"Doctor" Thomas Cowan, who claimed that 5G caused the coronavirus, isn't surrendering his medical license because he's learned his lesson. Instead, he's watched how other quacks have become millionaires and plans to follow in their footsteps.
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If a standard treatment exists for a medical condition, is it unethical to give patients who are enrolled in a clinical trial a placebo? Most would argue yes, but the ethics become unclear when the standard treatment has its own risks.
As the COVID-19 vaccines roll out, the anti-vaxxers have been increasingly more militant in their misinformation campaigns, actively and effectively dissuading vaccine uptake. The question becomes what can we do about this activity which harms us all?
March 5, 2020, was my last trip on the hideous New York City subway. At that time COVID has just begun to hit the city. By any measure, the last year sucked (as does the subway) but now that I'm inoculated I'm able to ride the damn thing again. Here's the one-year anniversary update of the trip report from last year. Things are much different now.
New data from the CDC shows a 57% increase in drug overdose deaths between 2013-19, the time during which the war on prescription opioids was arguably at its apex. A colossal failure by any measure.
As biotech firm AquaBounty prepares to harvest its GE AquAdvantage salmon for sale in the US, activist groups have trotted out long-refuted arguments in a bid to stir up consumer opposition. Here's everything you need to know.
RFK, Jr., who blamed the COVID vaccine for causing the death of baseball legend Hank Aaron, continues to spread deadly anti-vaccine nonsense on social media sites like Facebook and Twitter. The companies' claims that they're trying to clean up disinformation ring hollow.
A statistical test suggests that several countries are misreporting or fabricating COVID case numbers. The United States is included among those countries. Is there another explanation?
Farewell articles are tough to write, which is one reason why I try not to write them very often.
So which is it? And what gives this versatile adhesive its name? Odds are you, and most of those you know, have no idea. But luckily we have Dr. Joe Schwarcz to explain its origins. So if you have a few minutes, the Director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, and ACSH friend, will reward you with some interesting insights.
As a native Californian, I was raised being concerned about water. That concern has not changed significantly over my lifetime. As Robert Glennon, a professor of law at the University of Arizona writes, as the drought in the West continues, the battle over water is increasingly being fought in the Courts. The article comes from The Conversation.
It's time to rethink Earth Day. Let's celebrate the innovations that make sustainability possible and spend less time fretting about the future.
A little chemistry anyone? Here's everything you never wanted to know about iodine. But it's not as dreadful as you'd think. Iodine and its compounds disinfect surgical sites, seed clouds, and can protect you from certain nuclear fallout. And it's great for blowing up stuff, too! And there's a quiz with a very special prize for the winner!
Fast or slow furniture? Asymptomatic infections are not confined to COVID-19. Plants can social distance? Tap water hesitancy
As if the confusion over marijuana, THC, and CBD oil isn't enough – both legally and pharmacologically – now there's a new wrinkle. It’s called Delta-8 THC, a previously minuscule and unimportant component of cannabis, which is virtually identical to THC itself. It's now possible to make the drug, also called "THC-light," from CBD oil. What does this mean? Read on. If you dare.
Plumbum is the Latin word for lead. It’s also the root of the term, plumber. Part of President Biden’s infrastructure bill proposes to remove the last of our country’s lead pipes. But why do we have lead pipes anyway?
Funding a pull incentive for antibiotic R&D in the United States would be more attractive to our representatives in Congress if we required that all manufacturing and supply chains for the beneficiary product be physically located in this country. Dr. David Shlaes (pictured), ACSH advisor and infectious disease expert, explains.
Data has suggested for a while that millennials have some mental health concerns. The pandemic didn’t help. But not to worry, increasingly, there’s an app for that.
The CDC just announced the pause of the Johnson & Johnson vaccine in the U.S. because of six blood clots among seven million people vaccinated. If you're shaking your head trying to figure out why the CDC pulled a life-saving vaccine after a few adverse events so rare -- where you'd have a much greater risk from dying from crossing the street or getting into a car -- you are not alone. Is the U.S. shifting regulatory policy to the Precautionary Principle?
Like a number of our friends, my wife and I are switching to a more plant-based diet but still find a steak or fish a good occasional choice. That got us to talking about why some people choose to restrict their diet. In looking for an answer I ran across a plausible explanation, that generalizes to other issues.
It has been a tough year for the CDC, with missteps and mixed messaging. The end result, as a new RAND study shows, is declining trust.
The EU’s “Farm to Fork” strategy is designed to meet the global sustainable development goals and increase land cultivated by organic farming at least three-fold. To meet those goals, it may well require including GMOs. An opinion piece asks: "Can organic farming be reconciled with advanced biotechnologies in the EU, one of the most regulated global agricultural regions?"
It is far easier to view the past, with 20-20 hindsight, than to be able to predict the future. That's especially true for COVID-19, as it continues to challenge the human race.
America eats a lot of potatoes, well over 100 pounds per person annually. According to Harvard’s School of Public Health, a potato is not to be considered a vegetable. What up with that?
Chocolate is a staple in any Easter basket, but don’t fall for the rhetoric that the fancy-pants high cocoa (cacao!) stuff is a lot healthier.
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