Book Review: The Amazing Brain Cells That Link Mind and Body
In “The Angel and the Assassin: The Tiny Brain Cell That Changed the Course of Medicine,” Donna Jackson Nakazawa sheds light on our brain’s microglia. These tiny cells, once dismissed as relatively...
View ArticleAs Coronavirus Spreads, So Do Misinformation and Xenophobia
Despite calls from health officials for scientific fact over speculation, public discourse on the global spread of a new coronavirus has so far been heavy on rumors and light on science. Many people...
View ArticleEp. 43: A Reality Check on Regenerative Agriculture
Proponents of a new farming technique called regenerative agriculture argue that it can restore the earth, combat climate change, and alleviate the economic needs of farmers in debt. Now, farmers and...
View ArticleUndone Science: When Research Fails Polluted Communities
For decades, a Pennsylvanian coke plant polluted the air above the city of Avalon. But researchers and officials turned a blind eye to the issue as the health of locals continued to deteriorate. Did...
View ArticleThe Value of One: What Can We Learn from Case Studies?
Compared with large, randomized control trials, case studies can seem meager or anecdotal at first glance. But when done properly, a growing number of scientists say, one-person studies can have all of...
View ArticleIn Food Safety Regulations, a Surprising Paucity of Research
Researchers still don’t have a way to judge how well our food safety net — a complex matrix of science and policy — is really performing. As a result, we may be spending hundreds of millions on...
View ArticleCan China Prevent Its Next Epidemic?
China has drawn praise for its monumental efforts to curb the coronavirus epidemic. But the real action the country must take should be preventative — so that future outbreaks don’t take hold in the...
View ArticleSide-Stepping Climate Change, Trump Touts Trillion Trees Plan
In his State of the Union address on Tuesday, U.S. President Donald Trump made no mention of climate change, even though its recognized by many scientists as a growing threat to the planet. Instead,...
View ArticleBook Review: Exploring the Biology of Friendship
In her new book, “Friendship: The Evolution, Biology, and Extraordinary Power of Life’s Fundamental Bond,” Lydia Denworth makes the case that humans are innately wired for friendship. The trait, she...
View ArticleFor Israelis and Palestinians, a Battle Over a Humble Plant
In 2005, Israel banned the collection of akoub — an edible thistle-like plant — stating that over-harvesting was decimating its wild population. The ban will be eased this year, but many Palestinians,...
View ArticleIn a Flawed Health Care System, Doctors Lament ‘Moral Injury’
Already overworked, America’s doctors report struggling to cope with the “moral injury” of the health care system, whose bureaucratic hurdles regularly prevent them from providing their patients with...
View ArticleThe Strange Quest to Crack the Voynich Code
The Voynich manuscript, an approximately 600-year old text written in an unknown language and filled with esoteric drawings, defies classification, much less comprehension. For years, scholars and...
View ArticleIt’s Time to Bring Wildlife Policy Into the 21st Century
Due to their status as the primary source of funding for state wildlife agencies, hunters exert disproportionate influence over wildlife management policy. On issues like deer population control, the...
View ArticleCoronavirus Spurs Prejudice. History Suggests That’s No Surprise.
From 14th century plague to HIV/AIDS, the recent round of Ebola, and now coronavirus, infectious disease outbreaks have often coincided with surges of racism and xenophobia. “[It] strikes me as...
View ArticleBook Review: Probing the Corporate Manipulation of Science
In “The Triumph of Doubt: Dark Money and the Science of Deception,” David Michaels shows how paid experts are routinely used to downplay risks and sow uncertainty. These tactics have made it easier for...
View ArticleA Study Linking ‘Girls’ and Cats Draws Jeers, Then Disappears
Published in the respected, peer-reviewed journal Biological Conservation, the analysis, which attempted to draw inferences between populations of feral cats and human females in and around the Chinese...
View ArticleWhere Science Enters the Courtroom, the Daubert Name Looms Large
The Dauberts joined an elite group of plaintiffs whose names have become ubiquitous in the legal system. But in the sweep of history, the lives of a family whose personal tragedy gave rise to the...
View ArticleWhen Transplant Organs Go Missing in Transit
Many organs with longer shelf lives, like kidneys and pancreases, end up flying commercial, leaving them subject to the same travel issues that plague people: flight delays, inclement weather, lost...
View ArticleIn YouTube ‘Edutainment,’ Minimal Control for Scientific Accuracy
While Youtuber Siraj Raval’s videos have been praised for their high production quality and accessibility, the self-described technology activist’s work has recently been criticized, raising questions...
View ArticleThe Skeptics Movement Can’t Afford to Ignore Racial Inequality
The Center for Inquiry, a leading skeptics group, parted ways with me after I challenged its record on race and diversity. But at a moment when racist pseudoscience is making a comeback, skeptics can’t...
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