Statistician and doctor at the Universitat Politècnica de Catalunya - BarcelonaTech (UPC)
Yes, I claim that we can believe that praying works. There are a number of artefacts, let's call them traps or biases, that make it easier for us to do so. I will introduce them with the help of a joking example that serves to explain how a scientific study should be designed to be rigorous, but also to understand what limitations we should look for when reading a paper.
A study carried out by researchers at the University of Amsterdam Medical Centres on more than 220,000 children examines the academic performance at age 12 of children born by induced labour. According to the authors, a reduction in scores was observed in infants born after induced labour between 37 and 41 weeks. The research is published in Acta Obstetricia et Gynecologica Scandinavica.
A study published today in the Journal of Neurology Neurosurgery & Psychiatry claims that some drugs used to treat attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) may also help with some symptoms of Alzheimer's disease.
A study of nearly half a million adults examines the association between total and specific fish intake and melanoma risk.
A study published in the BMJ concludes that covid-19 is a risk factor for developing venous thrombosis, pulmonary embolism and haemorrhage.