It's a new year, but we're the same old ACSH. While everyone else was out partying and celebrating, we were busy debunking junk and spreading the good word about science. This year is already off to a great start. Here's where we appeared in recent weeks:
1) Dr. Alex Berezow had a letter to the editor published in JAMA Pediatrics, the highest-ranking pediatric journal in the world. In August 2019, the journal published a very controversial article that claimed that maternal fluoride exposure was linked to lower childhood IQ. The editor was flooded with letters, and the journal published many of them, almost all of which were critical of the research. Among them was Dr. Berezow's letter, which explained that the fluoride-IQ association failed to meet Hill's Criteria of Causality. (A similar article published by ACSH can be seen here.)
2) Dr. Chuck Dinerstein was cited by Yahoo! Finance. Dr. Dinerstein had written previously about leghemoglobin, the "secret ingredient" (produced via genetic modification) found in the Impossible Burger. The ingredient is completely safe. As Dr. Dinerstein wrote, "Like Frankenstein's monster, the Impossible Burger is a bit misunderstood and just wants your love."
3) Dr. Josh Bloom's work on the opioid crisis was cited by Michael Shaw at Health News Digest. Dr. Bloom has gone to great lengths to demonstrate that our country's policy toward the opioid crisis is terribly misguided. Because most opioid-related deaths are due to recreational use of illegal heroin and fentanyl, restricting chronic pain patients' access to prescription opioids is ineffective. Worse, it causes needless suffering to people who need the drugs.
4) In an article for the Genetic Literacy Project, Dr. Geoffrey Kabat (an ACSH advisor) praised our work in the fight against anti-GMO zealots and fearmongers.
5) Dr. Berezow's article explaining that 12% of all new cancer cases globally are due to infectious disease was linked by the Kaiser Family Foundation.
6) Dr. Berezow joined Geopolitical Futures as an Analyst. Geopolitical Futures was founded by international affairs expert and NYT bestselling author George Friedman. The company's goal is to interpret and analyze current events in the context of greater geopolitical trends. Dr. Berezow will be analyzing the impact of science, technology, and public health on geopolitics.
7) Dr. Berezow continues to do his twice weekly radio segment, "Real Science with Dr. B," on Seattle's Kirby Wilbur Show. In his latest segment (beginning at 22:57), he discussed the biggest junk science stories of 2019.
