Josh Bloom
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: 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 ...
Netflix plastic documentary is scare nonsense packaged as science
Netflix, which has made simplified propaganda many times before (See: Dopesick), sticks to a familiar formula in a thoroughly slanted ...
Challenging misinformation: No, Mr. Kennedy, fragments of DNA do not persist in the body
People are still debating whether the mRNA from COVID-19 vaccines remains in the body longer than it should. Some say ...
Viewpoint: Do chemicals in common plastics really kill
Three hundred fifty thousand of you are predicted to die every year from heart disease caused by exposure to plastics, ...
RFK, Jr.’s bungled science on thimerosal and vaccines
Mercury, the element, is no longer used in thermometers, but it remains at the center of a decades-long debate over ...
Viewpoint: The fastest growing delusion in America is chemophobia—and organic marketers are to blame
“Organic” might be the most abused word in the English language. Chemists, farmers, and marketers all use it—and none of ...
Synthetic, genetically engineered, and ‘Made in China’: Busting supplement industry myths about the natural wonders of Vitamin C
Dear Vitamin C Aficionados: This article isn't about whether you should take the stuff [1]. Instead, it raises some questions about what ...
No, rhino horns are not an aphrodisiac: Dangerous delusions of ‘traditional Chinese medicine’
I recently attended a showing of Oscar-nominated short films. Most were riveting, but none more so than 'The Last Ranger,' ...
Viewpoint: ‘Only in California could coffee both cause and prevent cancer’
Welcome to California, the Wild West - geographically and otherwise. Especially when it comes to science ...
Old Fashioned or aspartame sweetener: Which contains more dangerous chemicals?
Have you ever been to a snooty cocktail party and ordered a Diet Coke from the bar only to get the look? ...
Viewpoint: CNN joins list of media organizations snookered by Environmental Defense Fund claims that methylene chloride in decaffeinated coffee poses health hazards
If you've already read this recent story on the CNN news site, perhaps it's not too late to get back the ...
Viewpoint: CBD is the ‘latest fad in the ever-expanding universe of pseudo-medicine’
Just what pain patients didn't need: Another useless substitute for real pain medication. This time, it's the wildly overhyped CBD (cannabidiol) ...
How taking LSD to relieve anxiety disorder can work for months after the chemicals leave your brain
Psychotropic drugs are all the rage now as a potential treatment of brain diseases. Examples are ketamine and psilocybin for ...
Viewpoint: Vaccine-rejectionist Jessica Biel’s foray into selling children’s medicine reinforces why she should stick to acting
The deluge of the use of the term "natural" for product promotion continues unabated. But perhaps it's getting stale because ...
Viewpoint: People spread chemophobic drivel about ‘dangerous chemicals’ that science says are safe as used — then continue to drink alcohol
Thanks largely to the press and some radical environmental groups most people are terrified of chemicals because they can give ...
Reassessing the East Palestine chemical scare: How dangerous is vinyl chloride?
News coverage of the East Palestine train derailment has ranged from hysteria to hysteria. One would think that one of ...
In the wake of Biden’s COVID-19 infections, here’s what regulators should do to limit Paxlovid rebound
When he headed the Food & Drug Administration, Dr. Frank Young used to admonish his minions that sometimes regulations need ...
Why Paxlovid is far more effective than media coverage and some skeptics suggest
Paxlovid, the most widely prescribed drug to treat symptomatic COVID-19, has lately attracted a number of detractors. However, Paxlovid has ...
Should COVID sufferers avoid Paxlovid because of symptom rebound reports?
Paxlovid is an oral two-drug combination regimen that treats COVID-19. One drug is nirmatrelvir, an antiviral, while the second, ritonavir, ...
Rumors swirling around the web that COVID vaccines spawn variants. Here’s why that’s not true
Are COVID vaccines responsible for creating the multiple variants that keep hitting the world? I get this question all the ...
Molnupiravir vs paxlovid: What’s the difference between the two approved COVID antivirals?
Following the FDA's granting of Emergency Use Authorization to Merck's molnupiravir and Pfizer's Paxlovid, the only two approved direct-acting antiviral ...
Epstein-Barr virus link? Tantalizing clues suggest EBV potentially triggers COVID long-haul symptoms
COVID-19 has already broken all the rules. Since when does a virus make people lose their sense of taste and ...
Viewpoint: Zantac BS—Sanofi’s marketing sleight-of-hand in ‘reformulating’ its Zantac acid-reducer deceives consumers
Back in 2019, I wrote about some of the tricks that drug companies use to hang onto brand name sales ...
Why the Big 4 repurposed COVID drugs—hydroxychloroquine, Remdesivir, Lopinavir and Interferon—are all now viewed as failures
Six months ago it seemed that every other lab had a kick-ass, repurposed drug that was only weeks away from ...
Regulate all chemicals in food? Two experts say that’s an ‘absurd (and impossible) exercise’
A recent CNN article about the FDA oversight of chemicals in foods is puzzling. Author Sandee LaMotte regurgitates a ludicrous demand by ...
Viewpoint: Media focus on COVID-19 deaths ignores lasting impact of ‘calamitous pandemic’
The media regularly reports about deaths from COVID-19 as if that is the whole story. But it's not. COVID-19 doesn't ...
Viewpoint: Are synthetic food additives dangerous? Here’s the science anti-chemical activists ignore
Always take chemical advice from EWG with a grain of (inorganic) salt ...