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Headlines are screaming about high lead levels in protein powders, scaring those who dabble in the extra intake. But is this real, or just another fear-driven story? Let’s break it down.

Halloween is when the rest of the world briefly catches up to how chemists live year-round: surrounded by weird smells, questionable substances, and the occasional explosion. It’s basically National Chemistry Week with a sense of humor.

Yet another junk epidemiological study claims that "ultra-processed" foods are addictive. The research is little more than a conclusion desperately in search of evidence. Let's take a look at its critical flaws.

We should genetically engineer ticks and release them into the environment, so they can infect people with a meat allergy. That's a real—and thoroughly wicked—proposal from two bioethicists at Western Michigan University. Join us as we dissect possibly the dumbest idea the academy has ever produced.

For decades, treatments for macular degeneration have focused on slowing, not restoring vision loss. A new retinal implant is flipping that script, turning patients with geographic atrophy into human–machine hybrids who can see again. It’s not sci-fi; it’s a glimpse at how neuro-engineering might redefine what it means to be blind — and human.

Ah, fall—the season of pumpkin spice, political ads, and the annual flood of cheery voices promising to “simplify” your Medicare choices. For anyone over 65, it’s less pumpkin patch and more paperwork panic, as insurers parade a confusing mix of “new and improved” plans that somehow look suspiciously familiar. Behind the glossy mailers and upbeat jingles lies a tangle of premiums, penalties, and trade-offs.

In a world saturated with stories—from ancient myths to TikTok clips—narratives knit together emotion, memory, and meaning. A new study in the Journal of Neuroscience suggests that how a story is told—through vivid sensory detail or thoughtful reflection—changes the way it’s encoded in the brain and remembered. Stories don’t just entertain; they sculpt memory pathways, engaging different neural networks depending on whether we focus on what we saw or what we felt.

For decades, chronic pain patients have been told to suffer without real relief. Now, thanks to low-quality studies on Tylenol and autism and misguided advice, pregnant women may be in the same boat. The boat is leaky. Dr. Jeff Singer and I discuss this in the following op-ed published in the New York Post.

Another week of reading. Where the government dissolves consumer protections like sugar in a banker’s coffee, AI contemplates its cursed existence, and the poultry industry reminds us that maybe—just maybe—prevention is cheaper than mass extinction. Meanwhile, Americans are smuggling eggs, and banks are free to nickel-and-dime you without oversight. But we still have birds doing incredible aerial stunts.

With prescription opioid overdoses plummeting and no more pharma companies to sue, America's drug warriors are running out of bogeymen to justify their crusade against pain killers. The solution? Redefine responsible opioid use as a disorder and turn millions of chronic pain patients into addicts—at least on paper.

The poultry supply chain has perfected the art of turning living creatures into nuggets with more chickens slaughtered in two years than all the humans who have ever existed. Can emerging technologies make this conveyor belt of clucking misery less grim?

Ultra-processed foods (UPFs) have become the latest villain in our never-ending search for an easy scapegoat. But before we set fire to our snack aisles and declare Oreos public enemy number one, let's take a step back and ask: Are UPFs really the root (or only) cause of obesity and metabolic disease, or are we just indulging in another round of the blame game?

Did you ever take a swig of aspartame-sweetened diet soda and have it taste nasty? Sour, metallic, and vile, but not sweet. It's gone bad but it's not bad for you. Here's why.

Our ancestors had to rely on their vision to find safe, nutritious food. But today, we’re surrounded by so much eye candy that we’re practically glutinous over virtual meals. Let’s explore visual hunger, where your brain sees food, goes into overdrive, and tricks your body into thinking it’s time to eat — again.

The flames may be out, but the real battle is just beginning. The Los Angeles fires have left a toxic legacy far beyond the charred remains of 17,000 structures—now, the EPA faces its most extensive fire clean-up ever. With hazardous chemicals, lithium-ion battery risks, and residents desperate to rebuild, all eyes are on the response of Lee Zeldin’s EPA.

Deny excellent studies, promote poor studies, and call anyone who disagrees with you a shill for Big Pharma.

After a long, soul-sucking commute, fast food may be the great American compromise between hunger, exhaustion, and the ticking clock. Economists, ever the observers of our most mundane decisions, have now quantified how much traffic-induced time loss nudges us toward the drive-thru and away from the supermarket.

Is your breakfast routine being slowly eroded by rising prices and disappearing staples? Orange juice? Endangered. Coffee? Under siege. Eggs? Basically a luxury item now. Meanwhile, political name games over Denali/McKinley continue, evolution is still a hot-button issue in 2025 (because, of course it is), and private equity has found a way to make firetrucks scarce. Let’s dive in.

Imagine resurrecting a long-debunked myth, slapping a fresh coat of pseudoscience on it, and dropping it just in time to sway public opinion before a major political hearing. That’s exactly what happened with a new “study” claiming a link between vaccines and autism. However, this paper isn’t groundbreaking research; it’s a carefully orchestrated stunt, dressed up in scientific jargon, bankrolled by anti-vaccine activists, and riddled with methodological flaws big enough to drive a truckload of expired hydroxychloroquine through.

If you’ve been on the internet recently, you’ve likely encountered Bryan Johnson’s meticulously optimized, data-driven quest for eternal youth, complete with an army of supplements, plasma transfusions, and an alarmingly rigid daily schedule. Is Johnson genuinely cracking the code on longevity, or is this just another ultra-expensive wellness grift disguised as science with a bar chart and biomarkers?

A reader recently requested a chemistry lesson about bismuth. Why?? Beats me. It takes all kinds. Some people eat sweetbreads and some like nipple clamps. What follows may or may not be worse. And, by special request, Dr. Oz visits hell!

There is an eternal chicken-or-egg debate over obesity and Type 2 diabetes—science still can’t quite pin down which causes the other, but that hasn’t stopped researchers from trying. Enter the latest attempt: a fasting plasma glucose (FPG) test-based algorithm that promises to predict diabetes risk over a decade. Turns out, your risk isn’t just about being too high on the BMI scale—being too low might be just as bad. The risk of diabetes is not a straight path.

America’s birth rate is plummeting, and with it, the economic foundations of programs like Social Security. Lars and I discuss the demographic time bomb ticking beneath our feet.

Imagine reaching for your favorite lipstick or lotion only to discover a “toxic threat.” They contain PFAS - once championed for their versatility and now branded as “forever chemicals.” As has been the case before, the latest battleground over PFAS isn’t just about product safety but about whether evidence-based science can prevail over fear-driven campaigns.

St. Patrick’s Day has passed. If your liver is still functional (meaning you didn’t down too many Salty Dogs) and you're curious why the grapefruit juice in one might finish the job, here’s a cool biochemistry lesson.