January 16, 2026 — Evidence is mounting that the word of the year for 2026 could well be nihilism. Nothing matters. Meaning is void. Science is suppressed. Nonsense is flooding the zone of public discourse. In the contention between signal and noise, noise often seems to be winning. Breaking American Institutions of Science We note with regret that the […]
January 3, 2026 — One of the hottest scientific and legal debates that has long been simmering about a potential endocrine disrupting chemical is all about glyphosate. This herbicide is sold under the Roundup brand name. Last month, the journal of Regulatory Toxicology and Pharmacology issued a scathing retraction notice for a landmark glyphosate paper that has played a […]
November 29, 2025 — “Basically, all the scientific leadership has been wiped out at the CDC. They’re all political people now who are running the CDC and determining what the public health message is going to be,” says Julie Rovner. She has been reporting on the CDC for four decades now and has never seen anything like this. Leadership […]
November 22, 2025 — A rupture of public trust occured this week. Information on the CDC website changed overnight, without input from scientists, to espouse the anti-vaccine agenda of Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. Specifically, the website now says “The claim ‘vaccines do not cause autism’ is not an evidence-based claim because studies have not ruled out the […]
September 25, 2025 — This one definitely sounded too good to be true from the start. A little bit of apple cider vinegar daily for young persons with obesity supposedly produced lower body weight, BMI, body fat ratio, blood sugar, triglycerides, and cholesterol. No side effects. However, this stunning piece of research on apple cider vinegar in obesity was […]
April 17, 2025 — The author of some of the most compelling scientific research on ultra-processed foods, Kevin Hall, is leaving NIH because of censorship of his science at the agency. “I experienced censorship in the reporting of our research because of agency concerns that it did not appear to fully support preconceived narratives of my agency’s leadership about […]
March 9, 2025 — For many people who toil in pursuit of insights from scientific research, these are stressful times. Mass firings have decimated U.S. science agencies, according to reporting in Science. The chaos has shattered the careers of many scientists and has been especially harsh for vulnerable early career scientists. As this is happening, a climate of fear […]
March 3, 2025 — Today marks the first day of Obesity Care Week. This is a time to recognize the importance of high-quality, science-based, and compassionate care for people living with obesity. True commitment to care means embracing advocacy, evidence-based treatment, and respect for individuals affected by this chronic disease. Organizations like the Obesity Action Coalition (OAC) and The […]
August 29, 2024 — It is a pain to sort through the errors that find their way into research publications. Even more painful is the experience of having to retract flawed publications. So when the Editor in Chief of Childhood Obesity retracted a fundamentally flawed, cluster-randomized trial, we see a reason to celebrate. Errors that involve clustering designs in […]
May 2, 2024 — On the subject of nutrition and health, we commonly encounter strong statements presented as scientific truths that must be honored. Headlines scream that “ultra-processed food is killing us,” using studies of correlation to justify sounding an alarm. “Cows are just an environmental disaster,” says Hannah Ritchie in the New York Times. But with equally great […]
