A critically important paper in the journal Frontiers in Pain Medicine concludes that while the rationale for reducing opioid prescriptions to minimize overdose deaths was sound between 2006-2010, during the ensuing decade the opposite was true. Reducing opioid prescriptions during this time dramatically increased deaths and hospitalizations. In other words, what worked 15 years ago is an unmitigated disaster at this time.

Lead in drinking water became a political and media cause celebre in 2014 when there were reports of child “lead poisoning” in Flint, Michigan, after the notorious and unfortunate water supply blunders. The Flint problem could easily have been avoided with some common sense and legally required water management procedures.

In our somewhat academic household, “solving differential equations” was a euphemism for tackling a challenging intellectual problem with an uncertain outcome.  Pinning down the health effects of air pollution exposure is one such problem.

We are social creatures, taking our cues as we grow up from those surrounding us – it does take a village to raise a child. But our use of social cues, mimicking the behavior and thoughts of our “village,” does not end with adolescence; it follows us into adulthood. A new study looks at the influence of others on our behavior.

That phrase was a family motto of sorts. On the one hand, it expressed our drive to move forward; on the other, it spoke to our overconfidence in our opinions. Scientists have a term for those following the family motto, the Dunning-Kruger effect – when limited knowledge or competence is coupled with overestimating those qualities. A new study looks across a range of scientific ideas looking for those who are often wrong but never in doubt.

Reporters, fact-checkers, and academics routinely urge us to avoid "misinformation." The problem is, these trusted sources often spread the very nonsense they warn us about. I make the case over at BigThink.

The real value of coffee
The public square must be not only civil but open to grace
The hidden life of avocados
The Sound of Movies

If you're worried about Monkeypox, school shootings, car accidents, or any other possible threat to your health, stop this instant. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) has identified a greater risk for you to fret about—frozen pizza.

"Climate-anxious" college students are pushing to have low-risk pesticides banned from their campuses. Meanwhile, states that have legalized recreational marijuana use are concerned that their new policy may cause more car accidents. We examine the science behind both stories on episode 14 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

What's worse? Getting health advice from an alternative medicine website advertising in a golf magazine or Dr. Oz? At ACSH these questions are par for the course.