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The rapid spread of a new virulent strain of the mpox virus across Africa triggered WHO to declare it a "public health emergency of international concern."

American science and medicine are becoming increasingly infiltrated by Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI), to their detriment.

Was Vincent van Gogh the original chaos theorist? While we admire the beauty of “The Starry Night,” physicists decided to crash the party and analyze its swirling sky like a science experiment. It turns out van Gogh wasn’t just painting stars and spirals, he was capturing the essence of turbulent flow. Who needs an advanced degree in fluid dynamics when you have a paintbrush and an eye for chaos?

Much like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, who unleashed a flood by over-relying on enchanted brooms, we seem eager to offload responsibility onto AI while clinging to the illusion of control. In our quest for technological wizardry, research reveals that the presence of a manual mode often leads us to blame people more, even when AI is at fault.

Murder is the unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another. It's also considered immoral. Sometimes, however, killing another human can be legal and moral, say during acts of self-defense. But the legal regulation of human killing isn’t uniform, raising the question: if the legal definition of murder can vary, can moral culpability differ as well?

The New York Times recently highlighted how wildfire smoke impacts health, but its coverage missed the mark by not addressing the nuanced science behind particulate matter. As researchers dive into the messy reality of wildfire smoke and its effects, it's clear that relying solely on PM2.5 data doesn't capture the complete picture of health risks.

In a world where we're 99.5% genetically identical, somehow skin color still decides who gets a spot on the kidney transplant list. (Because why fix something when it's clearly broken?) My conversation with Dr. Kevin Pho, discussing "Medicine’s Struggle with Genetic and Social Realities."

Ah yes, the age-old medical mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution." Apparently, a few squirts of hypertonic saline in your kid’s nose can cut down cold symptoms and keep you from catching their next snot-filled surprise.

Despite a decade of people eyeing their phones like potential death traps, recent studies have put the final nail in the cell-phones-cause-cancer coffin. So, feel free to call, text, or scroll — your brain’s not going anywhere.

As a video producer with over a decade of experience collaborating with the writers at ACSH, I’ve gained invaluable insights into the world of science communication. The number one lesson I’ve learned is a simple principle that underscores the importance of rigorous evidence over assumptions in scientific inquiry. Take a look.

Warren Zevon, a brilliant, underappreciated songwriter who was known for his dark humor, will soon be inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. He died at 56 from mesothelioma — a brutal, rare cancer. Now, two decades later, the disease is in the news again: a new Nature Medicine paper maps its genetics and suggests the first steps toward personalized treatment. Just not yet.

The digital revolution has radically shifted how we consume information. Reading lengthy think pieces and books has given way to limitless hours of doom scrolling and streaming. The widespread access to content enabled by internet access has many upsides, but are we really wired for our new tech-saturated environment? Let's take a closer look.

Last month, Health and Human Services Secretary Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. launched a new wave of hysteria by announcing that Tylenol could be linked to autism. The result was a predictable partisan squabble with both sides lining up behind their preferred studies and experts. Let's put aside the partisanship and try to make sense of the competing scientific claims.

Being a coward, I avoided the shingles vaccine for far too long. Finally, I gave in and got it along with my annual flu shot, ending up with two sore arms rather than one. I could either complain about it, write a blues song, or both.

Artificial intelligence is reshaping medicine, promising sharper diagnostics and more efficient workflows. However, what is lost when machines mediate human judgment? From hospital wards to holographic theaters, where visitors now “speak” with Holocaust survivors through AI projections, the technology reveals both its extraordinary reach and its uneasy power.

From grade-school “remedial” teaching to the Nobel stage, molecular biologist Carol W. Greider turned obstacles into fuel for discovery. Her groundbreaking discovery of a crucial enzyme, telomerase, reshaped our understanding of aging, cancer, and cellular immortality. Greider’s story is a rebuke to the cult of “perfection” and a reminder that brilliance often hides behind what the system calls “deficiency.”

Bluetoothing” (also called flashblooding) involves injecting someone else’s drug-laced blood to try to get high. It's a near-perfect way to spread HIV, and it won’t deliver a high. Here’s why.

Every hospital shelf and pharmacy counter depends on an invisible global current, the pharmaceutical supply chain. Yet this lifeline for critical medicines is a dangerously thin, fragile network shaped as much by economics and geopolitics as by science, leaving both patients and national security vulnerable when that current falters.

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?

It's that time of year again. Fall, when the leaves turn color and the Yankees turn into spectators. At least one of these is enjoyable. A lesson on the chemistry of colorful leaf pigments shows that, unlike the Yankees, Mother Nature goes out with a bang, not a whimper.

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!

Western modernization has triggered an “internal climate crisis” in the human gut. An ecological upheaval marked by biodiversity loss, disrupted food webs, and chronic inflammatory “weather,” driven by antibiotics, sanitation, diet, and lifestyle. Reversing course requires ecosystem-level restoration rather than reductionist fixes.