Bad research

For those keeping up with the news of the autism world, it's pretty well-known that there are some folks who really believe that mercury poisoning from the MMR vaccine causes the disorder. A handful of researchers occasionally publish what they claim to be evidence for this, two of which are the father-and-son duo of Mark Geier and David Geier. A caveat of academic research, however, is that it cannot be conducted without approval of an Institutional Review Board (IRB).

Here's where things are a little interesting, and where any doubts of the Geiers' legitimacy should be firmly solidified: they created their own IRB! First came the corporation, The Institute for Chronic Illnesses, and then came the committee. Seven members, three of which hold the last name of Geier (Yes, father Mark, son David, and wife/mother Anne). Sound too shady to be true? Check this out. Then this. Then an example of it in use here.

What the heck is going on here? If they want to do research, they can do research, but if they need to circumvent the system like this, they don't deserve an ounce of respect or notoriety. It's pitiful, really.