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"Peer review" of scientific articles before publication is often considered the "gold standard" of reliability, but its luster has become tarnished by greed – the desire of the research community to tap into research funds, the pressure on scientists to publish or perish, and publishers of scientific journals seeking to maximize profits. 

2022- A year when law and public health got really tangled. We had the Supreme Court deal with abortion, gun control, and mandatory vaccination. Internationally, euthanasia laws burgeoned.  Some states enacted laws to protect the rights of children born by fraudulent misuse of IVF, and courts addressed the question of proving causation in toxic tort cases.

Let’s continue our countdown of the top articles written by ACSH this year.

It is that time of the year, between Christmas and New Year's, when journalists’ thoughts, including ourselves, turn to vacation. As a result, there are any number of listicles touting the top 10, hundred, or five. We are not immune. Here are our most-read articles this year.

This has been a particularly notable year for me. I had a near-death experience and learned the joys of those who spend more time at doctors than they would like. I also had a chance to share some science and opinions with you, our readers. That makes me twice blessed.

The data comes primarily from the CDC’s injury and mortality reports from 1990 to 2021. Here are some highlights.

Part 1 of this two-part series described the “Stanford University paradox” – the uncritical embrace of politically correct concepts that contradict its reputation as a cutting-edge, science-grounded institution. I described the contrast between the university’s outstanding research and its dubious view of “sustainability,” which includes a commitment to organic farming practices. I elaborate on the latter here, in Part 2.

Stanford University harbors a profound paradox. It boasts superb research in academic departments but often uncritically embraces politically correct trends that contradict its reputation as a cutting-edge, science-grounded institution.

Drought plagues much of the Western U.S. and its water woes are severe and worsening, threatening residents' prosperity and quality of life. But the problem isn't supply; it's distribution. We have a way to remedy it.

Dreary, despondent headlines about pollution and climate change are the norm. But they are not painting an accurate picture. Many countries are making serious efforts to protect the environment. Human ingenuity is the ultimate resource. My latest over at BigThink.

Sweden has been the poster child of the live-free-or-die, no-lockdown crowd. The Great Barrington Declaration has its roots in the Swedish response. But beyond those snippets, what actually took place there? It is time for many of us, including myself, to find out.

Peer review is a failure
Methane rising
The Trolley Problem has multicultural answers
Heating with Nukes

Men will often be boys. Nowhere is this more apparent than in the design of public urinals, where through a moment of frivolity or inattention, the stream goes in a pathway resulting in splashes on the wall and clothing. Physicists attempt to help.

Discrimination in the workplace is terrible. Some forms involving gender, or race, are more readily identified than others. This preprint, under peer review, suggests that attractiveness can be discriminative too. Ugly need not apply.

People who take oxycodone need to be careful when also taking antifungal drugs or drinking grapefruit juice. Why? Because both the juice and the drug can result in abnormally high, perhaps dangerously so, oxycodone blood levels. The same goes for fentanyl. But people taking morphine or Dilaudid don't have to worry; neither the juice nor the antifungal drug will have a significant effect on the opioid levels. Believe it or not, this all makes sense.

The Biden Administration's attempt to boost the "bioeconomy" is burdened with bureaucratic requirements and busy-work initiatives and projects. It will fail.

How physicians communicate with their peers and their patients has come under more scrutiny of late. Patient access to “open” notes has raised concern about physicians using hurtful terms. A new paper considers the problem of physicians communicating with their patients unconsciously using jargon that obstructs rather than facilitates understanding.

Homogeneous urban counties tend to yield more precise relationships than entire states in geographic analysis. Here we updated the urban data through November 2022, comprising a total population of about 131 million. Our analysis focused on recent trends in daily death and infection (case) rates based on monthly averages.

As a relative newbie to the world of science writing to the public, I want to thank ACSH for letting me write about my favorite subject – science and health. Two articles from the last year have special meaning to me.

4-ANPP is not a term that most of you know but it's hugely important. It is the chemical that is the precursor to fentanyl. Although 4-ANPP is not an opioid, there is not a single thing anyone would do with it except convert it to fentanyl. And there is plenty of 4-ANPP to be had now the bad guys use synthetic organic chemistry to make it.

It's World Snake Day! And there's some science to go along with it. If you’ve never searched for a snake clitoris and somehow feel a particular void in your life for this reason, fear not. Others must have felt the same. Four of them found it.

"Vapes DON'T help people quit smoking normal cigarettes," the headlines blared this week, based on the results of another awful study. Let's examine the critical details most reporters overlooked.

It appears to defy logic that naloxone, the antidote for opioid overdoses, isn't available on demand. After all, it's a lifesaving drug with no potential for abuse. But it's not so simple, as Dr. Jeffrey Singer explains.

A recent study found that marijuana smoke may cause emphysema. The problem? The study was complete garbage. Celebrities and social-media "influencers" are hyping the weight-loss benefits of repurposed diabetes drugs. Should these medicines really be used to slim down? It's complicated.

Last year around Christmas, I wrote an article about mistletoe, a not-very-poisonous plant associated with the holiday. I am fascinated that so many plants related to the holiday have toxic elements. I’ve included a couple of highly poisonous plants, belladonna, and hemlock, that appear in some of the greatest literary works and my favorite mysteries.