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The dietary supplement industry is still going strong. Between 2007 and 2016 there were 776 FDA recalls because whatever was supposed to be in the bottle was spiked with real drugs, legal and not. Almost all of the recalls were supplements for erectile dysfunction, weight loss and muscle building. People are being tricked into taking prescription drugs without their knowledge.

Does our technology improve in an evolutionary way? Is it a random walk of trial and error, with false starts and breakthroughs? Or can a theory accelerate improvement and eliminate the needless dead ends?

Academia is in meltdown. A new Gallup survey shows that only 48% of U.S. adults have a "great deal" or "quite a lot" of confidence in academia. That's down from 57% in 2015. And it's not just due to partisanship. Maybe this wouldn't happen if academics were held accountable for their behavior.

The media reports of a polio-like condition mostly impacting children sound pretty scary. But let's give acute flaccid myelitis, also known as AFM, some well-needed context.

Ethanol is bad science and bad economics, and combined that makes it bad energy policy.

Information is like any other medical therapy. When it's within a therapeutic range, it can be curative. But at toxic levels, it can be destructive. Its quantity will never trump its quality.

A paper in the journal Science examines the implications of the genetic search that found a serial killer last April. A bit of genetics, a few basic demographics and you can identify that needle in the haystack. What can we do?

With Wednesday marking this annual occasion, the new film is an important reminder of the profound suffering of those challenged by mental illness and the struggles shared by their loved ones. Optimizing mental health in life is worthwhile for everyone.

The famous vodka company cashes in on the anti-science movement, announcing that it was renouncing GMO corn in its famous "No. 21 vodka." What's wrong with GMO corn? Nothing. In fact, it's a net positive for the environment.

Your mouth is a repository of bacteria. And if you don't clean it out on a regular basis, that bacteria can enter the bloodstream. A host of health problems are associated with gum neglect, heart disease and high blood pressure among them.

Kentucky just reported its first flu-related death of the season. With last year’s overall hospitalization rates (among all ages) the highest recorded by the CDC surveillance system, it's time to make things less confusing.

The U.S. will soon have to change its clock again. It's a useless junk-science, government policy that has lasted 52 years too long. Here are the admittedly minor health effect risks. It's still annoying.

Scientists don't like to be definitive the way activists are, which is why science loses many culture wars. But we will state it plainly: Roundup cannot cause cancer. It only acts in plants.

While press attention gravitates towards sensationalist applications, the data science boom reflects a broad increase in demand for data literacy, as a baseline requirement for modern jobs.

The FDA just announced that it is no longer allowing seven chemicals to be used as artificial flavors in foods because of cancer concerns. Sounds reasonable, no? NO- it's not. The agency is allowing the same seven chemicals to be used as long as they are derived from natural sources, not synthetic - something that an Organic 101 student knows is a meaningless distinction because there is no difference. Let's give them an F in chemistry.

Just like the hapless victim in Three Card Monte, physicians will bear the brunt of financial risk in Medicare Advantage and other "risk sharing" plans. It is not that they shouldn't have skin in the game, it's just that all the skin should not be theirs.

Despite the chant that correlation is not causation, some researchers believe the design of scatter plots nudges us to the wrong conclusions. Can a change in their design lessen that risk?

A new device can use a non-invasive fingerprint to tell if someone is on drugs.

A new report on the plight of practicing physicians reflects a broken system. Nearly half of physicians plan to change careers, so maybe it's finally time to include them in the discussion on healthcare fixes.

What's it going to take for America to wake up? How many more people have to die before we realize that there's a humanitarian crisis happening on the sidewalks of our major cities? You can thank your local politicians for doing nothing to solve the problem, and in some cases, actively enabling it.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that 48 million Americans get sick with a foodborne illness every year. How can this massive number be greatly reduced? By irradiating our food.

The chemophobia-for-profit crowd has a very good trick up their sleeve and they play it constantly because it works. Let's use this trick against them and show why a very scary chemical may not be scary at all.

If you are concerned that we aren't wasting enough time in court with stupid lawsuits fear not. There's another one in the works about the label of what is little more than fizzy water with a little flavoring. The case was written up by Popular Science, but to a chemist, Unpopular Science would be more accurate.

Tea tree oil is one of the most popular (and profitable) fads around right now. The Internet is bursting with health claims for just about every malady known to mankind. Could it be useful for treating herpes? Maybe. Here's a lesson in how antiviral drugs are discovered.

Without question, it was a fluke. A single-cell organism, only found in warm freshwater, entered a young man's nose and eventually ate at his brain tissue, leading to his death. While this is rare, is it smart – or simply alarmist – for others in similar situations to take preventative measures?