ACSH Science Dispatch

Microplastics are everywhere, including in your arteries, and they heighten your heart attack risk! So declared a slew of recent headlines reporting on a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Let's examine all the science reporters ignored in their rush to get hyperbolic stories out the door.

A recent study found that controlled periods of fasting could hold the key to unlocking a longer, healthier life. Do we finally have evidence that skipping meals reverses aging, or is the situation more complicated than that?

Artificial Intelligence (AI) plays an increasingly prominent role in modern life, medicine included. While the technology promises to improve health care in many ways, it also carries potentially serious risks. That raises a critical question: when AI harms patients, who's responsible? Join Cameron English and Dr. Barbara Billauer on Episode 70 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they discuss AI in medicine with Stanford Law professor Michelle Mello:

Tinnitus–a vexing ringing in one or both of your ears not caused by external sound–impacts some 740 million adults globally. A recently FDA-approved treatment appears poised to help many of these patients reduce the severity of their symptoms and thereby boost their quality of life. Let's take a closer look at this therapy to find out how it works.

The standard argument for restricting patient access to pain medications is that these drugs frequently lead to addiction. A large body of research contradicts that claim, though it's doubly absurd when directed at people afflicted by terminal (and often very painful) illnesses. They sometimes have only weeks or months to live, yet they're denied pain medicine in the name of fighting opioid dependence. Such absurdity has to stop.

Unlike other public health emergencies, the COVID-19 pandemic had unmistakably partisan overtones. Politics exerted an unhealthy influence on how governments, scientists, reporters and ordinary Americans responded as SARS-CoV-2 swept across the world and upended our lives for the better part of four years. What went wrong and what can we learn from it? Dr. Paul Offit joins us to answer those critical questions.

The Bible of science–the body of peer-reviewed literature–is increasingly filled with dubious and even fraudulent research. Most academics openly recognize the threat this poses to scientific progress, though viable solutions to academic fraud are sorely lacking. How do we address this critical problem? Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 66 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the growing problem of scientific fraud: The Lasting Impacts of Scientific Fraud Far too many scientific papers are being retracted from prestigious scientific journals because scientists fabricated or falsified data. Although no one defends scientific fraud, few recognize its long-lasting impacts on governmental policy and society.

Loud noises and...trace minerals? Let's break down a new study examining an important contributor to age-related hearing loss. Spoiler alert: stocking up on zinc supplements is not the solution. Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 65 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the science of preserving hearing: Can You Hear Me Now? If Not, Zinc May Be Why Hearing loss, frequently due to exposure to loud noises, is a significant health problem. Its biological underpinning may well be due to what we consider a trace mineral: zinc.

NPR recently lost its nerve over the realization that some men are giving up internet porn, fearing this "masturbation abstinence" trend is a gateway to radical right-wing politics. The media should be more interested in the potentially serious health impacts of porn itself.

The FDA has proposed changing the classification of marijuana from a Schedule I to a Schedule III drug. What impacts could this regulatory status change have on public health and drug regulation around the US? Let's take a look.

Do opioids effectively control moderate-to-severe cancer pain? A recent review of the evidence says yes, though the press release for the study says otherwise, its headline declaring that the efficacy of opioids against cancer pain remains "unclear." Both statements can't be true, so which one is false?

Like all natural health matchstick men, Josh Axe is a supplement hustler and champion of bad nutritional advice. On Episode 61 of the Science Dispatch podcast, hosts Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein sit down with ACSH contributor Katie Suleta to examine one of Axe's latest cons: a six-step "liver cleanse."

Pharma companies have taken to combining over-the-counter drugs into the same pill or bottle and charging higher prices. There's little evidence this marketing practice benefits anybody but said pharma companies. There's a new pesticide scare loose in the headlines: the weedkiller paraquat allegedly causes Parkinson's Disease. It's a phony scandal cooked up by activists and trial lawyers.

Electric vehicles (EV) have been hailed as our gateway out of fossil fuel "addiction." But recent declines in EV sales driven by reliability issues have raised tough questions about the future of this once-celebrated technology. It's an age-old question: bidet or no bidet? Let's see if science can bring clarity to this contentious debate.

The blockbuster weight-loss drugs Wegovy and Ozempic have helped many patients rapidly slim down. But these powerful pharmaceuticals could have unintended consequences we may not be ready for. What motivates people to wear masks? Post COVID, researchers are finally beginning to find some answers.

Was Derek Chauvin's use of force against George Floyd justified? His attorney said yes, pointing to a controversial syndrome known as "excited delirium" to explain Floyd's frenzied behavior while in custody. Does this defense withstand scientific scrutiny? 10,000 steps: it's a magic threshold often used to pinpoint fitness, but there's little evidence behind this popular idea.

If you needed further evidence that politicians don't understand the fentanyl crisis they helped to create, Senator Joe Manchin has you covered. We already sell some body fluids in select circumstances; will the day come when we sell body parts to the highest bidder?

The 'wellness' industry has birthed yet another scam: health coaching. Usually lacking any medical or scientific training, health coaches will charge you a king's ransom for useless and arguably harmful advice. Buyer beware. The CDC says everyone six months and older needs COVID boosters. Here's what the data show.

A teenager died recently after taking the "One Chip Challenge," eating Paqui's uber-spicy tortilla chip and going as long as possible without eating or drinking anything else. The cause of death remains unclear. But there's an interesting lesson here about the uselessness of "non-GMO" food labels. Actress Jessica Biel sells all-natural Tylenol—which is identical to plain ole' Tylenol. Another case of dubious health marketing? Yep.

Roadside drug tests are unreliable, so why are they so widely used in the US? Researchers who make "health disparities" the focus of their work sometimes misrepresent their results. Here's a textbook example from a study that used pulse oximetry to measure disparities in COVID treatment.