From Seattle to New Haven, ACSH crisscrossed America spreading good science news and debunking junk science. We even made a couple of international appearances!
1) Our coverage of Netflix's long history of promoting pseudoscience was cited by NBC News. The company's recent decision to allow actor-turned-scam artist Gwyneth Paltrow to use its platform to spread phony health news is just the icing on the cake. For years, Netflix has promoted unscientific conspiracy theories, notably involving biotech and agriculture. Netflix has become a scourge on public health.
2) Dr. Josh Bloom's work revealing the true nature of the opioid crisis was cited by a writer for Medium. Dr. Bloom has become a highly sought national expert on opioids. The main narrative in the media, that opioid overdoses are primarily the fault of Big Pharma and careless medical doctors, is wrong. The plurality of deaths are caused by fentanyl and heroin, and they are occurring mainly among recreational users. Bad policies are now keeping life-saving opioids out of the hands of chronic pain patients.
3) Dr. Bloom's coverage of a cure for HPV using light was cited by the New Haven Register in Connecticut. The story is truly amazing. Using a combination of advanced knowledge of chemistry, physics, and toxicology, the team of researchers showed that cancer cells could be selectively killed using a special molecule and laser light. Science for the win!
4) ACSH goes international! An article about the uselessness of fad diets written by one our former interns, Jailen Johnson, was cited by the Kathmandu Post. And Dr. Jamie Wells's article on what a man should not do with his penis was cited by Modern Ghana.
5) Dr. Alex Berezow made a few radio show appearances. As always, he continued his twice weekly segment "Real Science with Dr. B" on the Kirby Wilbur Show in Seattle. His most recent segment (beginning at 18:13) covered GMO cassava, anti-vaxxers, and the potential transmissibility of Alzheimer's. He also appeared on Pittsburgh's John Steigerwald Show to discuss a ridiculous (and unscientific) ban on peanuts at a minor league baseball stadium. (Segment begins at 29:24.)
