'Tis the season. As we turn to the holidays, their spiritual meanings, and the liminal moment as we end another extraordinary pandemic year, we should take stock of our position. We should consider that a bit of DNA, far smaller than we can see, that we could not imagine until 1892 has brought the world to its collective knees. Where exactly do we stand in the grand scheme of life?

Starting next month, many grocery store products will have to carry the USDA's bioengineered ("GMO" in the vernacular) food labels. Here's what you should know about this pointless, costly regulation.

I’ve written several times about taxes on sugar-sweetened beverages. While the public health goal has always been to reduce obesity, nearly every publication has looked at the effect of taxes and the subsequent higher prices on purchasing those drinks. Today, we finally have some research on how well those taxes reduce our weight; we already know they reduce the weight in our wallets.

It is impossible to estimate how much time, money, and effort has been wasted trying to find a real health issue with bisphenol A (BPA). Yet, JAMA published a study that is so obviously amateurish that it makes you wonder if the reviewers were comatose. Of course, "BPA increases deaths" made for great headlines, even though it does nothing of the sort.

One of our loyal readers brought a recent Newsweek cover story to our attention. It is titled, Americans Are Addicted to 'Ultra-Processed' Foods, and It's Killing Us. In addition to cherry-picking words to favor “natural” over “ultra-processed,” whatever that means, the article raises but does not resolve or necessarily clarify some crucial issues. Are our foods addictive, like fentanyl? What does processed and ultra-processed really mean to our health? What does “the science” reveal or not fully comprehend? It is time to take a deeper dive.

A recent study suggests that vaping may be linked to erectile dysfunction. The results are alarming if they're valid, though there are several critical reasons to doubt their validity.

While COVID-19 vaccinations are increasing (however slowly), infections are increasing more rapidly. Both provide a degree of immunity from further infection. We have previously investigated daily rates of change in detail. Here we consider the cumulative rates of infection and the implications for the future of the pandemic.

Annapurna – goddess of food, Christmas trees, phrases I may or may not miss next year, and do our inner cycles embody our “self?”

Science journalism is plagued by several critical problems that jeopardize its credibility. If we want the public to be more science-minded, we have to correct these issues sooner rather than later.

Of course, the cure is for hookworms and lice, and the patients are sea lions. But, with apologies for clickbait, wouldn’t you like a feel-good storm about ivermectin?