Science Controversies
Deadly Rise of Wellness Grift: Year in Review
Over the past year, the MAHA-based wellness industry has emerged as a direct threat to public health. Robert F. Kennedy ...
Are multivitamins dangerous for children?
"Parents risk poisoning their children when they give them multivitamins," [Susanne Bügel, professor of nutrition at the University of Copenhagen] ...
Viewpoint: Tampering down hysteria on ultra-processed foodsÂ
The term ultra-processed food (UPF) has become so common — and so charged — that many people feel a sense ...
‘Goes against decades of evidence’: RFK, Jr.’s new food pyramid draws backlash from heart health and nutrition groups
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has announced new dietary guidelines for Americans focused on promoting whole foods, proteins and ...
Viewpoint: Organic proponents are wellness vaccine-skeptic grifters but with better branding
The organic industry is a multi-billion dollar cash cow (get it—I love a good pun) that is based on zero ...
Viewpoint: Why nuclear expansion should not be held hostage to oudated science and imagined health risks
With the return of nuclear energy to the public square and serious efforts among policymakers to commercialize a new generation ...
Autism risk is genetic
An international team of scientists has identified hundreds of genes that are essential for early brain development, uncovering new insights ...
Vaccines Under Fire: Year in Review
Ideological misinformation is the most destabilizing force to public understanding of science. Nowhere is this more evident — or more ...
From organic living to science-denying conspiracy: The evolution of America’s ‘Crunchy Mom’ movement
When her son was born six years ago, Alex, a 30-year-old mother living in Iowa, completely changed her mindset: "During ...
Viewpoint: ‘Ripped from the playbook’—The politics behind San Francisco’s Big Food case
The companies behind Tony the Tiger, Fruit Loops, Heinz ketchup, Coca-Cola, Oreo, and Lucky Charms are lawyering up as the ...
Republican Senator breaks party ranks, trashes RFK, Jr.’s evisceration of childhood vaccine schedule Â
Sen. Bill Cassidy, a Louisiana Republican and one of Congress’ few medical professionals, on Monday criticized the Department of Health ...
Detox cleanses are a quick fix that don’t work
Detox cleanses are all over social media, with people claiming the diets remove toxins, help you lose weight and supposedly ...
‘The dire wolf isn’t back’: A Colossal failure or the cutting-edge of conservation? Maybe both
When Colossal unveiled its interpretation of the dire wolf in April, the news made international headlines. Enthusiastic profiles in Time ...
Viewpoint: Chemophobia infects the Washington Post: A case study of a reporter snookered by science-denying environmentalists
In the latest Washington Post scare story on the dangers of plastics, with the innocent title:Â These kitchen items may be ...
There is no clear evidence (yet) that microplastics is driving soaring under-50 cancer rate increase, but they are a serious and growing health threat
Links between environmental exposures and increases in cancer rates take time to emerge. They range from community-wide disasters, like the ...
Viewpoint: ‘Kennedy has overstayed his welcome’ — RFK, Jr.’s litigation-driven health policies creating cracks in MAGA-MAHA coalition
While the political marriage between MAHA and MAGA has strangely remained intact, adherents of President Trump’s agenda are beginning to notice that ...
Cassandras map the ‘inevitable’ AI doomsday
Right in the heart of Berkeley is the home of a group of modern-day Cassandras who rummage under the hood ...
Viewpoint: ‘Science is always evolving’ is a dangerous excuse to reject it
As popular mistrust of expert opinion grows, we increasingly encounter the following skeptical argument about science: Historically, even well-established theories ...
Politicization of Health & Science: Year in Review
Ideology-driven misinformation is a grave and growing threat to science and society. False claims spread faster than facts; confusion has ...
Viewpoint: Wrecking havoc on American health—RFK, Jr.’s grim first year legacy
In the 11 months since he was confirmed as health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has wreaked steady havoc on ...
Glyphosate’s climate dividend: Weedkiller reduces greenhouse pollution equal to taking 21.8 million cars off the road each year
This paper estimates the annual global carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e) emissions from the manufacture, distribution and farm level use of ...
Europe pursues three different regulatory paths in efforts to open the gates to agricultural gene editingÂ
The landscape of agricultural innovation in Europe is undergoing its most significant transformation in decades. New Genomic Techniques (NGTs)—including highly ...
AI doomerism is so passé. Or is it?
It’s a weird time to be an AI doomer. This small but influential community of researchers, scientists, and policy experts ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s ‘useful idiots’: His 6-point plan that undermines U.S. health policy rolls along
It seems like ancient history now, but it was really only three months ago that I first wrote a post ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s cronies offered global vaccine expert Dr. Paul Offit $1 million to debate the safety of vaccines. He said no. Why? They’re disingenuous and nuts
Several years ago, people representing RFK Jr., who at the time was head of the anti-vaccine group, Children’s Health Defense, ...
Viewpoint: RFK, Jr.’s Denmark vaccine schedule delusion—Why it would be a health disaster in the U.S.
It’s official. CNN confirmed that the Department of Health and Human Services was planning to announce an overhaul of the ...
CRISPR chicken: Could gene editing be the key to cheaper poultry?
Chicken is one of the world’s most affordable and widely consumed proteins, yet its price remains surprisingly sensitive to feed ...
