As if the government and media haven't screwed up the story of the so-called "opioid crisis" thoroughly enough, why not add some meaningless and confusing terms to the mix? That way, absolutely no one can know what the hell is going on. Let's take a look at the confusion. There's plenty of it.

It's refreshing that the First Lady's program shines a needed light on neonatal abstinence syndrome, also known as newborn opioid withdrawal. Despite the issue's ever-escalating importance, it was mostly ignored in the media's recent coverage. So here's what it's about.

The proverbial searching for "the needle in a haystack" can help us understand science's problem with p-values, and why so many studies find contrary things.  

Dr. Michael Dourson, who sits on ACSH's Board of Scientific Advisors, discusses changes at the EPA. He notes the public interest is best served when science is replicable, and when it's not access to underlying data is vital to independent analysis. Without quality risk assessment, we can't create effective national regulations.

Race, age and other demographic factors are commonly controlled in epidemiology studies. It makes no sense to compare one group to another group if researchers do not bother to control for confounders – that is, factors like race or age that can cause researchers to draw the wrong conclusion.

In a move steeped in nonsense, Dr. Mehmet Oz has been appointed by Donald Trump to the President's Council on Sport, Fitness and Nutrition. Since his views on health and medicine are so lacking in scientific evidence, we have no idea why anyone is still listening to him at all anymore. 

Though well-intentioned, "at all costs" breastfeeding messages are routinely misguided. And even intellectually dishonest.

The second edition of "The Next Plague and How Science Will Stop It" comes with a new preface for COVID-19. Download a free copy!

A science fair that recently took place wasn't giving out blue ribbons for homemade volcanoes. Rather, the projects were original research done by some of top-notch, high school talent, with the winners pocketing hefty cash awards. In the world of research, check out what this generation of future scientists finds both interesting and important.

We started a media firestorm in the Pacific Northwest, and we set the record straight on chemicals for an agricultural trade publication. And we also took a peek into a baseball dugout to see how statistical analysis – personally delivered to field managers by stat geeks – is continually reshaping the game.