Geoffrey Kabat
Viewpoint: Advocacy disguised as journalism? Meet Carey Gillam, the prolific purveyor of crop biotechnology and agri-chemical disinformation
When it comes to science, how much do media narratives influence public opinion and policy? The answer is, a lot ...
Viewpoint: Will 5G harm you? Activist groups succeed in stirring conspiracy health risk phobias, as New York State legislature prepares to debate ‘growing evidence’ of harm
Two bills were recently introduced in the New York State legislature (in the Assembly and in the Senate) to establish ...
Glyphosate on trial: In an ‘unequal contest’ between science and emotion, can evidence overcome pesticide-cancer fears?
Recently, I was asked to speak about the weedkiller glyphosate on Radio Colombia. As is often the case with media ...
Viewpoint: New York Times’ Nicholas Kristof echoes scientifically dubious fears about falling sperm counts and ‘endocrine disrupting’ chemicals
The New York Times' Nicholas Kristof has shown an admirable commitment over the years towards highlighting under-reported stories. He fights ...
Coffee reduces risk of heart failure? What are we to make of a new study based on artificial intelligence (AI)
When I was starting out in epidemiology in the early 1980’s I attended a lecture by Thomas Pearson, a cardiologist, ...
Misleading glyphosate-cancer study Part 2: ‘Symptom of a widespread problem’—Concerns about ideological activism in science research and communications
For the better part of five years, a coalition of environmental groups and tort lawyers (aided by the mainstream press) ...
The glyphosate debacle: How a misleading study about the alleged risks of the weedkiller Roundup and gullible reporters helped fuel a cancer scare
As biotech giant Bayer prepares to spend $10 billion settling thousands of lawsuits alleging its weedkiller Roundup (and its active ...
In the midst of the coronavirus pandemic, Daniel Defoe’s account of London’s 1665 bubonic plague offers a shock of recognition
Pandemics have punctuated recorded history going back to ancient Greece and Egypt. However, the novel coronavirus pandemic is unfolding in ...
Podcast: The misused meta-analysis—How statistical trickery yields impressive but bogus study results
A meta-analysis allows researchers to compile data from many smaller studies and, hopefully, find more conclusive answers to critical public ...
Podcast: Epidemiologist Geoffrey Kabat explains how junk science gets published—and how to spot it in the headlines
Bad research can put people's lives at risk, so addressing problems with peer review is essential ...
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Podcast: Glyphosate, cancer and ‘corporate conspiracies’–“Regulatory capture” by anti-science activists in the Roundup controversy
Our useful threat-detection instinct has been warped into a serious handicap as we attempt to evaluate risks to our health ...
Blasting rodents with cell phone radiation increased cancer risk. Here’s why that means nothing for humans
Last week the National Toxicology Program (NTP) issued an update on the results of the largest animal experiment to assess ...
Can new IARC director bridge gap between controversial cancer agency and rest of scientific community?
A look at IARC’s recent record suggests that skepticism is in order ...
Viewpoint: Devastating flu season reminds us about the danger of vaccine skepticism
The 2017-2018 flu season is being called the worst since 2009 by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and ...
Viewpoint: Here’s how activists manipulate cell phone cancer risk statistics to fool regulators
Although some people argue that cell phone usage contributes to rising brain cancer rates, analysis of the data shows no ...
Glyphosate-gate: Policy and science implications of IARC’s ‘predetermined’ cancer finding
Where high-stakes issues involve powerful beliefs, financial reward and opportunities for advancement, neither individuals nor agencies can be assumed to ...
Male fertility likely declining, but we haven’t figured out why
Studies tell us that difficult-to-measure male fertility has dipped in recent decades. But with many unknowns, we need to resist ...
Getting to the bottom of reports of declining male fertility
Studies suggest that western men are experiencing declining sperm counts. But more extensive research is needed to determine if it's ...
Are sperm counts declining? What’s the role of ‘endocrine disruptors’?
The science community is divided over whether reports of declining sperm counts in men is actually occurring. One explanation--exposure to ...
