GLP podcast: Youth cancer rates ‘soaring’? No. Will AI help or harm mental health care? Confronting vaccine ‘rejectionists’

The media claims that cancer rates are “skyrocketing” among young people. Experts beg to differ. Artificial intelligence is bringing major changes to mental health care. Will these be good, bad or maybe both? Vaccine rejectionists like RFK, Jr. jeopardize public health in serious ways. What can be done to restore public trust in immunization?

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Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 283 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:

• Clickbait viral headlines claim that chemicals are sending cancer rates soaring. That’s not what the science says

A slew of recent headlines has warned the public that cancer rates in young people are exploding. This narrative has fueled suspicions that exposure to any number of chemicals is making otherwise healthy individuals sick and ultimately killing them. Before panic sets in, we should take comfort in an important fact: the story is false. While there has been a slight increase in the number of people diagnosed with cancer, this doesn’t represent an actual increase in the cancer risk most people face. Let’s do the fact-checking the media should have done before running these alarmist stories.

• How Artificial Intelligence will revolutionize mental health diagnosis and treatment

Hospital rooms that monitor and record what you say. Programs that prescribe antidepressants. AI platforms that conduct psychotherapy. These are just some of the applications likely to be deployed in mental health in the coming years. At best, these innovations could help expand treatment to people who desperately need it. At worst, they could compromise patient privacy and open the door to a variety of abuses and unintended consequences. What’s the solution?

• Viewpoint: How vaccine rejectionists lie to you — and what are the consequences?

Vaccine rejectionists, RFK Jr. being the worst offender, amplify a handful of superficially compelling claims about the supposed dangers of vaccination. What Kennedy and his cohorts rarely do is accurately present evidence to their followers. How do we help people avoid falling for long-refuted myths about immunization?

Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD

Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow him on X @camjenglish