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There are many good reasons to avoid illegal drugs, like addiction and overdosing. The next best is that local street chemists aren't terribly trustworthy. It's common for drugs to be mixed with other chemicals, some of which are far more dangerous than the drug itself. Case in point: Fentanyl, which is often mixed into heroin.

It’s official! Word just came in from Punxsutawney Phil as his 2017 prediction scroll—translated from Groundhogese— proclaims:

Critics of e-cigarettes claim these products don't necessarily reduce a user's exposure to the carcinogenic or toxic chemicals found in cigarette smoke. However, new research shows that the product can, in fact, deliver benefits to "vapers" that are not available to smokers of tobacco.

New data shows that more than eight in ten Americans "support requiring all healthy schoolchildren to be vaccinated for measles, mumps and rubella." In addition, an overwhelming number of adults – 88 percent – "believe that the benefits of these inoculations outweigh the risks."

Wouldn't it be nice to stroll along your favorite beach and not see the litter of plastic trash all around. In fact, there is a place where you can stroll and not see plastic at all – since the trash consists of millions of seaside gems. All you have to do is go to Siberia. 

The FDA confirmed the presence of of the poisonous substance, belladonna, in the homeopathic teething remedies linked to the deaths of 10 infants. More importantly, its analysis detected amounts that were inconsistent between samples, meaning some of the levels were much higher than what the product's label indicated. 

Scientific research is not cheap. But what is the process that academic scientists go through in order to receive funding for their work? This article – the first of a two-part series – describes this stressful and highly competitive procedure. 

The FDA is warning us that some natural remedies contain poison. Meanwhile, partisan rhetoric poisons the body politic. Discover the antidote to this partisan venom. 

A new, disturbing report, based on data collected from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics, shows an increase in the death rates for young Americans over a 15-year period. This has been driven substantially by a shocking increase in the mortality of white women aged 25 to 35.

Cato Institute's Dr. Jeffrey Singer (also an ACSH advisor) published an opinion piece in The Detroit News arguing that laws that restrict drug paraphernalia do more harm than good. "If states want to get serious about reducing the risk of harm from using illegal drugs, lawmakers should repeal their drug paraphernalia laws." We couldn't agree more. Harm reduction is one of the central tenets of ACSH.

Environmental Working Group has again claimed that chemicals in food and consumer products are contributing to obesity. They are mistaken, embarrassingly so.

In trying to make sense of the pandemic as new virus variants emerged and vaccines became available, we found that cyclical patterns don’t conform to seasons, deaths lag behind cases by varying degrees, cases and subsequent deaths vary by 10 to 15-fold, regional trends may shift, and case counts may be subject to reporting errors.  
How can we anticipate the future if we can’t understand the past? 

Scientific writing could use an English major
Which is worse, stupidity or malignant intent?
Hype and alarmism hype’s evil twin in today’s scientific enterprise.
A bright, refreshing wine with a bit of a smoky aftertaste – from the nearby wildfires.

The FDA just voted to approve a different Covid vaccine; this one based on one of the Omicron subvariants. But the decision was anything but simple. A look at the science.

ACSH advisor Dr. Robert Popovian's commentary on how biomedical innovation remains critically important, despite advances against the Covid pandemic.

To increase a product’s appeal to consumers, food manufacturers place food certification labels on the front of their packaging - concerned with environmental, animal welfare, or fair trade, and ‘free from’ labels for those with dietary restrictions. And what exactly do ‘natural’ or ‘clean’ labels tell us?

Is type 2 diabetes due largely to genetics? Does veganism lead to more weight loss than other common diets? On episode 9 of the Science Dispatch Podcast, we take a critical look at two studies, each tackling one of these intriguing questions.

Whole Foods Magazine recently published a story alleging that there is no evidence vindicating the safety of "GMOs." How well does this claim stand up to scrutiny?

It is that time of year when my poor dog cowers under the bed as the rocket's red glare of fireworks is seen and heard across the country. Perhaps I am stealing from my fellow writer and chemist, Dr. Bloom, but I just wanted to share what I had learned about the chemistry underlying all that color filling our skies.

As the Supreme Court’s decision on Roe v. Wade took all of the oxygen out of the media greenroom, another SCOTUS decision on our healthcare, in this case, over insurance costs, was pretty much overlooked. That’s too bad because, in 2019, it involved slightly more than 6% of that budget – for individuals with end-stage renal disease (ESRD).

It is challenging to explain probabilities that go beyond the difference between the words, probabilities, and odds. [1] In fact, when we use words to describe numbers, it often increases the ambiguity of their meaning – something is lost between sender and receiver in the translation.

Has the FDA lost its mind or just the ability to use it? ACSH advisor Dr. Jeffrey Singer discusses banning of Juul e-cigarettes.

Nicotine is an addictive substance; it is THE addictive substance in tobacco, although tobacco’s combustion products are responsible for most of its adverse health effects. Nicotine has been in the news a lot between the plan to remove JUUL, a nicotine delivery system from the market, and the FDA proposal to require cigarettes to have lower nicotine levels. I asked myself a simple question for which I did not have a ready answer, what amount of nicotine is necessary to get you addicted – what dose makes the poison?

Last time, we discussed head transplants and how philosophers are gearing up to address the ethical implications. Many pages and scholarly brain waves were spent in the Journal of Medicine and Philosophy: A Forum for Bioethics and Philosophy of Medicine. What use were these ruminations? Are they valid considerations, even if the basic scientific premise is faulty? Or is this another example of asking how many angels can dance on the head of a pin? More importantly, what does this tell us about our capacity to resolve complex bioethical issues around new biotech?

The FDA has just effectively banned the most popular brand of e-cigarette products, encouraging many ex-smokers to restart their deadly habit.