/oss/taxonomy/term/567/all en /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-history/alternative-medicine-not-alternative-medicine <p>The best definition seems to be “those practices that are not taught in conventional medical schools.”  And why not?  Because medical schools are sticklers for a little detail called “evidence.”  After all, patients have a right to expect that a course of action recommended by a physician has a reasonable chance of working. In science, evidence means statistically significant results from properly controlled experiments, as evaluated by experts in the field. Lack of evidence of course does not mean that a particular treatment cannot work. Only that it has not been demonstrated to work. And </p> Tue, 27 Feb 2018 19:33:07 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 6935 at /oss /oss/article/health-history/helicobacter-pylori <p>The 2005 Nobel Prize in Medicine and Physiology was awarded to Australian Drs. Robin Warren and Barry Marshall for demonstrating that most ulcers are caused by a bacterium and can be cured with antibiotics. Their discovery had a huge impact on the practice of medicine, virtually eliminating surgery for ulcers. The idea that ulcers are caused by a bacterium met a great deal of resistance at first because traditional wisdom maintained that bacteria could not survive the acid conditions of the stomach.</p> Mon, 02 Jul 2012 18:05:12 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 1707 at /oss