"There is now unanimity that the benefits, if any, of acupuncture for analgesia, are too small to be helpful to patients...The best controlled studies show a clear pattern – with acupuncture the outcome does not depend on needle location or even needle insertion. Since these variables are what define "acupuncture" the only sensible conclusion is that acupuncture does not work. Everything else is the expected noise of clinical trials, and this noise seems particularly high with acupuncture research. The most parsimonious conclusion is that with acupuncture there is no signal, only noise." Professor David Colquhoun, DC Science (30th May 2013)