Featured in Weekly Newsletter
FDA’s expedited drug reviews are hailed in some quarters but other approval practices are problematic
In July 2025, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) announced a pilot program intended to expedite reviews for drug ...
Viewpoint: Misinformation infodemic? Why assessing evidence is so challenging
When United States Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. unveiled new dietary guidelines earlier this year to “Make America Healthy ...
Viewpoint: What happens when whole grains meet modern food manufacturing? Labels don’t tell the whole story.
For decades, nutrition advice on carbohydrate-rich foods has offered a simple way to enjoy carbs guilt-free: no need to give ...
As vaccine rejectionism spreads, measles may be taking a more dangerous turn
Eman, our informally adopted son who is a physician in Monrovia, Liberia, is recovering from the measles. He contracted it ...
Viewpoint — Food-fear world: The latest activist scientists campaign: Cancer-causing additives
Here we go again. The rather tiresome Activist Playbook is being applied again, this time not to pesticides, plastics, fossil ...
The FDA wants to make many popular prescription drugs OTC—a great idea. Here’s why it’s unlikely to happen
Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Marty Makary recently stated that when it comes to drugs that currently require a ...
‘Science moves forward when people are willing to think differently’: Memories of DNA maverick Craig Venter
I was saddened to hear of Craig Venter’s passing at the age of 79 on April 30, 2026. Often portrayed ...
Paraben panic: How a flawed study, media hype, and chemophobia convinced the public of the danger of one of the safest classes of preservatives
Public opinion driven by fear has immense influence in our society, especially when it comes to science and health topics ...
Viewpoint: The Casey Means hustle—Wellness woo opportunism dressed up as medical wisdom
I thought it might be a good idea to try to examine the underlying reasons why so many scientists and ...
Viewpoint—“Miracle molecule” debunked: Why acemannan supplements don’t work
We’ve done a lot of debunks. After a while, they start to blur together because the formula is almost always ...
MAHA wellness influencers deride proven anxiety medications, tout lifestyle fixes
After a grueling year of chemotherapy, surgery, and radiation to treat breast cancer, Sadia Zapp was anxious — not the ...
The myths of “process”: What science says about the “dangers’ of synthetic products and ultra-processed foods
Two words used to scare people are impossible to avoid: synthetic and its younger cousin, ultra-processed. They’re everywhere—on supermarket shelves, ...
Viewpoint: The herbicide glyphosate isn’t perfect. Banning it would be far worse.
For decades, farmers have relied on glyphosate — the active ingredient in Roundup and the most widely used herbicide in ...
Wellness influencer nonsense: No, nicotine does not boost cognition and productivity, but it can damage your health
If you spend any time on social media, you may have noticed a curious trend: wellness influencers singing the praises ...
Viewpoint: ‘Science-as-Satan’ unites the MAHA—MAGA movements. Is a breakup in the works?
The MAHA agenda had a bit of a wake-up call following the EPA’s approval of the herbicide dicamba. I think ...
AI disinformation stress test: Challenges and response strategies
To solve big problems and navigate a chaotic world, we first need a clear, shared understanding of the facts. Today, ...
Raw milk myth wake-up call
Once again, raw milk is everywhere: in Instagram reels, wellness podcasts, farmer-to-consumer marketplaces, and even policy debates. It’s being framed ...
The Trump administration has run out more than 4,000 National Institutes of Health employees. Here are the consequences
Marc Ernstoff, a physician who has pioneered immunotherapy research and treatments for cancer patients, said his work as a federal ...
Why ‘support supplements’ for GLP-1 users are mostly a waste of money
Weight-loss injections have rapidly moved from specialist clinics to social media feeds and high-street pharmacies. Known as GLP-1 medications, they ...
Food labels, decoded: What they really mean
Here I am at Costco, getting far too many things for my family of four. As I try to navigate ...
Viewpoint: How do you sell evidence-based health and science in a world where facts don’t matter?
[B]efore whatever this period is, the idea that public resistance to science was essentially a knowledge problem — that more information “fixed” ...
Viewpoint: ‘Make America Healthy Again” appeals to fake nostalgia about non-existent golden age
“Make America healthy again” sounds like a great slogan. It is loaded with nostalgia and … haziness. What is that ...
Anti-biotechnology activists smear hybrid wheat breakthrough that could surge yields in poorer countries
In biology, a hybrid is when two different genotypes within the same species crossbreed, and the first generation performs significantly ...
Ban the ads? Should government restrict prescription drug commercials?
Tamar Abrams had a lousy couple of years in 2022 and ’23. Both her parents died; a relationship ended; she ...
Viewpoint: Dirty Dozen deception: How Environmental Working Group turns trace pesticide residues into an annual food scare — and donations
Another year, another scary "don't eat this" list from the Environmental Working Group. If you believe this nonsense, you'll be ...
RFK, Jr. was approved as HHS secretary only because doctor-senator Bill Cassidy cast the deciding vote. Anti-vaxxers are now gunning for him
The ambitious liver doctor would go just about anywhere in his home state to give people the hepatitis B vaccine ...
U.S.-Iranian War will inflate food costs even if fighting does not resume
This is one of those moments where geopolitics quietly reshapes what we pay at the grocery store. The conflict in ...
