Search results

A recent BMJ paper claiming health benefits of apple cider vinegar was retracted — hardly shocking given the long history of hype over evidence. While it’s clear ACV doesn’t do much good, the real question is whether it can actually cause harm. Let’s break down what the science (and a little chemistry) says.

Apple cider vinegar, one of the darlings of the nutrition world (including Dr. Oz), went from "probably useless" to "entirely useless" once a key study in BMJ was retracted. Of course, our colleagues at McGill's Office and Science and Society knew this long ago.

Is fiber the gut’s guardian angel or an over-hyped plant pulp we can happily skip? While carnivore enthusiasts swear their bellies have never been calmer since abandoning fruits, veggies, and grains, #fibermaxxing devotees are tossing chia seeds on everything. Before you trade your oatmeal for rib-eye (or vice-versa), where do the facts really fall on this crunchy controversy?

California has once again stepped to the front of the regulatory line—this time in the school cafeteria. While Washington dithers over what exactly counts as an “ultra-processed food” (UPF), California’s Assembly Bill 1264 delivers the nation’s first legal definition for school meal programs, blending nutrition science, food chemistry, and public health into one sweeping mandate. Can law meaningfully define “junk food”? And what happens when one state decides it can?

Do you know how gelatin (jello) is made? Do you know what gelatin was used as before it was food?
Watch our latest fun science facts video to find out!

When science enters the courtroom, truth can turn to jelly. Nowhere is that clearer than in the Tylenol–autism litigation, where political proclamations, wobbly studies, and phony “consensus” opinions jiggle legal standards of admissibility. As the Second Circuit weighs whether Daubert still means what it says, we should be concerned about the softened standards that plaintiffs advocate to prove scientific causation and manufacturer liability.

A new study claims that “ultra-processed food addiction” affects one in eight older adults. But how solid is the science behind that headline? Beneath the striking numbers lies a web of assumptions about what counts as “addiction” and even what qualifies as “ultra-processed.” Do the study’s definitions, measures, and interpretations measure up? Do its bold claims hold up under scrutiny?

A new Barron’s report describes more than 100 cases of suspected methanol poisoning in and around São Paulo, including at least one confirmed death. From upscale bars to beachfront kiosks, Brazilians are suddenly wary of what’s in their glass. The culprit is methanol, a chemical cousin of ethanol that’s cheap, hard to detect, and dangerously toxic. Here's the science behind the poisoning.

If you ever drank grape Kool-Aid or sucked on a grape Jolly Rancher, you’ve already met methyl anthranilate – the reason your childhood smelled like “purple.” This same molecule moonlights as a bird repellent, a fireworks perfume, and a bathroom surprise. Chemistry doesn’t get weirder, or grapier, than this.

Anuses are like martinis. Some like 'em dry and some don't. And in the bathroom, a similar debate continues. Hardly a day goes by when the bidet vs. toilet paper war fails to rear its ugly head. This is only one more reason why ACSH – flush with newsworthy articles – is the place to go to learn about this and similarly vital issues. Buckle up.

Tattoos
Photographing Art
The Legacy of Neutron Jack Welch

Once we became aware of our mortality, we wanted to know when death was upon us. While we have forsaken predictions by chicken bones or auguries, today we attempt the same predictive magic. That's at least at the population level, using new chicken bones like our co-morbidities or a frailty index. It should be no surprise that we have enlisted our latest oracle: A.I.

Those buildings we call supermarkets are laid out to encourage us to buy. It is not a coincidence that magazines and candy are displayed at the register, nor the fact that the food you really want is in the back, so you have to transverse the whole store to find it. Are our online purchases, without that physical organization, the same? Short answer: no.

What is our most important organ? Every time there was a new lecturer in medical school, they began by pointing out why their organ of interest was the most important. After all:

Evidently, more and more of us are abandoning Dr. Google and seeking medical advice ... from Dr. TikTok. Highly caffeinated drinks will no longer be the go-to lift. That's because we now have adrenal cocktails developed to treat the mythical disease of adrenal fatigue. PT Barnum strikes again.

Doctors use “diagnostic” labels to describe a condition or constellation of symptoms and signs before determining treatment or rendering a prognosis. Diagnostic criteria generally remain static and serve as a collective reference point for the medical world. Not so for the diagnosis of “excited delirium.”  Not only has the meaning of “excited delirium” morphed over time, but the legal community has conscripted it for non-medical purposes, like defending claims of excessive force by police officers. Recently, the medical community rejected this use and “revoked” the diagnosis. Who benefits?

Can being one with nature harm nature?
For Climate Change - Having your meat and eating it too.
“VUCA stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity.
Advice from a bad mother

Everyone is using, embedding – or about to use and embed – Artificial Intelligence in their work. I am not so concerned about the imminent arrival of SkyNet; those bits and pieces are already in place. What concerns me more is that A.I., already a misnomer, will increasingly become real stupidity and hurt patients along the way.

We know the beat of our heart varies over time, increasing with exertion and slowing with rest or meditation. But, stable as those variations may appear, they vary even within those intervals. Dr. George Lundberg, former long-time editor of JAMA, muses about those variations – termed heart rate variability – and what they might tell us.

Ten thousand steps for exercise and health, much like ten thousand hours to become an “expert,” are magic quantifications passed down without clear origins. Some researchers sought some scientific clarity.

I remember answering patients’ questions in the office (or on the phone later when the fog of what I had told them had dissipated) and there were other “concerns.” Today, more and more doctor-patient discourse is digital and comes at a cost, both financial and medical.

In this radio conversation, Lars Larson and I discuss his concerns about the testing and approval process for new drugs and medical procedures in the United States.

In this conversation on "CBS Eye on the World," John Batchelor and I discuss the development of a universal vaccine to prevent COVID-19. John has received multiple COVID-19 vaccinations and was curious about the concept of a universal vaccine that would protect against all – even future – variants of the virus.

We know stress can be dangerous, although treatment is not lacking. Pharmaceuticals abound, and more are in development. But reports are emerging that drugs may be addictive, they don’t work well in mild or moderate cases, and it's hard to wean off them. What’s a patient to do?

The perils of Thanksgiving! Hellish traffic, Aunt Gertrude's bunions, and a whole bunch of toxic chemicals. We are all doomed.