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We flipped toy and holiday season safety on its head and chose to be more proactive by focusing on how NOT to hurt kids.  Learn how here.

The position of Science Czar is just one of thousands that President-Elect Trump must consider in the coming weeks. The incumbent, John Holdren, was a flawed choice. His fringe views on demographics and environmental policy, expressed in a book he co-authored with Paul Ehrlich (who notoriously wrote the now discredited The Population Bomb), should have disqualified him from the post. 

The green revolution helped feed the world with new varieties of food crops and fertilizers. Now, genetic engineering is extending that progress. In a recent "proof of concept" study, researchers improved the efficiency of carbon dioxide utilization by plants — which could well result in marked increases in food production without additional land going under the plow.

The prevalence of dementia in the United States significantly declined from 11.6 percent in 2000 to 8.8 percent in 2012. The consequence of this impacts retirement, families, the health care system, life expectancy, morbidity and mortality, pensions, housing, transportation and countless societal realms. 

Need a reason to eat more fiber? How about flesh-eating cannibal microbes?

Research shows that when a teacher is being bullied, the bully is often the head teacher.

When going on safari, travelers are told to avoid wearing blue and black because it's thought that colored clothing attracts the tsetse fly -- the vector of African Sleeping Sickness. Is that advice to take seriously, or a rumor spread by "Big Khaki"? We delve into one study, making this essential reading before venturing on safari. 

Pheromones have long been credited (or blamed) for our behavioral choices, most notably our choice of sexual partners. The idea that we could base such a seemingly personal choice on a unconscious chemical signal is fascinating but, is there any scientific evidence to support it? 

Does road salt turn female tadpoles into male frogs? A group from Yale says it does. We say, "Bullsalt!"

Though we didn't invent Mean Tweets, we here at the council are quite familiar with the term. Enjoy nearly 4 minutes of nasty comments from some of our critics read by us... and we weren't quite kind in return.

Asking hard questions is one of the true delights of being a science journalist. People's assumptions, understanding of the facts, and inherent biases should be subjected to scrutiny. Therefore, I like to think of myself as the science version of HARDtalk's Stephen Sackur -- that is, without the international name recognition and striking good looks.

By Simon Woods, Newcastle University
A dying 14-year-old child recently won the right to be cryogenically frozen after her death following a UK court battle. In a letter to the judge, the child wrote:

While it's true that statins are effective in preventing a recurrence of cardiovascular events (e.g. heart attack or stroke), the evidence that they are useful for primary prevention in older people isn't robust. Should the prescription of these drugs be extended to our expanding geriatric population, or is this an example of over-medicalization?

The business plan for antibiotics is very different from that of other drugs. Our advisor, Dr. David Shlaes discusses why the absence of a viable plan in the US represents yet one more problem in an area where there are already plenty. 

Melania Trump and son Barron to hold off on an immediate move into the White House.  And, the media onslaught began with imprecise headline-clickbait aplenty.  Regardless of your politics, is it such a leap for the masses and media to recognize the sound nature of this decision? 

Highly realistic simulations for training could soon be widely used to rehearse complex cases prior to surgery, thanks to Simulated Inanimate Model for a Physical Learning Experience (SIMPLE), the brainchild of Ahmed Ghazi, M.D., M.Sc., an assistant professor in the Department of Urology at University of Rochester Medical Center, and Neurosurgery resident Jonathan Stone, M.D.

We were recently contacted by a concerned group of pro-science scholars who wants to counter the unscientific arguments made by anti-GMO activist Vandana Shiva. We made this handy flyer for them. Then, we realized that this could be useful for anybody who needs to confront the anti-GMOers in their lives.
So, here it is. Feel free to print and distribute as widely as possible! 

The famous singer-songwriter Leonard Cohen, as per his manager Robert B. Kory’s statement, “died during his sleep following a fall in the middle of the night on November 7th."  Ironically, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) just released their estimates of the top 5 causes of preventable deaths.

The average cost of a Thanksgiving dinner for 10 has fallen to under $50, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation, which has tracked U.S. supermarket prices of the traditional bird and related side dishes since 1986. Decline in turkey prices led the way. Roughly 45 million turkeys will be consumed on Thanksgiving Day.

Organic, natural or non-GMO foods have one thing in common — they all contain chemicals known to cause cancer in lab rats. But don't let that spoil your holiday feast — the doses are all too small to make a difference.

The Food Babe is at it again. This time she's posted an analysis on her website of the amount of glyphosate that can be found in popular American foods, followed by her reasons of why we should be scared. Here is why you should (1) not be scared, and (2) not listen to The Food Babe. Ever.

The American Council on Science and Health and has entered a content sharing agreement with the prestigious science site Live Science. Live Science, which produces excellent biomedical and health news reporting, will allow ACSH to reach millions more readers around the world.

There isn't a fringe movement that Robert F. Kennedy, Jr doesn't like. He appears to subscribe to conspiracy theories involving the assassination of his uncle, JFK, and he's one of America's most prominent disbelievers in vaccine usage. Now, Mr Kennedy is joining the protesters at the Dakota Access Pipeline.

Sustainable condoms, vegan dog food, edible sneakers, and navigational long-wave night lights. Yep- we've finally lost it.

A preliminary study presented at the American Heart Association meeting provides some puzzling data. The researchers found an association between "yo-yo" dieting and an increased risk of heart disease — but only in normal weight, postmenopausal women. But overweight and obese women didn't exhibit the same finding.