The Quacks and Charlatans of Medicine
Scientific research in medicine has led to many groundbreaking discoveries, from the development of vaccines to the treatment of many previously fatal diseases. Today our chances of surviving serious illness are better than ever, thanks to significant advances in medical knowledge. Yet history is littered with sham doctors, charlatans and quacks peddling bogus medicines and preying on those people desperate for a cure. It is also no coincidence that the ‘Mad Scientist’ trope has remained popular since the most famous iteration in Mary Shelley’s ‘Frankenstein’ – Science itself is not infallible and flawed research can have disastrous consequences, such as Andrew Wakefield’s retracted autism study. In the age of social media and in the wake of COVID-19, the distrust in scientific experts has resulted in a new wave of fake medicines, false information or flawed medical research that is spread at a rapid pace.
In this talk, Dr Jenny Lange delves into the history of grifters who capitalised on a lack of medical knowledge, as well as discussing where scientific research has gone wrong. From John R. Brinkley, the bizarre ‘goat-gland doctor’, to more recent fake medicines such as those promoted by the ‘Church of Bleach’, and the disastrous trachea implants developed by Paolo Macchiarini, this talk will examine how easy it is to fall prey to medical misinformation even today.
About Dr Jenny Lange
Dr Jenny Lange is a neuroscientist specialising in uncovering the mechanisms of rare neurological disorders. Initially en route to becoming a psychologist, Jenny became intrigued by the field of psychopharmacology and completed a PhD in Neuroscience at King’s College London. She’s currently working as a postdoctoral fellow at the UK Dementia Research Institute, University College London. Outside of the lab, Jenny gives talks on medical history, the intersection of science/literature and scientific ethics as well as writing for science outreach websites, eg PET Bionews.
Safety & Comfort
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