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1. Nigeria Today has an article called 2 Things to Avoid if You Want to Live Longer. They certainly get one thing right - if not a secret to living longer, at least wealthier.  That thing is not bothering with most supplements. They cite us as warning that it's the wild, wild west in supplement land - ironically, the kind of thing supplement buyers actually believe about science.

Veteran New York Times columnist Nicholas Kristof fancies himself an expert in chemistry and toxicology. Chemists and toxicologists disagree.

While BPA hysteria has been going on for many years, for just as long we've been writing that the chemical is safe. As it turns out, we've been right all along (while, as usual, the Joe Mercolas and NRDCs of the world were not).

Very few have heard about this. It's over 100 years old and explains why bread smells so good and turns brown. But baking also produces a few chemicals of concern – or are they? Here you get a chemistry lesson! Whether you want one or not.

Sometimes bad science can lead to a good solution. Case in point: fixing a problem in 19th century London that miasma theory said should solve disease. A misunderstanding of the disease's nature ultimately proved beneficial when city officials solved the mystery of a real world issue -- nasty microbes.

With no topic beyond reach of his scorn, Donald Trump takes a shot at the NFL, calling the game "too soft" for its attempts to protect players with rule changes. Meanwhile, a big thumbs up to another mogul, Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg for publicizing the vaccination of his infant daughter; and a sad, early goodbye to legendary rocker David Bowie, a one-time heavy smoker, who died at the age of 69.

Dr. Mehmet Oz, that oracle of televised medical wisdom, is at it once again. This time his misguided excursion beyond the scientific realm produced his suggestion that fluoridated water is harmful. In response, the American Council on Science and Health once again plainly states that there needs to a warning label on his show.

In July of 1988, at the height of the AIDS epidemic, the estimated number of cases in New York City suddenly plummeted. The city health commissioner soon needed police protection.
Until that July, the city had estimated that 400,000 New Yorkers carried the AIDS virus. Then the commissioner, Dr. Stephen C. Joseph, reviewed the evidence and reduced the estimate to 200,000. He was promptly denounced by leaders of AIDS organizations and gay-rights groups, who accused him of lying to minimize the crisis.

Simply put: The March Against Monsanto (MAM) is a menace to society. It spreads lies and distrust about science and scientists. Its organizers frequently compare themselves to great American civil rights leaders like Rosa Parks and Dr. King. They say that they believe

A retired psychologist attacked an article of mine about deranged Florida Surgeon General Joseph Ladapo's views of public health policies toward the COVID-19 pandemic. His assertions ranged from the preposterous to the merely inaccurate.

•"The Scariest Health Threat You've Never Heard Of: Autoimmune Disease," from the September 2008 issue of Glamour, quoted Jeff Stier saying, "People want to blame chemicals where they don't have another explanation for the cause of a disease. I think we need more psychologists rather than more toxicologists."
•The September 29, 2008 New York Sun piece "Salt Is Next on City's Hit List" quoted Dr. Gilbert Ross likening New York City's anti-salt plans to the trans fat ban.

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.

Are some COVID-19 shots engineered to control your thoughts? A prominent anti-vaccine campaigner claims this might be the case. He's wrong, but debunking his concern gives us a chance to discuss cool gene-therapy technology.

How does frequent social media use impact our mental health? A recent study attempted to pinpoint the effects of spending hours on Twitter and Facebook, but the inherent difficulty in analyzing human behavior limits our ability to find a precise answer.

The beginner's mind, a video of Tesla production (can you see what is missing?), a video that will put a smile on your face and bring back the joy of opening a present when you were a tween, how will the rise in remote work change our lives, and finally, a question of expertise.

For the most part, supplements are a waste of money at best and harmful at worst. But could vitamin D be a notable exception – now more than ever? Let's take a look.

"Journalists" Sharon Kelly of DeSmogBlog and Lee Fang of The Intercept are spreading disinformation about ACSH and COVID-19.

Wheat breeding did not contribute to changes in celiac antigenicity in hard red spring wheat. This type of wheat is unique because it has relatively high protein content, which contributes to superior baking quality. Thus, it's in high demand in the global wheat market.

Several years ago, a survey of professional toxicologists revealed that 79% of them believed that the Environmental Working Group and two other organizations overstate the health risks of chemicals. That's why EWG is beloved by activists but detested by scientists.

When David Stephan, a man who was convicted in his 19 month old son's death because he treated his son's infection with "natural healing" methods over medicine, was an invited speaker at a Wellness Expo, there was a loud, visceral reaction. The result? Some sponsors got nervous, pulled out and Stephan's speech was no more. Kudos to the pro-science community for a job well done. 

One of the worst junk science trends in recent years is for grocery stores and restaurants to claim that they serve "clean food." Obviously, the not-so-subtle message is that everybody else is serving poison, so to be safe, you better eat their food. It's well past time to put aside the snobbish notion that eating clean, local, organic food makes you a superior, healthier human.

If we can tune out, move away from, and shun people with whom we disagree, is this course of action also acceptable? 

At ACSH, we probably spend more time debunking phony or overblown fears than anything else. Between bad science, hidden agendas, and terrible press coverage we never run out of things to do.
Although most scares vaccines, minute traces of chemicals in the environment, or GM foods, for example are baseless, this does not mean that all of them are.

There is overwhelming evidence that high-quality masks reduce the spread of aerosol-spread infectious diseases, including COVID-19.

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.