About a decade ago, many tears were shed over J&J’s baby shampoo, not by the babies, but by consumer groups trumpeting the latest chemophobia – formaldehyde, a known “human carcinogen.”
What does formaldehyde in baby shampoo have to do with a recent recall of a specialized laundry detergent? The failure to appreciate the need for preservatives in consumer products.
You would think this is an easily determined answer. As usual, it is complicated. So many factors to consider.
Science is not easy. It isn’t easy to do or to write about. But some do it better than others in both instances. Consider this example concerning the massive decline in the Pacific Snow Crab population.
Last week a study reported that according to a meta-analysis, cannabis was no better than a placebo in the treatment of pain. As you would expect, that study generated some headlines, but almost uniformly, the media buried the last paragraphs about their role in generating expectations.
The recipe for good public health policy is like a souffle- simple ingredients combined in a complex manner. Done well - it’s a delight. Heavy-handed, using sour (outdated) ingredients – it’s a mess, even toxic.
Processed foods continue to get a bad rap
Geofencing January 6th Goes to Court
Zero COVID and Immune debt – Is China paying up?
And now, Dad Brain
A ferocious debate ensued over Emily Oster's recent call in The Atlantic for COVID "amnesty." Everybody in the dispute is wrong. Should you drink Smart Water? Only if you're dumb, says our resident chemist.
Upper respiratory infections have a seasonality; winter is their thing. The role of the changing temperature and humidity, in some entangled manner, contributes to the winter increases. But what is the role of one of our first barriers to those invading microbes, the nose?
The death penalty is controversial enough on its own, but when you look at some of the dreadful methods used, mostly due to ignorance and incompetence, there is no way that these executions pass the "cruel and unusual punishment" test that the Supreme Court used in its 2008 decision on lethal injections. They are torture, plain and simple.
