campaigns, evidence-based 316–18
Smeed’s Law 112
Smith, Gary 104
smoking: Alzheimer’s and 20–1; ‘bioresonance’ treatment to help quit 277–8; cancer and 3, 22, 108, 109, 187; cigarette packaging 318–21; number of deaths caused by 187
Snow, John 365
Social Psychology and Personality Science 306–7
Social Text 297
Society of Biology 7
Soil Association 25, 191–2, 193
sokal hoax 297
Sonnaband, Dr Joe 285
Sorrows of Young Werther, The (Goethe) 361
South Africa, Aids in 140, 141, 182, 185–6, 273, 284, 285
South Bank University: Criminal Policy Research Unit 178–9
South Wales Evening Post 357
Spectator xxi; Aids denialism at the 283–6
Speigelhalter, David 102–3; Bicycle Helmets and the Law (editorial for BMJ co-written with Ben Goldacre) 110–13, 110n
sperm donor clinics, pornography in xix, 179–82
Stanford University 262
STARFlex device 248
statins xvii
statistics xvii–xviii, xix, 47–69; academic misuse of 129–31; algorithms and 52–3, 299; baseline problem 51–3; Benford’s Law 54–6; bicycle helmets and 110–13; chance and 56–8; coffee, hallucinatory effects of 64–6; datamining, terrorism and 51–3; government and xix, 147–65 see also government statistics; Down’s syndrome births, increase in 61–3; journalists find imaginary patterns in statistical noise 101–4; joy of xv; neuroscience and misuse of xviii–xix, 131–4; ‘95 per cent confidence intervals’ 59–61; one data point isn’t enough to spot a pattern 49–51; positions of ancient sites analysis 66–9; random variation 57, 61, 102, 103; relative risk reduction 115; sampling error 56–61
steroids, head injury and 207–8
Stonewall 92–4
Stott, Carol 354–5
stroke 119–20
suicide: copy-cat behaviour and reporting of xxi–xxii, 361–3; heroin addiction and 242; linked to phone masts story 333, 363–7
Sun: anti-cuts demo arrests story 155; ‘Downloading costs Billions’ story 159; pornography for sperm donors story 179–82; Sarah’s Law and 157–8
Sunday Express: Jab ‘as deadly as the Cancer’ cervical cancer story 331–4; ‘Suicides “linked to phone masts’’’ story 363–5
Sunday Sentinel, The 44
Sunday Telegraph: ‘Health Warning: Exercise Makes You Fat’ story 335–7
Sunday Times: Aids denialist reporting, 1990s and 283; ‘Public Sector Pay Races Ahead in a Recession’ story 149–52
superstition, performance and 313–15
‘surrogate’ outcomes 119–20, 225–6, 359
surveys xvi, xviii, 87–97; abortions, GPs and 90–1; How to Lie with Statistics (Huff) 89–91; interesting form of wrong 92–4; nature of questions/leading with questions 89–91, 94–7; sample with built-in bias 89–91
Swartz, Aaron 32–4
sympathetic nervous system 144
systematic reviews 6–7, 12, 20–1, 23, 25–8, 140, 156–7, 192–3, 298, 314, 323, 336, 359
Taliban 221–4
tap water, fluoride in 22–5
teaching profession, evidence-based practice revolution in xx, 202–18
Tennison, Steve 82
Terrence Higgins Trust 187
Test of Developed Abilities (TDA) 189
Thapar, Professor Anita 40
‘Therapeutic Touch’ 11–12
TheyWorkForYou.com 76
thinktanks xx, 180, 194–6, 227
time course 117
Time magazine 89
Times, The: ‘Down’s birth increase in a caring Britain’ story 61, 63; ‘girls really do prefer pink’ story 43; happiest places in Britain story 57; ‘The Value of Mathematics’, Reform thinktank report, coverage of 194
Trading Standards 12, 253
Traditional Chinese medicine 265
trionated particles xxii, 388–9
Trujillo, Cardinal Alfonso López 184
Turing test 392
2020health 180
Twitter 55, 257, 258, 308n, 315
UCL 198–9, 249, 252, 266; CIBER (Centre for Information Behaviour and the Evaluation of Research) 160, 161
UKUncut 155
Understanding Uncertainty website 102
Unite union 318
University College Hospital (UCH) 230, 241
University of California: Legacy Tobacco Documents Library 21
University of Chicago 285
University of Florida 134
University of Leicester 329
University of Newcastle 43n
US Department of Defense 274
US Presidential Emergency Plan for Aids Relief 185
vaccine scares xxi, 85, 145, 273, 304, 331–4, 347–58, 399
vCJD 20
Velikovsky, Immanuel: Worlds in Collision 261–2
Vietnam War 231
Wakefield, Andrew 347, 354, 355, 357–8
Washington Post 39
water, drinking 11
What Works Clearing House (US government website for teachers) 214–15
Whitehall 51, 75–6
wi-fi, link to harmful effects 289–91, 293
Wightman, Jim 391–5
Wilmshurst, Dr Peter 247–50
wind farms, stranding of whales blamed on 340–1
Wine Magnet, The 122–4
Woolworths, locations of 68–9
World Aids Conference, Toronto, 2006 186
World Cancer Research Fund 337
World Health Organization (WHO) 116, 233, 289, 356
Wyatt, Professor John 197–9, 201
Wyeth ADD (pharmaceutical company) 25–6
Ying Wu 265
York University: Centre for Reviews and Dissemination at 23
YouGov 337
YouTube 258, 284
Zarrintan, Dr 144
ZenosBlog 253