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Swearing – defined as speaking “specific, negatively charged, and often emotionally loaded terms” – violates our norms of both the sacred and profane. While polite society often reflects on swearing’s negatives, it turns out that there are some health benefits for the sender (but not the receiver).

Animal research’s benefits are clear – but public awareness of what it involves is not.

Thirty years ago, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launched a PR campaign against a plant-growth regulator called Alar, effectively eliminating the use of the chemical in agriculture. What's the legacy of this infamous anti-chemical scare? The New York Times continues to attack good scientists on the say-so of environmental groups. The paper is trashing its credibility.

In 2002, a scuba diver ran out of air deep inside an undersea cave near the Island of Šolta, in Croatia. To avoid a gruesome drowning death, he supposedly stabbed himself in the chest. Did it really happen?

Science is not easy. It isn’t easy to do or to write about. But some do it better than others in both instances. Consider this example concerning the massive decline in the Pacific Snow Crab population.

Every time you turn on the TV or read a news article touching on medicine, the environment, or health, chances are you'll run across a story that's impacted by toxicology.  And more times than not, news consumers are left with the question: What information is essential to understanding the story's impact?  

The Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's foremost academic medical centers, has jumped on the anti-vaping bandwagon, perpetuating unfiltered nonsense about the health effects of nicotine.

The first chronic low-level infection to be associated with a specific condition was Helicobacter pylori as the real cause underlying most stomach ulcers. This upended decades of medical belief and treatment. Could a newly discovered species of bacteria in the microbiome be a culprit behind rheumatoid arthritis? This reprint from The Conversation suggests it is quite possible.

“… the financial relationship between these newly independent physicians and industry begin to develop in the first year after graduation from their training programs and continued to expand in the early years of independent physician practice.” Financial relationship? A new study suggests that “gifting” physicians begins early. Still, I believe the study casts more shade than light.

The CDC's dreadful 2016 opioid prescribing guideline caused untold damage, both to pain patients and opioid addicts. Six years later we have a revised document. Is it any better? Dr. Jeffrey Singer argues no.

Ozempic, a drug indicated for Type II diabetes, has become the latest weight-loss darling. Not since ivermectin has a drug gained so much interest from its off-label uses. Let’s take a deeper look at the science and a regulatory conundrum.

On November 26, 1959, "Mamie Eisenhower served applesauce with dinner." … America had been waiting with more-than-usual interest to see what the Eisenhowers would eat as Thanksgiving relish. The news came Friday, courtesy of the Associated Press: “No Cranberries for President.” Here's ACSH's take from our archives, in what was perhaps the first episode of chemophobia in the United States.

Just as healthcare systems seek to maintain their tax-exempt status by providing “community services,” health insurers seek to dispense their largesse on the corporate term for those community services – the social determinants of health. A new study suggests that, like those not-for-profit, tax-exempt healthcare systems, the money flowing to social determinants is more for appearances. How surprising.

Contrary to the story pushed by activist groups and reporters, recent research has shown that genetically engineered crops and the pesticides often paired with them have yielded impressive environmental benefits.

“Anthropomorphism—the tendency to attribute human characteristics to nonhuman objects (Epley et al., 2007)—is a universal phenomenon” It is often used in marketing to strengthen our ties with some products, from Microsoft’s ill-fated Clippy to the widely successful California Raisins. A new study suggests that when we anthropomorphize foods, we may buy more but eat less. Why would that be?

It takes land to grow food. Going vertical allowed our cities to house more people. Could vertical farming reduce the food deserts of our urban centers? A new study considers production and crop yields.

Will taking cocoa or multivitamins slow the onset of dementia? A new study suggests at least one of these interventions may make a difference. COVID lockdowns quickly became a topic for partisan bickering, but did they actually work?

“Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD; trust in him, and he will act.” - Psalm 37:4-5
Could that be true? A study of Ethiopian small-holding farmers suggests that the answer is yes.

About a decade ago, many tears were shed over J&J’s baby shampoo, not by the babies, but by consumer groups trumpeting the latest chemophobia – formaldehyde, a known “human carcinogen.”

You would think this is an easily determined answer. As usual, it is complicated. So many factors to consider.

Upper respiratory infections have a seasonality; winter is their thing. The role of the changing temperature and humidity, in some entangled manner, contributes to the winter increases. But what is the role of one of our first barriers to those invading microbes, the nose?

Drought plagues much of the Western U.S. and its water woes are severe and worsening, threatening residents' prosperity and quality of life. But the problem isn't supply; it's distribution. We have a way to remedy it.

Stanford University harbors a profound paradox. It boasts superb research in academic departments but often uncritically embraces politically correct trends that contradict its reputation as a cutting-edge, science-grounded institution.

This has been a particularly notable year for me. I had a near-death experience and learned the joys of those who spend more time at doctors than they would like. I also had a chance to share some science and opinions with you, our readers. That makes me twice blessed.

The December 19 Consumer Reports headline, “Lead and Cadmium Could be in Your Dark Chocolate,” has chocoholics everywhere in great pain. But a closer look at the article shows that you may not have to give up your guilty pleasure.