Spin and more spin

Spin is everywhere in 21st century America and possibly also in the world at large. The latest episode is in the world of medical journals. You know – those magazines with the very scientific articles that have been reviewed by the author’s peers; the articles touted in drug ads. Those journals.

A study in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) found that, of the articles they surveyed in a study published last year, 65% did not fully report the harmful effects of a particular medical regimen. Some other interesting numbers:

• 34% of the articles described as secondary what was originally the main goal of the research
  
• 28% didn’t even specify the original main goal
  
• 19% pretended that the original secondary goal was, in fact, the main goal
  
• 17% of the articles created a new main goal for their research.

What can you believe these days?