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The scientific publishing industry is thoroughly dishonest and corrupt, and the American Association for the Advancement of Science and the journal Science are now also a part of the problem. Here's a disturbing case in point.

The enormous Rand Corporation just issued a 265-page report discussing how and why fentanyl is plaguing the United States. Interesting stuff, but "itsy bitsy" ACSH was all over this years ago. See for yourself.

The New York Times recently swallowed whole a study which concluded that those who eat meat die 23% more quickly than those who don't. But the meat study sounded fishy. And it was. ACSH advisor and expert biostatistician Dr. Stan Young turns the meat study into hamburger.

With so much disinformation on the Internet, debunking junk science and bogus health claims could be a full-time job. Indeed, "debunkery" is one of the main reasons why ACSH exists. Narrowing down a full year's worth of nonsense into the 10 worst bogus health stories is quite a challenge. But we never shy down from a challenge. Here are the stinkiest stories from the past 12 months.

Heroes aren't always cops, soldiers or scientists. Sometimes they are the wives of scientists. Here's one worth remembering.

Given how well women propagated the species despite all kinds of past health scares, should today's mothers panic about eating a piece of sushi? Well, yeah, though they needn't worry about coffee or BPA, despite litigation groups like Center for Science in the Public Interest long insisting those things are ruining families.

You better hope that Santa doesn't leave you lipstick under the tree. Because if he does, according to the Environmental Working Group, you'll never see Easter.

Dr. Kabat, a cancer epidemiologist at New York's Albert Einstein College of Medicine, explains how we are scared of the wrong things – and why. A compelling read, and a must for anyone wanting to take a critical look at the mass of conflicting information we're constantly bombarded with.

In the second of a two-part series involving iconic astronaut Buzz Aldrin, we delve further into high-altitude illnesses, prevention and management. We'll also debunk a few myths about altitude sickness.
 

1. A website called the National Observer is an "online only" publication whose editor has been accused of political boosterism and using her publication to attack opponents of her family.

One religious group forecast an apocalypse a few weeks ago. They used the Bible as its source. More recently, a newer religion warned of their apocalypse. But those followers cited Science magazine. 

Perhaps the worst laboratory accident in recent memory occurred in 1996, when Karen Wetterhahn, a chemistry professor at Dartmouth, spilled a couple of drops of dimethylmercury on her glove. Thinking nothing of it, she simply changed gloves. Ten months later she died from mercury poisoning.

When it comes to the Zika virus, a quaint anomaly for decades, those who live in rural areas have much different ideas than urban dwellers on how to prevent the mosquito-transmitted infection from becoming a major health problem in the United States.

Caveat Emptor. Consumers and journalists beware Anti-biotechnology activists engaged in a week of "direct action" at Starbucks Coffee shops this week aim to target you over the next few days with false and misleading information about food safety, nutrition and the environment. The same people who brought you a long list of other false health and environmental scares including the infamous Alar in apples scare, the Dow-Corning breast implant campaign and dozens of other debunked fears are at it again.

Caveat Emptor. Consumers and Journalists beware-Biodevastation activists aim to target you over the next few days with false and misleading information about food safety, nutrition and the environment. The same people who brought you a long list of other false health and environmental scares-including the infamous Alar in apples scare, the Dow-Corning breast implant campaign-and dozens of other debunked fears are at it again. This time the scaremongers are targeting such safe foods as milk and other dairy products in your local supermarket and at food retail outlets such as Starbucks.

Methanol sounds scary but fear evaporates quickly when people find that even if you consume nothing but aspartame all day, you will get about half the methanol that's in a banana. Yet charlatans continue to claim artificial sweeteners will give you cancer.

Dr. Lynn Webster, one of the most respected pain patient advocates, managed to get through all eight episodes of Dopesick. In his review, he mentions that it wasn't half bad, provided that you like fiction. Here are his thoughts.

Scientific American's descent from respected publication to ideological tabloid is nearly complete. The magazine is now promoting anti-GMO activism under the guise of "social justice."

Starting in March 2020, studies began to show that smokers were under-represented among COVID-19 patients, suggesting that something in tobacco may offer protection against SARS-COV-2 infection. The evidence remains inconclusive, but it seems that some public health experts and journalists don't want to get to the bottom of this mystery.

The Centers for Disease Control says that the “American food supply is among the safest in the world.” But a read of some recent news reports about toxic metals in baby food may have you feeling somewhat concerned. So what's really the state of the supermarket aisle? Let's take a closer look.

There are two ways that the media get meta-analysis claims wrong. And here's how to spot them.

In 2015, the American Council on Science and Health joined every reputable science body in being critical of yet another International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) monograph. In recent years they had become prone to selectively choosing studies to include in their analyses, almost as if they predetermined a conclusion and then found studies to match it.

Our resident pediatrician always advises us not to be fooled by the cuteness. New research analyzed science reporting in newspapers, the results aren't pretty. Beware of shiny-object syndrome! 

We went to Washington to meet with Rep. Lamar Smith of Texas, Chairman of the House Science, Space, and Technology Committee. He was intrigued by our publication, and asked that copies be sent to him so he could give it to the committee. That's part of our goal, In fact, we want it in the hands of every member of Congress.

Did the Earth spin off its axis?  Or, are we just dreaming that the rebirth of joy and humor and common sense and reasonableness could be the latest trend in parenting? Pinch us, please. It might just be the therapeutic intervention we need.