The article discusses the controversial claims made by paleontologists regarding the discovery of original dinosaur proteins in ancient fossils, particularly those of Tyrannosaurus rex. It highlights the skepticism surrounding the...
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Steven Salzberg writes on science and pseudoscience, is a professor at Johns Hopkins, and was a Forbes contributor.
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A team of scientists in Wuhan has been collecting viruses from bats and conducting experiments on them, including one virus called HKU5-CoV-2 that shows potential for infecting human cells. Concerns have been raised by US virologi...
The U.S. has historically led global scientific research, primarily through university-led initiatives funded by government agencies like the NSF and NIH. However, recent actions by the Trump administration and Elon Musk have led ...
Political decisions, particularly the appointment of RFK Jr. and funding freezes, have severely undermined U.S. scientific and medical research, threatening future advancements.
The author expresses deep concern over Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s appointment as head of the CDC, arguing that it undermines the agency's credibility and public health. The post critiques RFK Jr.'s anti-vaccine stance and highlights ...
The article critiques the nomination of Casey Means as the U.S. Surgeon General, labeling her as a proponent of 'functional medicine,' which the author argues is a rebranding of unscientific practices previously known as holistic,...
Leonard Hayflick, who passed away in August, discovered the 'Hayflick limit' in the 1960s, revealing that human cells can only divide a limited number of times (40-60) before entering senescence and dying. This finding challenged ...
The author critiques a Washington Post column that claims acupuncture is effective for chronic pain, asserting that acupuncture is ineffective and potentially harmful. They argue that the column relies on flawed logic and cherry-p...
Functional Medicine is criticized for lacking unique practices and promoting pseudoscience, emphasizing the need for evidence-based medical approaches instead.
The post discusses the significant advancements in science and medicine over the past 150 years, highlighting how these developments have improved human life and longevity. It contrasts historical challenges, such as infectious di...
The article discusses the evolutionary reason behind humans losing their tails, attributing it to a 'jumping gene' that affected the TBXT gene in our ancestors. This genetic change occurred around 15-20 million years ago, leading ...
The National Institutes of Health (NIH) has implemented a new data sharing policy aimed at increasing the availability of biomedical research data to the public. This shift is discussed in an op-ed by Yale scientists in the New En...
A scandal at NeurIPS reveals that many AI researchers relied on AI-generated citations, raising serious concerns about the integrity of scientific research.
The author reflects on the dangers of gain-of-function (GoF) research in virology, discussing past experiments that aimed to make bird flu viruses more deadly to humans. They highlight the ethical concerns raised by scientists, th...
The author criticizes President-elect Trump's nomination of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. as Secretary of Health and Human Services, arguing that RFK Jr. is unqualified and spreads dangerous misinformation about vaccines and public health...
The post discusses the importance of skepticism in science and medicine, particularly in the context of vaccine denialism. It highlights the dangers of the anti-vaccine movement, which has gained traction during the Covid-19 pande...
The blog post discusses Robert F. Kennedy Jr.'s controversial stance on vaccines, particularly his belief that thimerosal, a vaccine preservative, causes autism. It outlines his background as a member of a prominent political fami...
The post discusses the critical state of academic freedom and free speech in U.S. universities, highlighting the pressures from both government and internal institutional forces. The author shares personal anecdotes illustrating p...
The author critiques the media's sensational reporting on U.S. presidential polls, arguing that polls are often misleading due to their reliance on small, biased samples and the inherent margin of error. They emphasize that the fl...
The blog post critiques a New York Times article that suggests the gut microbiome could be used to diagnose autism, referencing a recent scientific study. The author expresses skepticism, drawing parallels to the discredited 1998 ...
The author argues against the widespread advice to delete DNA data from 23andMe, citing that the company does not possess a complete genome but rather a small sample of SNPs. The post addresses privacy concerns, suggesting that fe...
A recent study involving over 36,000 older women found that calcium and vitamin D supplements do not reduce the risk of hip fractures or mortality from cancer and heart disease. While there was a slight decrease in cancer deaths a...
A recent study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association indicates that estrogen replacement therapy is effective in alleviating menopausal symptoms and may reduce the risk of breast cancer. This counters previo...
The article discusses a simple method to enhance coffee flavor by spritzing water on coffee beans before grinding. This technique reduces static electricity during grinding, which causes clumping and uneven extraction of coffee pa...