ACSH Science Dispatch

In the high-stakes arena of cancer drug development, SU212 was engineered as a safer twist on podophyllotoxin—a toxic killer designed to halt rogue cell division. Yet in a twist worthy of scientific serendipity, it veered off course, bypassing its intended target entirely and stumbling upon a superior mark. SU212 starves aggressive cancers, slashing growth with scant harm to healthy cells. This off-script pivot echoes drug history's happy accidents. Let's talk about how luck can lead to scientific breakthroughs.

Following the emergence of COVID-19, "follow the science" became a stark ideological divide that pitted one American against another. This partisan framing weaponized the scientific method instead of letting it solve a critical public-health crisis. Is it time to abandon this unhelpful slogan and rethink our broken understanding of science?

"You have cancer." It's a life-changing (and sometimes life-ending) development—a horrible piece of news no one is really ever prepared to receive. Are there better and worse ways to react? Can you do anything to improve your prognosis? Dr. Chuck Dinerstein answers these questions while recounting his harrowing experience with prostate cancer.

Social media is awash in testimonials from anonymous men who claim that testosterone-replacement therapy (TRT) helped them beat depression, sexual dysfunction, obesity and other maladies that often impact men as they age. Such compelling endorsements no doubt appeal to others who struggle with these critical health issues, but do they stand up to scientific scrutiny? Let's take a closer look.

Experiencing heartburn? Then consuming an acidic product like apple cider vinegar isn't the solution. The logic is simple: if you've got excess stomach acid, more acid won't help. But up is down in the world of alternative medicine, so let's take a closer look at the bad chemistry behind this "natural" treatment for acid reflux.

A groundbreaking retinal implant, PRIMA, is restoring central vision in patients with geographic atrophy (GA), an advanced form of macular degeneration that blinds roughly 1 million Americans. Unlike drugs that slow progression, this wireless neurostimulation system captures real-world images, projects them onto a subretinal chip, and electrically stimulates surviving retinal cells to mimic natural sight. Are we nearing a paradigm shift in how we treat vision loss?

The trillions of microbes that live in and on the human body—collectively known as the microbiome—appear to have profoundly important effects on our health. This raises a potential concern: some of our most significant public health interventions—vaccines, antibiotics, sanitation—are designed to kill or limit exposure to harmful germs. Have we gone too far in our war against microbial exposure? Let's take a closer look.

How much fiber do you really need to maintain optimal metabolic health? Ferocious partisans on either side of the debate will give you opposing answers, each supported by superficially compelling scientific evidence. But who's actually telling you the truth? It's complicated.

In early October, Brazil faced a nationwide health emergency as adulterated alcohol, primarily white spirits like vodka and cachaça, was laced with toxic methanol—an industrial chemical used to falsely boost alcohol content.

Authorities suspect organized crime diluted liquor to evade taxes or increase profits, triggering widespread contamination that sickened hundreds of people—with symptoms like blinding headaches, vomiting, and organ failure—and killed at least 10 people.

Are there any public health lessons to learn from this tragic episode?

Yet another junk epidemiological study claims that "ultra-processed" foods are addictive. The research is little more than a conclusion desperately in search of evidence. Let's take a look at its critical flaws.

We should genetically engineer ticks and release them into the environment, so they can infect people with a meat allergy. That's a real—and thoroughly wicked—proposal from two bioethicists at Western Michigan University. Join us as we dissect possibly the dumbest idea the academy has ever produced.

The digital revolution has radically shifted how we consume information. Reading lengthy think pieces and books has given way to limitless hours of doom scrolling and streaming. The widespread access to content enabled by internet access has many upsides, but are we really wired for our new tech-saturated environment? Let's take a closer look.

Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. launched a new wave of hysteria by announcing that Tylenol could be linked to autism. The result was a predictable partisan squabble with both sides lining up behind their preferred studies and experts. Let's put aside the partisanship and try to make sense of the competing scientific claims.

