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Science-Based Medicine – Wikipedia

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**History and Ownership**:
– Founded on January 1, 2008, by Steven Novella, Harriet Hall, David Gorski, Mark Crislip, and Kimball Atwood.
– Started as a skeptical medical blog with five initial writers.
– Owned and operated by the New England Skeptical Society (NESS).
– Affiliated with the former Society for Science-Based Medicine (SfSBM).
– Key contributors included Paul Ingraham and Wallace Sampson.

**Content and Focus**:
– Operates as a website in blog format focusing on examining controversies in science and medicine.
– Notable for challenging alternative medicine and opposing university funding for integrative medicine.
– Advocates for medicine based on scientific principles and prior plausibility.
– Described as influential in addressing alternative medicine by David Freedman.
– Included in a survey of web services on complementary and alternative medicine.

**Retractions and Controversies**:
– Published a book review of Abigail Shrier’s ‘Irreversible Damage’ by Harriet Hall, raising concerns about drug treatments for gender dysphoria in children.
– Review was retracted and replaced by a series of posts rejecting Shrier’s claims.
– Skeptic magazine republished Hall’s review.
– Hall remained as an editor until her death in 2023.

**Legal Challenges**:
– Steven Novella was sued by Edward Tobinick over critical blog posts on off-label use of Etanercept.
– Lawsuit involved Novella, the Society for Science-Based Medicine, Inc., and SGU Productions, LLC.
– Court ruled in favor of the defendants.
– Lawsuit was related to Tobinick’s claims about treating neurological conditions and criticism of his medical clinic’s practices.

**Related Topics and Notable Publications**:
– Notable publications include The Atlantic, The Wall Street Journal, Scientific American, Inside Higher Education, and ScienceDaily.
– Experts in the field include Steven Novella, David H. Freedman, John Horgan, Rick Seltzer, and Harriet Hall.
– Research findings cover health information websites, COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, book reviews on medical topics, transgender treatment science, and ideology-based medicine.
– Criticisms of alternative medicine, debunking COVID-19 vaccine misinformation, legal cases related to medical controversies, and implications of legal decisions on medical discourse are also discussed.

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