Science

News, commentary, critique, reviews, research and more from the world of science.

Health

Are at-home blood tests a medical innovation, or a solution trying to sell consumers a problem?

Michela Perrone - 5th April 2023

The growing industry of at-home blood tests claim to offer clarity, but they often just confuse and worry patients, leaving the NHS to pick up the pieces

Psychology

The myth of the well-filled slate: we shouldn’t discount the influence of society on our lives

Carlos Orsi - 27th March 2023

Twenty years after Steven Pinker's "The Blank Slate", we should be wary of those who make claims about innate traits that separate nature from nurture

Crime

Fictional impressions: the shaky foundations of many common forensic science techniques

Dave Hahn - 23rd March 2023

TV crime shows have made us all very aware of forensic analysis of hair, DNA samples and fingerprints - but do we overstate its usefulness?

Climate Change

Could AI generated summaries of scientific consensus help tackle disinformation?

Alfie Hoar - 20th March 2023

Summaries of the scientific consensus, generated quickly by artificial intelligence might offer new hope in beating a key part of the ‘Tobacco Playbook’ on science denialism

Parapsychology

The Transparent Psi Project: the results are in, so where are all the headlines?

Chris French - 16th March 2023

Daryl Bem's precognition studies made worldwide headlines in 2011 - yet it's easy to predict proof Bem's work was flawed won't get the same attention

Conspiracy Theories

15 minute cities: the latest big bad of the conspiracy theory ecosystem

Michael Marshall - 10th March 2023

Why did 15 minute cities go from a niche town planning proposal to a full-blown paranoia? Because existing conspiracist networks needed their next big fear

Alternative Medicine

The Nuremberg salt test: how homeopathy failed one of the earliest ever scientific trials

Sean Slater - 9th March 2023

One of the earliest ever randomised control trials took place in 1835, when skeptical physicians put the new-fangled homeopathy to the test

Health

The science of The Last of Us: should we fear a fungal zombie pandemic?

Natália Pasternak - 8th March 2023

The hit TV show The Last of Us depicts a world hit by a fungal-caused pandemic that turns the infected to zombies - but could it happen in real life?

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First do no harm? Treatments don’t need to be harmless, as long they do good

Moroccan Argan oil is an interesting traditional product, but it’s certainly no panacea

Animals, acupuncture and alt-med: the Brazilian penguin being subjected to Enya

Wim Hof: the self-described ‘Ice man’ whose extreme health claims leave many cold

Menstrual masking: the inadvisable trend of treating acne… with period blood

First do no harm? Treatments don’t need to be harmless, as long they do good

Pacemakers don’t work when they’re switched off – we should doubt studies that say otherwise

Moroccan Argan oil is an interesting traditional product, but it’s certainly no panacea

Animals, acupuncture and alt-med: the Brazilian penguin being subjected to Enya

The evidence for pill colour impacting placebo effects gets flimsier the more you examine it

From the archive: Many Happy Returns – Are past-life regressions evidence for reincarnation?

From the archives: The Art of Fakery – Fakes and forgeries at the British Museum

From the archives: A skeptical look at astrology

When it comes to science, the standard has to be truth and accuracy – not false balance

From the archives: UFOs Over Russia

Comparing misinformation to a virus is both accurate and useful in preventing its spread

2000 mules: why many Americans are convinced Trump won the 2020 election

Welcome to the modern American Right – the world that high weirdness built

Donald Trump’s debate performance proved he has mainstreamed extreme conspiracy theories

Med Beds: the futuristic health devices promising to cure you with undefined energy

The meaning crisis, and how we rescue young men from reactionary politics

From the archive: Many Happy Returns – Are past-life regressions evidence for reincarnation?

Faking the faking of fake news, 1910 style: the ‘death’ of film star Florence Lawrence

Unborn in the USA: being honest about IUDs could help us fight the anti-abortion movement

Exploding the myth of the longevity “Blue Zones”, where people live beyond the age of 100

Scientific publication is now fully digital – so who is responsible for preserving our archives?

HADD its day: there’s no evidence for an inherited hyperactive agency detection device

Unborn in the USA: being honest about IUDs could help us fight the anti-abortion movement

The evidence for pill colour impacting placebo effects gets flimsier the more you examine it

Comparing misinformation to a virus is both accurate and useful in preventing its spread

Science

Latest news

First do no harm? Treatments don’t need to be harmless, as long they do good

Pacemakers don’t work when they’re switched off – we should doubt studies that say otherwise

The meaning crisis, and how we rescue young men from reactionary politics

Scientific publication is now fully digital – so who is responsible for preserving our archives?

From the archive: Many Happy Returns – Are past-life regressions evidence for reincarnation?

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