ACSH Science Dispatch

Yet another study shows that Neurontin is a poor substitute for prescription opioids, so why do physicians continue to prescribe it? Twitter recently put a warning on an ACSH obesity story. Is social-media censorship here to stay?

Join our directors of bio-sciences, chemistry, and medicine Cameron English, Dr. Josh Bloom, and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 23 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Wanna hear something sickening? Neurontin, a drug developed for epilepsy and used off-label for neuropathic pain, had its sales grow 250% between 2004 and 2019. Why? We don't have 250% more epileptics. No, it's because the drug is being forced down the throats of people who can no longer get sufficient pain relief. The result? Abuse and also more overdose deaths. Just another chapter in our psychotic war against legitimate opioid drugs and the people who need them.

Continuing its trend of unjustified censorship, Twitter put a "warning" on one of our recent tweets "so people who don’t want to see sensitive content can avoid it." This protects nobody, but it denies the public access to credible health information.

Will taking cocoa or multivitamins slow the onset of dementia? A new study suggests at least one of these interventions may make a difference. COVID lockdowns quickly became a topic for partisan bickering, but did they actually work? 

Join our directors of bio-sciences and medicine Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 22 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Could cocoa extract or a multivitamin slow the onset of dementia? A new randomized placebo-controlled study offers some hope. (Spoiler alert: Eating a chocolate bar a day will not keep dementia away.)

Did COVID lockdowns save lives? At what cost and to whom? The answer to both is that it depends. Let’s consider some of the issues that make up “it depends.”

Artificial intelligence may help physicians identify patients at risk for Parkinson's Disease (PD) before symptoms develop, improving health care and possibly zeroing in on potential causes of PD. Restricting access to technology can generate disastrous consequences. Why, then, are 'green' politicians so eager to ban these useful tools?

Join our directors of bio-sciences and medicine Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 21 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Parkinson’s Disease is one of several degenerative diseases in our neurologic system. It has a celebrity patient, Michael J. Fox. Still, with a million patients living with the disease in the US and sixty thousand new diagnoses annually, it lacks a biomarker to aid in early detection. An artificial intelligence program looking at nocturnal breathing may change that and, ultimately, how we care for these patients.

Some 400,000 people attended Woodstock 99 in Rome, New York. The weekend-long music festival ended in preventable disaster, and it offers an important lesson to policymakers and activists eager to ban important technologies.

China is 'seeding' clouds to increase rainfall and fight a severe drought. Will it work? A large body of research shows that soda taxes are ineffective, so why do public health experts continue to endorse  them? Finally, has climate change increased the number of heart attacks we suffer? No.

Join the ACSH directors of bio-sciences, chemistry, and medicine Cameron English, Dr. Josh Bloom, and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 20 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Much of the planet is now in the grips of a severe drought. This has prompted China to try cloud seeding to try to squeeze some water from the clouds. Is this real? Does it work? The Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell is included at no extra charge.

Sugar-sweetened beverages, SSBs, contain added sugar, or in some  cases, noncaloric sweeteners, and are nonalcoholic. As global waistlines  have increased, so have taxes on these “bad boy” products – now implemented in “45 countries, including numerous subnational local jurisdictions.” A systematic review considers the impact of these taxes on raising revenue and improving health.

Climate change is real; we contribute to it. But warmer temperatures aren't driving unprecedented increases in the number of heart attacks we suffer.

Many Americans are obsessed with nutrition or totally disinterested in it. Why are these extremes so common? ACSH contributor David Lightsey joins us to explain. Public health officials committed many blunders during the pandemic. Part of the problem may have been the incomplete and often inaccurate information they were working with. How can they avoid the same errors next time around?

Join our directors of bio-sciences and medicine Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 19 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

There is no question that health, fitness, and anti-aging issues dominate our culture. They have risen to a cult- level obsession for millions of people. Can these misguided consumers learn to occupy a sensible middle ground?

With the announcement by Dr. Rochelle Walensky, the Director of the Centers for Disease Control, that “The CDC has to change,” the season for bureaucratic changes in response to its failing pandemic responses is fully underway. But to misquote William Shakespeare, I have come to neither bury nor praise their work. Instead, I want to discuss their efforts through the lens of “midinformation.”

