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Reputations are funny – they take years to build but seconds to destroy. Cargill, a company that provides all manner of agricultural products and services, ruined its reputation with farmers and science writers by announcing a partnership with the thoroughly wretched Non-GMO Project, an anti-biotech organization.

Jade Erick was interested in holistic health but she ended up anything but healthy. The 30-year-old California woman died after receiving an intravenous dose of turmeric, a spice that has not been shown to offer any health benefits whatsoever. Of course this won't stop Joe "Big Dough" Mercola from selling it on his website. The ridiculous claims are free. 

Of all the nasty things floating around out there just waiting around to kill us, viruses are the nastiest. You've all heard of smallpox, rabies, Spanish flu, polio, AIDS and Ebola. But emerging viral infections are seriously scary. 

Dr. Carson, the secretary of Housing and Urban Development, was a pioneer in the field of pediatric neurosurgery. He catapulted to world-renowned status in that arena as the principal surgeon in a 22-hour operation separating conjoined twins, who were attached at the head.

Since they are easily overlooked, it makes sense to check in with your kidneys to see how they're doing – and more importantly, to learn whether you're caring for them properly. Millions of Americans are not, and they're unaware of the damage they're doing because it can be symptomless.

Apparently, you can make any claim with an Asterisk (*), so long as the asterisk clarifies that your claim isn't true. In one of Dr. Oz's latest press releases, the TV 'doc' touts apple cider vinegar (or any vinegar) as a miracle health benefit: it improves blood flow, prevents diabetes, encourages weight loss, and prevents cancer. But not too long ago on the Dr. Oz show, he caveats his claims by saying this: "

Since nobody really knows what postmodernism is, it's becomes a nebulous concept that poses an existential threat to science and technology. How so? Because it's largely characterized by a rejection of objective truth. This is antithetical to scientific inquiry.

Turmeric pills are the latest version of snake oil promoted by healers and naturopaths. And although that may be bad, it's not as bad as their latest trick – administering turmeric using an IV and killing an otherwise healthy person.

The key to preventing Alzheimer's Disease may lie in the North Atlantic island of Iceland. Its relatively homogeneous population has been a treasure trove for genetic researchers looking for mutated genes that either increase or decrease the disease's risk.

New titles like “clinician,” “advanced practitioner” or “provider” are masking a stark reality. People will be able to practice medicine without ever attending medical school, performing rigorous residencies or be comprehensively and extensively trained as physicians. It's a frightening – and very real – trend.

Dr. Norm Borlaug, a member of our Founder's Circle, was a big believer in advancing an evidence-based, pro-science approach to food production. The Nobel Laureate also saw the need for debunking the fear-inducing myths that a generation of environmental groups began creating in the 1960s. 

When our readers get upset, we hear it. The insults fly: Liar. Jerk. Sock puppet. Propagandist. Criminal. Corporate slut, to name just a few. And in a recent Op-Ed in the Baltimore Sun we explained why Wi-Fi is safe. That's when the pitchforks came out.

Say hello to Spring, and some time-honored rituals: the blooming of flowers, the shedding of coats ... and the cascade of proposals from U.S. towns to ban the use of leaf blowers. They're annoying to many, but to others near by – including the million-plus lawn workers who use them – they can cause irreversible hearing damage.
 

This egg update isn't about the usual "there's too much cholesterol" or "only eat the white parts" topics (neither of which have any basis in science, by the way). It's about a terrifically lame website lacking factual fitness that ranks ways to prepare an egg from most healthy to most dangerous. Not only is this silly – it's dead wrong.

Here's the real scoop from someone who worked at the highest levels in the private sector, who started the Science 2.0 movement, and who now runs a pro-science consumer advocacy non-profit: Corporations do not give people money to do something they are already doing for free. 

The group World Action on Science and Health has declared March 20-26 to be Salt Awareness Week. They're encouraging everyone to decrease salt consumption to reduce the risk of hypertension, heart disease and stroke. But a recent analysis suggests that this advice may be too broad a brushstroke for the majority of people.

Researchers at the University of Toronto published a ranking of businesses they believe could move the needle to reduce deaths from sudden cardiac arrest.

An interesting thing happened on the way to verifying claims that an emerging technology can assist in concussion prevention and recovery: a resulting phone call with the CEO of BrainHQ delivered clarity, transparency and admission of a PR misstep that served to cast his company in a better light than previously thought.

Some might argue that democracy not only leads people to believe that all humans are of equal value (which is true), but all humans are equal in their abilities, thoughts, and behaviors (which is completely false). Yet, many people in a democracy believe the latter. And it leads to a very bad outcome.

When it comes to cooking, olive oil takes the cake for nutrition, flavor, and healthy fats. So it makes sense that someone would find a reason to hate it; it's the anti-science way, after all! Internet rumors swirl about the low smoke point of olive oil and claims that reaching it is potentially toxic to your health. It isn't true, and here's why.
 
 

Kratom is an untested mixture of drugs that come from the Mitragyna tree in Southeast Asia. Dr. Josh Bloom has written some uncomplimentary things about it – but things have changed, which in a sense makes him wrong. But not for the reason you'd think, as he will explain here.

Amgen’s Repatha was heralded recently in the media, generating headlines like "New Drug Prevents Heart Attacks in High-Risk Patients." But the company's stock then fell. Who should we believe and why? Let's discuss that.
 

Last October, following the UN General Assembly, the former Secretary-General admitted the role that the UN had in starting Haiti's cholera epidemic in 2010.  Ban Ki-moon spoke directly about the need for a new strategy to aid the country, before adding "I will give you details on this strategy." Looks like he played us for fools.

Prions are the smallest and possibly the most dangerous of all infectious pathogens. They are also unique in that they contain no genetic material at all — just proteins. But as guest writer Steve Schow describes, those proteins can do some horrible things if they get into your brain. 

John Noseworthy is politically incorrect as he speaks truth to power. He reveals the Ponzi scheme underlying the Affordable Care Act and its proposed replacement being offered by the Trump Administration, the American Health Care Act.