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Last week, we sat down with some of our scientists to discuss terms that they wish the general public would stop using when discussing science — and none of them held back. Caution: Comedy ahead.

When it comes to helping people quit smoking, there is no such thing as an aggressive method. It's time for the United States to use pictorial warning labels, even if they are disturbing, to aid smokers to kick an awful and deadly habit.

Copper, that darling of gourmet chefs, is great for cookware but not so effective for arthritis sufferers. But eventually it may actually help promote fat breakdown in the body — if, that is, the results of a new study can be replicated.

Psychological research on morality shows that we hold an overly optimistic view of our capacity to adhere to ethical standards. We believe that we are intrinsically more moral than others, that we will behave more ethically than others in the future and that transgressions committed by others are morally worse than our own. But that's not necessarily the case.

The neurotransmitter dopamine -- which is most famously associated with the "reward system" in the brain -- is also linked to eye blink rate and time perception, both of which are in constant flux. Immediately after a blink, time is perceived to go by a little more slowly.

A recent paper published in the journal Pediatrics reveals how musician celebrities often endorse foods and beverages which are of poor nutritional quality, which only adds to the burden of the childhood obesity crisis.

Prostate cancer can be indolent, not posing a risk to life — or aggressive, leading to an increased risk of death. A new analysis from the large EPIC study suggests that increases in BMI and waist circumference are associated with an increased risk of the aggressive form, and thus to an increased mortality risk.

For political websites, no conspiracy theory is too outrageous - including claims that I might be a shill for a corporation.

A growing number of parents are refusing to vaccinate their children, and one reason often given is that they don't trust that doctors and government agencies sufficiently research the potential harms of vaccines. Given that, we wanted to find out whether telling people about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is monitored by the CDC and the FDA, and the information it gathers could influence their belief about vaccine safety.

No, not by us, we are instead separating real health threats from manufactured health scares.

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.

All cancer is heartbreaking, but pediatric cancers are my emotional soft spot. A friend's 10-month-old baby just got diagnosed with leukemia. As a result I decided to register myself as a potential bone marrow donor. It's quick and easy. Here's what's involved.

Strong, young, healthy, athletic -- all the attributes that seemingly would protect someone from the small risks inherent in any leisure activity. And yet, sad, terrible events still take place that claim lives of such people when simple precautions and common sense are overlooked or ignored. Take the drowning of 19-year-old college pitcher Donny Everett as a tragic example.

While we often pooh-pooh the claims of marketers for the efficacy of dietary supplements, we're not blind to the possibilities. One supplement that has been studied in transgenic growth hormone (or TGM) mice may hold promise for treating or staving off neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. More work is needed, of course.

Stemming from the American Society of Clinical Oncology gathering in Chicago, it will be difficult not to give into the optimism that is cancer research these days. In conjunction with significant investment from the White House and beyond, the frontier of cancer treatment has never looked so promising.

The scientific enterprise is something of a paradox. Science moves incrementally, and the status quo is preferred to radical new ideas. Yet, simultaneously, creativity is encouraged, but scientists who become too creative can become outcasts. Let’s consider a few of those here.

Julianna joined the ACSH team in April. She received her Ph.D. in Molecular Biology and Microbiology from Tufts University, School of Medicine in 2008 followed by a post-doc at MIT, working with C. elegans. She is currently an Assistant Professor in NY.

It should come as no surprise that Prince, who was rumored to be addicted to oxycodone, died from an overdose. But it was not oxycodone that killed him. It was fentanyl, perhaps the deadliest drug ever to hit the streets.

In a state where there are more pain management clinics than McDonald’s restaurants, Florida seems to be the epicenter of the prescription painkiller addiction epidemic. In response, the Sunshine State has been enacting laws, which have helped to more closely monitor drug distribution and combat the problem.

Motivating people to increase their activity requires helping them overcome what they perceive as barriers to doing so. And, researchers from Dartmouth College found, those barriers will differ according to weight class.

California's Proposition 65 list is a quintessential example of government bureaucracy gone berserk. It contains 900+ chemicals that the state declares are carcinogens or reproductive toxins. Anything that is made with, or contains any of these, now carries a ridiculous warning sticker. Should penises also be labeled? That makes far more sense than much of the rest of the law.

Dioxin, once proclaimed by the environmental community as the “doomsday chemical” of the 20th century and the “deadliest substance ever created by chemists,” has faded from the media spotlight. As explained by guest writer Gordon Gribble, there is a reason why.

Most people have been conditioned to fear chemicals, but the typical fear is not consistent with the actual risk. The vast majority of chemicals that are encountered in everyday life are quite safe. But, when your profession is chemistry, that changes fast. Here is one example.

It's that time of year again - The World Science Festival is in town. Every year since 2008, the WSF has brought cutting edge science programs to the city. The events range from large ones, set in the grandeur of Lincoln Center to one-on-one marine biology lessons on a fishing pier while wearing a pair of waders. If you love science and are looking for something to do this weekend, then check out the website at www.worldsciencefestival.com to take a look at the 50 different events.

There is a tremendous amount of misinformation regarding sunscreens that induce undue fear in the public. Organizations that propagate these fears contribute to decreased sunscreen use -- one of the most important modalities in protecting one's skin from sun damage.