Heavy metals in baby food do not cause autism. Listen in as we discuss the evidence. Dropping an F-bomb now and again might confer an important health benefit, according to recent research. Do we finally have a scientific justification for the use of colorful language? 

Join host Cameron English as he sits down Dr. Chuck Dinerstein and ACSH contributor Susan Goldhaber to break down these stories on episode 30 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

Swearing – defined as speaking “specific, negatively charged, and often emotionally loaded terms” – violates our norms of both the sacred and profane. While polite society often reflects on swearing’s negatives, it turns out that there are some health benefits for the sender (but not the receiver).

I almost drove off the road listening to an ad from a law firm urging parents with children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) to be part of a lawsuit suing baby food manufacturers for causing their child’s condition. According to the ad, the question of what causes ASD has been settled and what remains is for parents to get what is owed them from baby food manufacturers that have been hiding the truth from the public for years.

A recent study found that marijuana smoke may cause emphysema. The problem? The study was complete garbage. Celebrities and social-media "influencers" are hyping the weight-loss benefits of repurposed diabetes drugs. Should these medicines really be used to slim down? It's complicated.

Join host Cameron English as he sits down Dr. Chuck Dinerstein to break down these stories on episode 29 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

“In a new analysis of medical records, cannabis smokers had higher rates of a certain type of emphysema than tobacco smokers.” It's another attention-grabbing headline that fails to tell the whole story. Let’s skip the public relations version and consider the study's findings.

Ozempic, a drug indicated for Type 2 diabetes, has become the latest weight-loss darling. Not since ivermectin has a drug gained so much interest from its off-label uses. Let’s take a deeper look at the science and a regulatory conundrum.

A ferocious debate ensued over Emily Oster's recent call in the Atlantic for COVID "amnesty." Everybody in the dispute is wrong. Should you drink Smart Water? Only if you're "dumb," says our resident chemist. 

Join host Cameron English as he sits down Dr. Chuck Dinerstein and Dr. Josh Bloom to break down these stories on episode 28 of the Science Dispatch podcast:

Emily Oster, an economist and popular author on the real facts of parenting, suggested that it was time for a COVID amnesty. There was a quick, demonstrative, and at times, angry response from many sources. I have studied acknowledging, correcting, and atoning for medical mistakes, including my own, for decades. Here is what I am thinking.

If you watch TV, ads for Coca-Cola's Smart Water are inescapable. Also inescapable is that the ads suggest that the stuff will make you smart or perhaps offer some other health benefit. But the only thing smart about Smart Water is Coca-Cola's ability to make you shell out money to buy something you could pretty much get from a fire hydrant in Newark.

30 years ago, Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) launched a PR campaign against a plant-growth regulator called Alar, effectively eliminating use of the chemical in agriculture. What's the legacy of this infamous anti-chemical scare? The New York Times continues to attack good scientists on the say-so of environmental groups. The paper is trashing its credibility. 

Join our directors of bio-sciences and medicine, Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein, as they break down these stories on episode 27 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Meryl Streep, a proud Vassar grad, recently received a Distinguished Alumni Award from her alma mater. But rather than stress her stellar career as an actor, she discussed an earlier moment as a citizen-scientist. “Once you know how to search out and credit the facts around certain problems, you are called on by your conscience to act on them. The Vassar conscience rings a bell in your head; it’s a call to action in your heart.” The problem? Alar.

The New York Times has again attacked an upstanding scientist based on claims made by duplicitous activist groups. This episode illustrates why the public's trust in media is plummeting.

"It can disappear in a moment," Dr. Chuck Dinerstein said after his near-fatal battle with a pulmonary embolism. How should our mortality influence our worldviews? Unregulated medical devices may put patients in harm's way. Why is the Cleveland Clinic parroting anti-vaping talking points from the Truth Initiative? 

Join ACSH directors of bio-sciences and medicine, Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein, as they break down these stories on episode 26 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

Last week I stopped breathing. If it was not for my wife, who gave me some breaths, and the village of people who subsequently cared for me, we would be speaking through a Ouija Board.

Sepsis is an overwhelming infection: bacterial, viral, or fungal. It requires immediate medical attention and intervention. EPIC, the company with the largest share of the electronic medical records market, developed an algorithm to help physicians timely identify at-risk patients. An independent study shows that it is not helpful. Is this healthcare’s 737Max moment?

The Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's foremost academic medical centers, has jumped on the anti-vaping bandwagon, perpetuating unfiltered nonsense about the health effects of nicotine.

In the wake of legalization campaigns across the US, medicinal and recreational use of cannabis have gained widespread support, with nearly 60 million Americans reporting use of marijuana in 2020. The drug is thought to pose minimal risk while offering a number of potential medical benefits. Nevertheless, there can be significant health risks associated with cannabis use. Just as we openly discuss the harms associated with alcohol, tobacco, and, opioids, so too should we discuss the downsides of cannabis use, argues Dr. Roneet Lev.

Ronnet Lev is a nationally acclaimed medical expert and speaker who continues to treat patients in the emergency department. She is dually board-certified in emergency and addiction medicine, bringing over 25 years of experience treating frontline cases of addiction.

Some cancers can be detected based on the fungi that grow within tumors, researchers say. Could this discovery lead to a life-saving screening technique? ACSH debated a pair of "fat  acceptance" advocates on Dr. Phil. Let's break down the discussion.

Join our directors of bio-sciences and chemistry, Cameron English and  Dr. Josh Bloom, as they break down these stories on episode 24 of the Science Dispatch podcast.

An Israeli group has discovered that some cancers can be identified  by blood tests that identify the DNA of different fungi that grow within  different tumors. Could this be a breakthrough in cancer screening? Or  maybe more? A strange but fascinating theory.

Cameron English recently appeared on "Dr. Phil" to discuss the  fat-acceptance movement—a dangerous, misnamed "social justice" cause  that needs to die an abrupt death. Let's break down the debate that  ensued.

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.