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s supporters are eager to rein in direct-to-consumer pharmaceutical ads, claiming they mislead Americans about important health topics. But this anti-pharma coalition faces an awkward dilemma. After pushing regulatory rollbacks at FDA last year, they're now hindered by the very limitations on agency authority they demanded. Do we need to ban pharma ads, and is there a viable way to do it?

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 135 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss:

Genes and heart health: Is there a specific gene that increases heart-disease risk in black people? More importantly, does that knowledge improve our ability to treat individual patients?

Fragmented health care: Why is medicine so compartmentalized—divided into isolated specialties that treat specific body organs and ailments—and does this fragmentation hinder patient care?

In the last four years, 27 US states have enacted bans or severe restrictions on so-called "gender-affirming care" for children—a marked increase from just one state in 2021. Some experts say the rapid shift in the legal landscape is premature because science has yet to provide a definitive answer about the risks and benefits of the drugs and surgeries utilized to transition children. Does this argument stand up to scrutiny? Let's take a closer look.

“The stricter the law enforcement, the more dangerous the drug.” That’s how ACSH advisor and Cato Institute senior fellow Dr. Jeffrey Singer describes the iron law of prohibition, which he argues is driving America’s overdose epidemic. How do we reverse this alarming trend? Legalize all drugs. Dr. Singer joins us on a special episode of Science Dispatch to make that case.

You asked, we answered. Join Cam English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on the latest episode of Science Dispatch as we tackle your questions about health and medicine. This week, we examine the risks and benefits of protein supplements, caffeine pouches and cold plunges.

The use of a newer class of opioids, nitazenes, is growing across the US. Once rarely seen in illicit markets before 2019, the drugs have been found on nearly every continent at this point. Their elevated potency—250 to 900 times stronger than morphine for the most common nitazene—makes them far deadlier than heroin and fentanyl. Can we slow or stop the use of these opioids before they do more damage?

Eating more calories earlier in the day may improve your insulin sensitivity, boosting your metabolic health and aiding weight management. Was "breakfast like a king, dinner like a pauper" right all along? Maybe. Recent genetics research might help validate this age-old nutritional wisdom.

Americans are regularly exposed to low levels of radiation during CT scans, fueling media speculation that this routine medical procedure is driving a cancer epidemic. Is there any truth to the CT scan-cancer association? Let's look at the data.

Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. is once again warning about the supposed dangers posed by mercury-containing vaccines. "I’m proud to finally deliver on a long-overdue promise: protecting our most vulnerable from unnecessary mercury exposure," he tweeted in early August.

Kennedy was celebrating the removal of the preservative thimerosal from a small fraction of seasonal flu vaccines. The problem? He bungled basic chemistry in his rush to (once again) badmouth immunization. Let's take a look.

A growing body of research suggests that your gut microbiome can influence your health in a variety of subtle but important ways, and the foods you consume can have an upstream effect on the health of these trillions of microbes residing in your digestive system. An ACSH reader asks whether the widely used sweetener high fructose corn syrup should be avoided for that reason. Let's take a look.

Smoking kills hundreds of thousands of Americans annually. As this death toll mounts, studies continue to show that nicotine vaping is significantly less harmful than smoking and far more effective than FDA-approved cessation therapies like nicotine gum. Why, then, do so many public health experts malign vaping as a threat? Let's take a closer look

America's political debate over gun violence is a perennial food fight about the ethics of restricting access to firearms. While this makes for entertaining news clips on X, it doesn't get to the heart of the problem—namely that gun violence isn't monolithic.

Some populations are more likely to commit homicide while others are more inclined to suicide. Stemming the country's violent streak requires a more nuanced approach. What could that look like?

The White House recently disclosed that President Trump experiences chronic venous insufficiency, possibly intended to head off concerns that he suffers from a serious age-related health condition that could impair his ability to govern. This raises an important question: are high-level government officials entitled to medical privacy when their illnesses could affect their decision-making ability?

Will chronic cardio or regular weight-lifting sessions add years to your life? Conventional wisdom says "yes," though emerging research suggests that your exercise habits and your lifespan are more heavily influenced by your genetics than previously thought. Let's untangle the latest knot in the nature vs. nurture debate.

