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Is widespread use of artificial sweeteners polluting the environment? If so, what do we do about it? Join us on the latest episode of the Science Dispatch podcast as we take a critical look at the evidence.

This is some potentially exciting news coming from China: a Covid drug called Azvudine (originally an HIV drug) that appears to be quite effective in reducing symptoms from the infection. However, there are two problems: 1) The information comes from Chinese newspapers, not journals; 2) the science doesn't add up.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) is once again warning consumers that their food may be tainted by "forever chemicals." Let's take a look at all the important details the activist group left out.

We hear a lot about the tons of plastic that pollute our oceans, but the solution to this troubling problem gets much less airtime. Let's take a closer look at the answer. Hint: it isn't paper straws.

"Climate-anxious" college students are pushing to have low-risk pesticides banned from their campuses. Meanwhile, states that have legalized recreational marijuana use are concerned that their new policy may cause more car accidents. We examine the science behind both stories on episode 14 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

We spend quite a bit on body-affirming surgery in the US. According to the Aesthetic Society, in 2021, we spent $14.6 billion on procedural care, including liposuction and breast augmentation, to mention the top two. That doesn’t include the nips, tucks, revisions, or injectables to fill or paralyze. One form of body-affirming surgery remains quite controversial, genital gender affirming surgery – a new study follows up on our earlier reporting.

For those of us working, or in my case, having worked in the medical community Don Berwick is a well-known gentleman. He is the former administrator of the Center for Medicare Services, President Emeritus of the Institute for Healthcare Improvement, and the author of healthcare’s triple aim – expanding care, improving quality, and lowering cost. He has a new message today, the Ten Teams.

Cannabis is a complex mixture of hundreds of chemicals. Here’s a look at one of them.

A recent survey conducted at schools in England has yielded additional evidence that vaping is an effective smoking-cessation tool.

In general, the dietary supplement industry has the scruples of a three-card monte game. One of the most popular products is melatonin, which is used as a sleep aid because it's natural (wrong) and not a drug (also wrong). Let's take a look at some supplement sleight of hand.

The Non-GMO Project recently reassured its Twitter followers that seedless watermelon is not genetically modified. The only problem is that this delicious summer treat is a "GMO"—and it undermines the project's dubious business model.

The robots are coming, the robots are coming. Robotic automation of manufacturing lines has been with us for some time. A new study looks at the benefits to our physical health and, for an important group, detriments to mental health.

It’s now been established that vaccination may be the last best hope of stemming the tide of increasing COVID-19 infections. We are currently in the 5th round of vaccinations, all of which performed as expected in the laboratory, hence their FDA certifications. However, vaccine effectiveness in the field depends on human elements that are not controllable in a free society.

Last week I stopped breathing. If it was not for my wife, who gave me some breaths, and the village of people who subsequently cared for me, we would be speaking through a Ouija Board.

Let's say that your car gets 300 miles on a full tank of gas. Would you expect it to go 600 miles with a half tank? Or 1,200 with a quarter tank? If that sounds crazy welcome to Homeopathy World, where the same "logic" applies. This article might not get your car to go further but it could save you the 20 bucks you might otherwise throw away on Arnica.

I was supportive when governmental institutions told me to social distance and mask up. I bristle when they tell me that there should be no medical or surgical management for gender dysphoria for those under 18, even with parental consent. The science for both is unclear and unsettled. Are my feelings driven by politics or something else?

Meryl Streep, a proud Vassar grad, recently received a Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater. But rather than stress her stellar career as an actor, she discussed an earlier moment as a citizen-scientist. “Once you know how to search out and credit the facts around certain problems, you are called on by your conscience to act on them. The Vassar conscience rings a bell in your head; it’s a call to action in your heart.” The problem? Alar.

Sepsis is an overwhelming infection: bacterial, viral, or fungal. It requires immediate medical attention and intervention. EPIC, the company with the largest share of the electronic medical records market, developed an algorithm to help physicians timely identify at-risk patients. An independent study shows that it is not helpful. Is this healthcare’s 737Max moment?

Not that they asked my advice, but if a group is going to pour food on a famous oil painting, in a protest against oil companies, don't you think that they should have at least chosen the right food?

Mandating vaccination isn’t the greatest governmental policy. Catherine the Great knew that back in 1768 – more than two hundred and fifty years ago. Maybe politicians should look to history for ideas on what works when influencing population behavior. Perhaps they should also eschew involving themselves in scientific matters where they are ignorant.

The activist group Friends of the Earth and its cheerleaders at The Guardian say soaring pesticide use is poisoning millions of people and killing thousands. True to form, they have misused the evidence to make their case.

The Non-GMO Project claims that drought-tolerant crops won't help "feed the world" as climate change threatens crop yields. The evidence says otherwise.

Dr. Jeffrey Singer has written repeatedly about the "iron law of prohibition" and how it has contributed to soaring drug overdose rates, as generally safe medications are replaced by those that are far more dangerous. Not, it's not fentanyl. A class of illegal narcotics called nitazenes is now making the rounds, leaving devastation in its path.

Hardly a day goes by when the "opioid crisis" doesn't make the news. But as you'll see, alcohol causes far more damage in terms of addiction, health problems, deaths, and economic impact yet is rarely mentioned. Why the discrepancy? It just doesn't add up.

An Israeli group has discovered that some cancers can be identified by blood tests that identify the DNA of different fungi that grow within different tumors. Could this be a breakthrough in cancer screening? Or maybe more? A strange but fascinating theory.