"Every night on the television news now is like a nature hike through the Book of Revelation," lamented the former vice president in his opening remarks for the Climate & Health Meeting. After all these years, he still has a warped penchant for apocalyptic exaggeration.
Celebrities Vs Science
If Donald Trump's anti-vaccine tweets were not enough to make the scientific and medical community nervous, there is another reason to be concerned. Very concerned. The president-elect met this week with Robert Kennedy Jr., a vaccine denier and one of the most outspoken proponents of the false claim that vaccines cause autism.
Of the many lies spread about Monsanto, perhaps none is so malevolent as the claim that the seed giant is to blame for farmer suicides in India. This falsehood, spread by anti-biotechnology activists like Vandana Shiva but debunked years ago, is still parroted by credulous left-wing outlets.
Junk science is everywhere. This is why our mission is so important. If journalists and advocates don't speak up for good science, cranks and quacks will take over. As part of our ongoing effort to eradicate nonsense, here's our list of the top junk science stories we debunked this year.
The prestigious school is growing its list of misguided "experts" while thoroughly undermining its great reputation. Columbia's latest hire is former New York Times food writer Mark Bittman, who calls biotechnology "overrated" while endorsing the mandatory labeling of GMOs, a policy rejected by every major mainstream medical and scientific organization in America.
There isn't a fringe movement that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr doesn't like. He appears to subscribe to conspiracy theories involving the assassination of his uncle, JFK, and he's one of America's most prominent disbelievers in vaccine usage. Now, Mr Kennedy is joining the protesters at the Dakota Access Pipeline.
During a recent monologue Bill Maher instructed America on the importance of knowledge. He's right, of course, but the talkshow host is a rather imperfect messenger: Listening to him is like receiving a lecture from Bill Clinton or Donald Trump on the importance of marital fidelity. Maher's political viewpoint was illuminating, but probably not in the way he had hoped.
First, it was the half-baked nuttiness of infrared saunas. Now comes cryotherapy, a full-body chamber offering insanely cold temperatures that its purveyors say can cure just about everything and anything -- that is, if you're gullible enough to believe them. And if it doesn't kill you, like it did last year to a 24-year-old Nevada woman.
In a post on her website, Khloe Kardashian expresses her love for Vitamin E. And while the benefits of this antioxidant have been well established, she wrongly recommends its use for strengthening of the vaginal lining.
In Hollywood, where having a therapist is chic, mental health disorders are a reality. But often times they don't get the frank-talk focus that they deserve. So any celebrity who opens up to the media about their issues to de-stigmatize them -- like Lady Gaga and Demi Lovato -- is A-OK in our book.
Nothing new here. We ve written about this before. Once the esteemed New York Times columnist Nick Kristof gets out of his comfort (and knowledge) zone he goes from a really great commentator to an ignorant scaremonger. Sort of a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hydrogen.
New York, NY -- January 14, 2008. When it comes to health issues, who should you trust to give you the truth: celebrities or scientists?
When celebrities weigh in on important health issues, the public takes notice. However, all too often their statements are incorrect. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) weighs in on one celebrity-touted myth after another in the new publication Celebrities vs. Science.
- « first
- ‹ previous
- 1
- 2
- 3