Have we discovered the ideal source of energy? A recent study in Nature describes a newly synthesized chemical called hexanitrogen. Containing no carbon, it produces zero greenhouse emissions and decomposes into pure nitrogen. But...there's a catch. Is this a groundbreaking rocket fuel, or just cool chemistry that will be confined to the laboratory? Let's discuss.

Contrary to popular belief, osteoarthritis may not just be the result of wear and tear accrued over the course of a long life. New evidence points to a deeper evolutionary explanation for why our joints ache in old age. Let's take a look.

A team of unsuspecting lawyers asked us to help promote their litigation targeting baby food makers, falsely alleging their products contain harmful levels of heavy metals. The poor souls running this firm didn't realize what ACSH does. Let's take a close look at their claims about food safety and reassure parents that their kids aren't in harm's way.

Kidney stones are excruciatingly miserable, causing intense, unrelenting pain—often described as worse than childbirth. These hard mineral deposits form in the kidneys and can lodge in the urinary tract, causing sharp, stabbing sensations in the back or abdomen. Here's perhaps the worse chemistry lesson you'll ever learn.

Despite dramatically increasing the national debt, the Trump Administration has made controversial cuts to federal funding for research, including critical areas like vaccine development and disease prevention. Many scientists warn that these reductions threaten public health advancements and technological innovation. Have these cuts crossed a line? Let’s take a look.

GLP-1 drugs like Ozempic are transforming weight loss and diabetes management. But no good deed goes unpunished, and the manufacturers of these medicines now face a wave of lawsuits, with plaintiffs claiming they weren't warned about rare but sometimes serious side effects. Is this litigation driven by solid evidence, or are the tort lawyers out for yet another unearned payday? Let's take a look.

Science thrives on challenge, not conformity. Many scientists would agree with that statement, yet they often equate truth with expert consensus, at least when talking to the public. Since scientific disputes are really settled by evidence and not a show of hands, perhaps it's time for experts to abandon consensus and focus on a more accurate concept—convergence.

The COVID-19 pandemic exposed systemic weaknesses in our disaster preparedness infrastructure. Despite prior warnings, politics and apathy nurtured a response system that prioritized appearances—e.g., a national stockpile of rotting N-95 masks—over effective interventions.

Perverse incentives encouraged officials to drag their feet when time was short, a failure leading to poor coordination and resource allocation that couldn't counter a global viral threat. We desperately need reforms that will work with human nature during a disaster instead of against it. What do those look like? Let's dive in.

The perennial vegan worrywarts at Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) have once again warned that grilled hot dogs increase colorectal cancer risk. But this potential harm is wildly overstated—as it has been since it first emerged from the dark recesses of nutritional epidemiology many years ago.

Your absolute risk of colorectal cancer remains quite low, and the occasional ballpark hot dog probably doesn't move the needle in either direction. Let's take a closer look.

Nobody denies that science is plagued by an epidemic of fraudulent and politicized research, nor that it wastes billions of taxpayer dollars. But is the problem severe enough to justify completely eliminating public funding for scientific research? Let's take a look.

"Sugar is addictive." It's a widespread, well-researched claim—and it's probably false. The assertion oversimplifies complex eating behaviors driven by an even more complicated cluster of influences.

While sugar intake can stimulate reward pathways in the brain similar to drugs, it lacks several key characteristics of true addiction, leading to a less satisfying but more accurate conclusion: we've picked a convenient scapegoat instead of solving our real nutritional problems.

Can eating well pave the way to healthier, more vibrant golden years? The answer is "maybe," based on a recent study surveying how diet affects disease risk as we age. Let's break down the paper's results.

Organic food is a $52 billion enterprise, fueled by wealthy consumers convinced they're avoiding the alleged harms endemic in "industrial agriculture." Is there any science behind that belief, or is it just high-priced marketing hype? Let's take a closer look.

