ACSH Science Dispatch

As part of a challenge study conducted during the pandemic, 34 healthy volunteers were deliberately infected with SARS-CoV-2 to assess the potential cognitive impacts of COVID-19. Everything about the experiment, from its timing to its design, was suspect and almost certainly unethical.

Recent headlines declared that the artificial sweeteners Xylitol and Erythritol could increase your risk of stroke and heart attack. Now that the media excitement has died down, let's take a closer look at the study behind the headlines. Does it really implicate these sugar substitutes as a threat to heart health? Not exactly.

Pain patient advocates recently made their case to the FDA during an agency listening sessions, arguing that the federal government has launched an unjustified crusade against prescription opioids. Rather than reduce overdose deaths or drug abuse, the nationwide crackdown on painkillers has only left millions of patients to suffer without recourse. Are regulators finally waking up to this reality?

Scientific American's endorsement of Kamala Harris for president ignited a ferocious debate in the science community. Is she the best choice for advancing science, as her supporters contend, or is it unwise for researchers and scientific institutions to back political candidates?

The emerging Make America Healthy Again (MAHA) movement has resurrected the well-worn accusation that food and drug companies dictate US public health policy. How true is this claim? And do the leaders of the MAHA campaign have their own conflicts of interest? They sure do.

The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) seems to be in an awkward spot. The group fears that children could be exposed to hormone-disrupting pesticides through food. However, it also endorses the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones—drugs that disrupt normal hormone production—in gender-dysphoric youth. Are the AAP's divergent standards justified, or is this just a classic case of h...

Scientists have learned much about COVID-19 over the last four years. But several aspects of the pandemic remain to be fully explained, including Long COVID: a chronic condition that can cause or contribute to some 200 health effects throughout our bodies. A recent study suggests that fibrin, a key component of blood clots, plays a role in the development on Long COVID, and may lead to effective t...

Some patients taking weight-loss drugs like Ozempic are beginning to report slower or no weight loss as their bodies build up a tolerance to the medication. Does this spell trouble for obese people looking to slim down long-term? Dr. Chuck Dinerstein reports his personal experience with the so-called Ozempic plateau.

Scientists often think they're smarter than they are because of their narrow academic expertise, according to a new study. Recent history is littered with corroborating examples in which experts made false declarations about COVID-19 and refused to acknowledge their errors. What drives this hubris, and how should the public respond to it?

America's anti-opioid crusade routinely denies chronically ill patients access to adequate pain control, relegating them to an agonizing existence. Many of these individuals would rather die than withstand the anguish, and some advocates of physician-assisted suicide say we should help these patients end their lives. Is this an ethical solution to the crisis of untreated pain? We have our doub...

If you're too busy for an hour-long gym session, "exercise snacking" – short bursts of intense activity over several minutes – may help you stay fit despite your jam-packed schedule. That's according to a new study, but how compelling are the results? Let's take a look.

A recent study claimed that excessive sitting–all too common in our modern, hyper-connected world–is more deadly than smoking and HIV. The solution, the researchers claimed, is a novel creation known as the treadmill desk, which allows people to exercise during their work days. How truthful is all this? Not very.

America's prohibitionist assault on prescription opioids has left an untold number of chronically ill patients without access to adequate pain control, encouraging them to use illicit substances like heroin or even take their own lives to end their suffering. Some drug policy reformers say the solution to this tragic situation is outright legalization of all drugs. How well would that policy a...

As social creatures, humans often synchronize with each other in watching movies, dancing in groups and mirroring the behavior of our romantic partners. Could this synchronicity actually influence whom we find attractive? A new study says—maybe.

The blockbuster weight-loss drug Ozempic has ignited a ferocious debate over the ethics and efficacy of treating obesity with medication. Oddly, this intense ideological battle has glossed over perhaps the most important question we should answer: how does the drug impact individual patients? Our Director of Medicine Dr. Chuck Dinerstein is working to correct that oversight by documenting his expe...

Most health scares you see in the headlines are generated by low-grade epidemiology research that correlates food or chemicals exposures with negative health outcomes. A recent review employing a new analytical tool highlighted some of the critical problems in this research by looking at studies reporting health risks linked to red meat consumption. Let's take a look at their findings.

A recent study, predictably followed by alarmist headlines, suggested that the sweetener xylitol may increase the risk of cardiovascular complications and blood clots. As usual, there is much more to the story—including the fact that xylitol is perfectly safe for most people to consume as a sweetener.

Mental health medications are a blessing to many people. But they sometimes come with undesirable side effects, including significant weight gain. A recent study suggests that a high-fat, low-carb ketogenic diet could help some patients manage their weight while taking psychiatric drugs. Let's take a closer look at the results.

Our children face a wide range of health and safety risks these days: choking, fentanyl poisoning and school shootings, just to name a few. But put aside such paltry concerns because Consumer Reports (CR) has identified the real threat to your kids: Lunchables. These safe, affordable prepackaged meals may actually expose your children to potentially harmful levels of lead, the activist group claim...

Holden Thorpe, editor of the once-prestigious academic journal 'Science,' has made many strange claims in recent years, including the assertion that anybody involved in or adjacent to science (a journalist, policy wonk and perhaps even an activist) is actually a scientist. ACSH's Dr. Henry Miller calls shenanigans.

The Supreme Court is poised to decide a case that could seriously restrict the authority of federal regulatory agencies. Some legal observers say the decision will put power-hungry bureaucrats in their place, though others maintain the decision could force judges and members of Congress to make scientific determinations they aren't qualified to make. Let's talk to a legal scholar to make s...

Recent research suggested that our lungs contain tiny (micro- and nano-sized) plastic particles, courtesy of our widespread use plastic consumer products. Let's take a deeper look at the study to determine how serious of a health risk we're up against. As always, the media didn't tell you the whole story.

There's yet another adulterant showing up in illicit fentanyl in cities across North America: medetomidine—a drug used for sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation, typically in veterinary settings. How dangerous is the drug, and what can be done to stop its recreational use? Let's take a look.

Which is more dangerous, sunscreen or the sun itself? Should we just wear sun-protective clothing instead? As summer approaches, let's examine the latest research and separate sun facts from myths before heading to the beach.

Tort lawyers regularly bring litigation against pesticide companies alleging that their products cause devastating diseases. Of course, our genetic makeup profoundly influences our risk for certain medical conditions, including those allegedly caused by pesticide exposure. Yet this reality rarely gets the attention it deserves in court. Let's take a closer look at the science the lawyers would...