If you want to find a hotbed of homeopathy, anti-vaccine, anti-GMO and other wacky anti-science rants, look no further. Pinterest is the 13th most popular website in America and the 32nd in the world. It's more popular than CNN. We here at ACSH fully intend to rectify this situation. We hope others join us in doing so.
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Glyphosate, the active ingredient in the herbicide Roundup, has been widely attacked as a human carcinogen — although there are few data supporting that charge. A recent study was unable to demonstrate any glyphosate in the breast milk from mothers living in agricultural areas — which should make anxious parents relax. But since the chemical isn't really a threat to human health, all we can say is "So what?"
Two performance-enhancing drug scandals, one involving tennis players and the other the Russian Olympic sports complex, are seemingly unconnected. That is, until you consider how both relate to Maria Sharapova, the tennis star who's currently serving a suspension for using the banned substance, meldonium, which helps oxygen uptake and endurance.
Can where you eat determine your calorie consumption? Would a fast-food restaurant, such as McDonald's or Burger King, lead to over-consumption compared to a "fast-casual" site, like Chipotle or Panera? New research suggests the opposite.
A potential breakthrough in developing a vaccine against Clostridum difficile infections has been achieved by scientists at the Max Planck Institute of Colloids and Interfaces. “C. diff” is the causative agent of a nasty diarrheal illness that has plagued healthcare facilities the world over.
Unlike draping yourself in velvet, which is not socially acceptable, silk remains perfectly fashionable. In fact, it is all the rage at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Tufts University, where a research group led by David Kaplan is literally wrapping silk around everything it can get its hands on.
P.T. Barnum was mostly correct, but he underestimated both the number of suckers, and how often they are born. Proof of this exists in the form of a company that is probably going to make a ton of money by marketing water that contains an imaginary molecule, which is supposed to turn you into Superman. It won't.
The current opioid addiction crisis in the U.S. is both deadly and complex. But the Charlotte Observer wants you to believe that doctors were solely responsible for the death of a young man following a tonsillectomy. The only thing simple in this case is the bias of the newspaper's headline.
There can't be a more horrible offense than the sexual exploitation of children. Researchers in Sweden are investigating whether chemical castration could work as a preventive approach, rather than as treatment after the damage is done.
Chemistry — love it or hate it — usually has one thing going for it: It's never icky. But every rule has an exception. This is WAY beyond icky. Check this out.
A recent study published in the Journal of Medical Entomology showed bed bugs strongly preferred red and black colors, and seemed to avoid light colors like green and yellow. Experts we spoke with say that makes sense, but should you toss your light bedding and go shopping for something a bit darker?
World population growth is a hot-button issue. A large segment of the public seems to believe that humans will continue to reproduce until we run out of food and water. Basically, we're just like cockroaches or bacteria. No serious demographer believes that -- as world fertility has been declining for years -- but facts haven't killed off this pernicious myth.
The organic craze that has overtaken the United States is so pervasive (and intentionally confusing) that it's become impossible for anyone to know what it really means. Here's how it appears to a chemist. Hold on tight.
With the nation's exploding opioid epidemic, Eugene Monroe's quest to steer NFL players away from widespread use of painkillers and possible opioid addiction continues to receive attention. And publicly confronting the most popular sports enterprise in America -- from within, as a current player with the Baltimore Ravens -- will surely get you noticed. As will calling the NFL's chief executive a liar. Part 2 of 2.
The health insurance company is attempting to support of the federal government in its effort to curb the rampant over-prescribing of opioid drugs. However, large, sweeping changes to physician prescribing is a one-size-fits-all approach to a crisis that desperately needs anything but.
Dioxin, once proclaimed by the environmental community as the “doomsday chemical” of the 20th century and the “deadliest substance ever created by chemists,” has faded from the media spotlight. As explained by guest writer Gordon Gribble, there is a reason why.
For political websites, no conspiracy theory is too outrageous - including claims that I might be a shill for a corporation.
When it comes to helping people quit smoking, there is no such thing as an aggressive method. It's time for the United States to use pictorial warning labels, even if they are disturbing, to aid smokers to kick an awful and deadly habit.
Nearly half of all Americans will receive a diagnosis of a mental health disorder in their lifetime. Yet at the same time the media continues to disproportionally associate mental illness with violent crime, despite that less then five percent of violence in the United States is attributable to mental illness.
Eugene Monroe does not come off as the stereotypical, egocentric, multi-millionaire ballplayer looking for league clearance to get high. Conversely, the veteran left tackle for the Baltimore Ravens, who claims not to smoke, has willingly become a marijuana missionary, to help his NFL brethren ravaged by injuries steer clear of addiction to -- and premature death from -- painkillers.
A published report in Occupational and Environmental Medicine deceptively concludes a positive association exists between exposure to ambient air pollution and increased risk of stillbirths.
While obesity prevalence for adult men didn't change much between 2005 and 2014, for women it increased significantly. This is true especially in Black and Hispanic women — groups that must be targeted for greater prevention efforts.
All cancer is heartbreaking, but pediatric cancers are my emotional soft spot. A friend's 10-month-old baby just got diagnosed with leukemia. As a result I decided to register myself as a potential bone marrow donor. It's quick and easy. Here's what's involved.
Often, experienced chemists can look at the structure of a chemical and make good guess about whether it will be toxic. But "eyeball toxicology" is not foolproof. Many of us got it wrong with sucralose. We were suspicious that it might be toxic. But it isn't, and here's why.
Five different drugs, or drug combinations, are now available to help with weight loss. But which would be best for particular individuals? A new study provides some answers to this important question.
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