A resurgence of heroin in the black market might be contributing to a significant drop in fentanyl-related overdose deaths, with provisional CDC data showing a 24% decline in overall U.S. overdose deaths by September 2024. Could this shift, alongside harm reduction efforts like increased naloxone distribution, be reducing fatalities? Let's take a look.

Health and Human Services secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. has controversially promoted vitamin A as a treatment for measles, despite research showing it can be toxic in high doses and is no substitute for vaccination. Kennedy's view is particularly ironic given his criticism of genetically engineered Golden Rice, a crop designed to boost...vitamin A levels in developing countries.

The rapid expansion of legalized sports betting in the US has fueled a significant increase in gambling addiction, with calls to helplines surging and treatment providers overwhelmed by demand.

While the industry generates substantial revenue, it also imposes hidden costs on society, including financial ruin, mental health problems and strained public resources.

Now the question is, can we bring this emerging public health crisis to heel?

Gatorade claims its alkaline water will hydrate you into peak performance, but it's just pricey H2O bolstered by clever marketing. Save yourself a few bucks and drink the stuff from the tap instead.

During the recent battle over FDA's decision ban the use of Red No. 3 in food and ingested drugs, few commentators answered a fundamental question: why do food makers use dyes in the first place? The press framed the answer as a corporate ploy to sell more candy, but the story's a bit more complicated than that. Let's take a closer look.

With prescription opioid overdoses plummeting and no more pharma companies to sue, America's drug warriors are running out of bogeymen to justify their crusade against pain killers. The solution? Redefine responsible opioid use as a disorder and turn millions of chronic pain patients into addicts—at least on paper.

The medical journal The Lancet recently published a detailed consensus statement classifying obesity as a disease. The statement has engendered both widespread support and criticism. Did the expert panel make the right call? Let's take a closer look.

USDA's Thrifty Food Plan aims to help low-income Americans eat well without breaking their modest budgets. It's an altruistic attempt to promote public health. But this bureaucratic project to promote nutrition lacks what so many other government programs do: the ability to incentivize healthy living at scale.

Researchers at the Mayo Clinic recently published a study perpetuating the myth that opioid prescriptions launched the ongoing drug overdose epidemic. Two ACSH experts took the clinic to task for sloppy data analysis designed to justify a predetermined conclusion about the risks of painkillers. Let's take a closer look.

Article discussed: Opioid Bogeymen: ACSH Advisor Takes Mayo Clinic to Task, for Its Pain Management Fairytale

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Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are widely used to control pain. They are typically quite effective and safe to use as directed. But many people can't rely on them owing to their sometimes serious side effects—including an increased risk of heart attack. In short, NSAIDs are essential drugs with real limitations. Let's take a look at the most popular of these medicines.

Article discussed: NSAIDs: Pick Your Poison

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Despite significant decreases in cholesterol numbers, cardiovascular disease rates in the US have hit a standstill. Can we restart the decline, or have we reached the limits of our ability to combat this persistent condition?

Story discussed: Chasing Cholesterol

A trucker who took CBD oil for pain control was abruptly fired after failing a drug test that found THC, the primary psychoactive compound in marijuana, in his system. Although the product was marketed as THC free–a claim the man verified with the manufacturer–it was not and federal law mandated his termination. It's yet another case of awful drug laws and even worse science harming good people.

Story discussed: Supreme Court THC Case Highlights Our Flawed Drug Laws Follow us on X: @ACSHorg, @camjenglish

As part of a challenge study conducted during the pandemic, 34 healthy volunteers were deliberately infected with SARS-CoV-2 to assess the potential cognitive impacts of COVID-19. Everything about the experiment, from its timing to its design, was suspect and almost certainly unethical.

Recent headlines declared that the artificial sweeteners Xylitol and Erythritol could increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. Now that the media excitement has died down, let's take a closer look at the study behind the headlines. Does it really implicate these sugar substitutes as a threat to heart health? Not exactly.

Pain patient advocates recently made their case to the FDA during an agency listening sessions, arguing that the federal government has launched an unjustified crusade against prescription opioids.

Rather than reduce overdose deaths or drug abuse, the nationwide crackdown on painkillers has only left millions of patients to suffer without recourse. Are regulators finally waking up to this reality?