Recent news reports have spurred concern that just touching fentanyl can be dangerous. Let's take a look at the chemistry behind this claim. Comedian Bill Maher recently attacked the fat-acceptance movement as a danger to public health, sparking ferocious criticism on social media. Sadly, few people recognized the most important point about Maher's commentary: he was right.

Show notes

Join ACSH directors of bio-sciences and chemistry Cameron English and  Dr. Josh Bloom as they break down these stories on episode 18 of the  Science Dispatch podcast:

A recent story about the bizarre symptoms of policemen, who were  exposed to street fentanyl, turned out to be anxiety attacks – not fentanyl poisoning. What happened? Yes, it's time for another Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell!

Comedian Bill Maher is in trouble after attacking the fat-acceptance movement on his show recently. Not only was the segment hilarious, but it highlighted an important fact many people would rather not discuss: social-justice activists are rewriting science to protect their ideological commitments.

The FDA has tried to fight opioid addiction by asking patients to mail their excess prescription pain meds to the agency for disposal. It's an absurd proposal. There's lots of anti-pesticide 'facts' floating around the internet; let's debunk the most popular of these claims. 

Join ACSH directors of bio-sciences and chemistry Cameron English and Dr. Josh Bloom as they break down these stories on episode 17 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

Two thousand people a week are dying from (almost entirely) illegal street drugs. While at the same time prescriptions for legal pain medications have been cut by half in the past decade. The FDA’s solution? Postage-paid envelopes for people to return the extra pills they don't have. It's almost funny. Just don't laugh until it hurts.

The activist group Slow Food recently published a listicle warning consumers about the dangers of pesticides. Let's see if their top-10 list stands up to scrutiny.

We've been told for decades that less is more when it comes to salt in the diet. New research has thrown that conclusion into doubt. Can we identify children who may be at risk for SIDS before it suddenly and tragically strikes?

Join ACSH directors of bio-sciences and medicine Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein as they break down these stories on episode 16 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

Along with usual dietary advice about eating moderate amounts of many  different types of food, physicians often suggest we reduce our sodium  intake because of the deleterious effects on our blood pressure and  heart. A new study suggests that the recommendation about salt is about  to come tumbling down.

A recent study has helpfully advanced our understanding of sudden  infant death syndrome (SIDS). Some journalists exaggerated the paper's  results in their rush to publish stories. Fortunately, other reporters  helpfully and publicly corrected the errors. This is how the media  should always operate.

Everybody wants to protect our planet, but environmentalism long ago morphed into a radical progressive movement. Where did it go wrong? As the COVID pandemic gradually recedes, what do we know about ivermectin?

Join ACSH directors of bio-sciences and chemistry Cameron English and Dr. Josh Bloom as they break down these stories on episode 15 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

Another earth day has come and gone with activist groups making fresh predictions of an impending eco-disaster. A brief survey of the evidence shows that the situation isn't nearly as dire as they claim.

The controversy surrounding ivermectin as a therapy for COVID has been longstanding and fierce. A recent paper in NEJM may or may not settle the ongoing debate. But the paper is full of data. Here is a condensed look at the key numbers.

"Climate-anxious" college students are pushing to have low-risk  pesticides banned from their campuses. Meanwhile, states that have  legalized recreational marijuana use are concerned that their new policy  may cause more car accidents. We examine the science behind both  stories on episode 14 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

There is some truth to the urban myth that those high on marijuana  tend to drive more slowly and at greater distances from other cars,  either out of fear of being pulled over or because of some impairment of  their perceptions. With eighteen states (and the District of Columbia)  legalizing recreational pot, and no ability to determine the presence of  marijuana as an intoxicant, there is rising concern about the drug’s  impact on traffic accidents and fatalities.

Suffering from "climate anxiety," some of America's entitled college  students are working to get low-risk pesticides banned from their  campuses, in a bid to slow global warming. They all need therapy and a  basic science lesson.