Scientific American's endorsement of Kamala Harris for president ignited a ferocious debate in the science community. Is she the best choice for advancing science, as her supporters contend, or is it unwise for researchers and scientific institutions to back political candidates?

The emerging Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has resurrected the well-worn accusation that food and drug companies dictate US public health policy. How true is this claim? And do the leaders of the MAHA campaign have their own conflicts of interest? They sure do.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) seems to be in an awkward spot. The group fears that children could be exposed to hormone-disrupting pesticides through food. However, it also endorses the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones—drugs that disrupt normal hormone production—in gender-dysphoric youth.

Are the AAP's divergent standards justified, or is this just a classic case of hypocrisy?

Scientists have learned much about COVID-19 over the last four years. But several aspects of the pandemic remain to be fully explained, including Long COVID: a chronic condition that can cause or contribute to some 200 health effects throughout our bodies.

A recent study suggests that fibrin, a key component of blood clots, plays a role in the development on Long COVID, and may lead to effective treatments for the condition. Let's take a closer look at the results.

Some patients taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are beginning to report slower or no weight loss as their bodies build up a tolerance to the medication. Does this spell trouble for obese people looking to slim down long-term? Dr. Chuck Dinerstein reports his personal experience with the so-called Ozempic plateau.

Scientists often think they're smarter than they are because of their narrow academic expertise, according to a new study. Recent history is littered with corroborating examples in which experts made false declarations about COVID-19 and refused to acknowledge their errors. What drives this hubris, and how should the public respond to it?

America's anti-opioid crusade routinely denies chronically ill patients access to adequate pain control, relegating them to an agonizing existence. Many of these individuals would rather die than withstand the anguish, and some advocates of physician-assisted suicide say we should help these patients end their lives. Is this an ethical solution to the crisis of untreated pain? We have our doubts.

If you're too busy for an hour-long gym session, "exercise snacking" – short bursts of intense activity over several minutes – may help you stay fit despite your jam-packed schedule. That's according to a new study, but how compelling are the results? Let's take a look.

A recent study claimed that excessive sitting–all too common in our modern, hyper-connected world–is more deadly than smoking and HIV. The solution, the researchers claimed, is a novel creation known as the treadmill desk, which allows people to exercise during their work days. How truthful is all this? Not very.

America's prohibitionist assault on prescription opioids has left an untold number of chronically ill patients without access to adequate pain control, encouraging them to use illicit substances like heroin or even take their own lives to end their suffering. Some drug policy reformers say the solution to this tragic situation is outright legalization of all drugs. How well would that policy actually work? Let's take a look.

As social creatures, humans often synchronize with each other in watching movies, dancing in groups and mirroring the behavior of our romantic partners. Could this synchronicity actually influence whom we find attractive? A new study says—maybe.

The blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic has ignited a ferocious debate over the ethics and efficacy of treating obesity with medication.

Oddly, this intense ideological battle has glossed over perhaps the most important question we should answer: how does the drug impact individual patients? Our Director of Medicine Dr. Chuck Dinerstein is working to correct that oversight by documenting his experience with Ozempic.

Most health scares you see in the headlines are generated by low-grade epidemiology research that correlates food or chemicals exposures with negative health outcomes. A recent review employing a new analytical tool highlighted some of the critical problems in this research by looking at studies reporting health risks linked to red meat consumption. Let's take a look at their findings.

A recent study, predictably followed by alarmist headlines, suggested that the sweetener xylitol may increase the risk of cardiovascular complications and blood clots. As usual, there is much more to the story—including the fact that xylitol is perfectly safe for most people to consume as a sweetener.

Mental health medications are a blessing to many people. But they sometimes come with undesirable side effects, including significant weight gain. A recent study suggests that a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet could help some patients manage their weight while taking psychiatric drugs. Let's take a closer look at the results.

Our children face a wide range of health and safety risks these days: choking, fentanyl poisoning and school shootings, just to name a few.

But put aside such paltry concerns because Consumer Reports (CR) has identified the real threat to your kids: Lunchables. These safe, affordable prepackaged meals may actually expose your children to potentially harmful levels of lead, the activist group claims. As usual, CR is pushing a baseless health scare to raise money.

Holden Thorpe, editor of the once-prestigious academic journal 'Science,' has made many strange claims in recent years, including the assertion that anybody involved in or adjacent to science (a journalist, policy wonk and perhaps even an activist) is actually a scientist. ACSH's Dr. Henry Miller calls shenanigans.

The Supreme Court is poised to decide a case that could seriously restrict the authority of federal regulatory agencies.

Some legal observers say the decision will put power-hungry bureaucrats in their place, though others maintain the decision could force judges and members of Congress to make scientific determinations they aren't qualified to make. Let's talk to a legal scholar to make sense of the "Chevron deference."

Recent research suggested that our lungs contain tiny (micro- and nano-sized) plastic particles, courtesy of our widespread use plastic consumer products. Let's take a deeper look at the study to determine how serious of a health risk we're up against. As always, the media didn't tell you the whole story.

There's yet another adulterant showing up in illicit fentanyl in cities across North America: medetomidine—a drug used for sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation, typically in veterinary settings. How dangerous is the drug, and what can be done to stop its recreational use? Let's take a look.

Which is more dangerous, sunscreen or the sun itself? Should we just wear sun-protective clothing instead? As summer approaches, let's examine the latest research and separate sun facts from myths before heading to the beach.

Tort lawyers regularly bring litigation against pesticide companies alleging that their products cause devastating diseases. Of course, our genetic makeup profoundly influences our risk for certain medical conditions, including those allegedly caused by pesticide exposure. Yet this reality rarely gets the attention it deserves in court. Let's take a closer look at the science the lawyers would rather ignore.

Microplastics are everywhere, including in your arteries, and they heighten your heart attack risk! So declared a slew of recent headlines reporting on a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Let's examine all the science reporters ignored in their rush to get hyperbolic stories out the door.

A recent study found that controlled periods of fasting could hold the key to unlocking a longer, healthier life. Do we finally have evidence that skipping meals reverses aging, or is the situation more complicated than that?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly prominent role in modern life, medicine included. While the technology promises to improve health care in many ways, it also carries potentially serious risks. That raises a critical question: when AI harms patients, who's responsible?

Join Cameron English and Dr. Barbara Billauer on Episode 70 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss AI in medicine with Stanford Law professor Michelle Mello:

Tinnitus–a vexing ringing in one or both of your ears not caused by external sound–impacts some 740 million adults globally. A recently FDA-approved treatment appears poised to help many of these patients reduce the severity of their symptoms and thereby boost their quality of life. Let's take a closer look at this therapy to find out how it works.

The standard argument for restricting patient access to pain medications is that these drugs frequently lead to addiction. A large body of research contradicts that claim, though it's doubly absurd when directed at people afflicted by terminal (and often very painful) illnesses. They sometimes have only weeks or months to live, yet they're denied pain medicine in the name of fighting opioid dependence. Such absurdity has to stop.

Unlike other public health emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic had unmistakably partisan overtones. Politics exerted an unhealthy influence on how governments, scientists, reporters and ordinary Americans responded as SARS-CoV-2 swept across the world and upended our lives for the better part of four years. What went wrong and what can we learn from it? Dr. Paul Offit joins us to answer those critical questions.

The Bible of science–the body of peer-reviewed literature–is increasingly filled with dubious and even fraudulent research. Most academics openly recognize the threat this poses to scientific progress, though viable solutions to academic fraud are sorely lacking. How do we address this critical problem?

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 66 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the growing problem of scientific fraud:

Far too many scientific papers are being retracted from prestigious scientific journals because scientists fabricated or falsified data. Although no one defe...

Loud noises and...trace minerals? Let's break down a new study examining an important contributor to age-related hearing loss. Spoiler alert: stocking up on zinc supplements is not the solution.

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 65 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the science of preserving hearing:

Hearing loss, frequently due to exposure to loud noises, is a significant health problem. Its biological underpinning may well be due to what we consider a...

NPR recently lost its nerve over the realization that some men are giving up internet porn, fearing this "masturbation abstinence" trend is a gateway to radical right-wing politics. The media should be more interested in the potentially serious health impacts of porn itself.

The FDA has proposed changing the classification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. What impacts could this regulatory status change have on public health and drug regulation around the US? Let's take a look.

Do opioids effectively control moderate-to-severe cancer pain? A recent review of the evidence says yes, though the press release for the study says otherwise, its headline declaring that the efficacy of opioids against cancer pain remains "unclear." Both statements can't be true, so which one is false?

Like all natural health matchstick men, Josh Axe is a supplement hustler and champion of bad nutritional advice. On Episode 61 of the Science Dispatch podcast, hosts Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein sit down with ACSH contributor Katie Suleta to examine one of Axe's latest cons: a six-step "liver cleanse."

Pharma companies have taken to combining over-the-counter drugs into the same pill or bottle and charging higher prices. There's little evidence this marketing practice benefits anybody but said pharma companies. There's a new pesticide scare loose in the headlines: the weedkiller paraquat allegedly causes Parkinson's Disease. It's a phony scandal cooked up by activists and trial lawyers.

Electric vehicles (EV) have been hailed as our gateway out of fossil fuel "addiction." But recent declines in EV sales driven by reliability issues have raised tough questions about the future of this once-celebrated technology.

It's an age-old question: bidet or no bidet? Let's see if science can bring clarity to this contentious debate.

The blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic have helped many patients rapidly slim down. But these powerful pharmaceuticals could have unintended consequences we may not be ready for. What motivates people to wear masks? Post COVID, researchers are finally beginning to find some answers.

Was Derek Chauvin's use of force against George Floyd justified? His attorney said yes, pointing to a controversial syndrome known as "excited delirium" to explain Floyd's frenzied behavior while in custody. Does this defense withstand scientific scrutiny?

10,000 steps: it's a magic threshold often used to pinpoint fitness, but there's little evidence behind this popular idea.

If you needed further evidence that politicians don't understand the fentanyl crisis they helped to create, Senator Joe Manchin has you covered. We already sell some body fluids in select circumstances; will the day come when we sell body parts to the highest bidder?

The 'wellness' industry has birthed yet another scam: health coaching. Usually lacking any medical or scientific training, health coaches will charge you a king's ransom for useless and arguably harmful advice. Buyer beware. The CDC says everyone six months and older needs COVID boosters. Here's what the data show.

A teenager died recently after taking the "One Chip Challenge," eating Paqui's uber-spicy tortilla chip and going as long as possible without eating or drinking anything else. The cause of death remains unclear. But there's an interesting lesson here about the uselessness of "non-GMO" food labels. Actress Jessica Biel sells all-natural Tylenol—which is identical to plain ole' Tylenol. Another case of dubious health marketing? Yep.

Roadside drug tests are unreliable, so why are they so widely used in the US? Researchers who make "health disparities" the focus of their work sometimes misrepresent their results. Here's a textbook example from a study that used pulse oximetry to measure disparities in COVID treatment.

Flu shots perform inconsistently because it's hard to anticipate which strains of the virus will be circulating in a given year. So far in 2023, it appears that the latest round of vaccines are working well.

The FDA has determined that Sudafed PE doesn't work. Questions and accusations are flying as a result: why were we sold a useless decongestant in the first place? And more importantly, who's to blame for this public health blunder?

Evidence suggests that Tylenol isn't an effective pain reliever in many cases, so why do doctors rely on it post-surgery? When it comes to treating and discussing COVID-19, do doctors have the right to speak freely, even when they dissent from accepted medical wisdom?

In the wake of hurricane Katrina in 2005, a physician was charged with manslaughter for administering morphine and another drug to patients who couldn't leave the hospital during the disaster. Was she alleviating their pain and anxiety or trying to kill them? Many news outlets are paid to slant their science coverage. How did that happen?