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Consumer’s Handbook to Scientific Claims: Absolute versus relative risk

(Part of an occasional series.) There are several ways of measuring risks. Two of the most...

Does lower literacy make you a sucker for online health ads?

Patients with lower literacy levels in search for health information may gravitate toward websites...

The fuzzy science of “brain training”

Brain training has come into the spotlight with Tuesday’s announcement by the Federal Trade...

FDA Seizes Supplements Containing Psychoactive Plant

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced Wednesday that U.S. Marshals seized almost 90...

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Brandon T. BiscegliaRSS Feed of this column.

Brandon T. Bisceglia graduated summa cum laude with a degree in communication from the University of New Haven in West Haven, CT. He was previously editor-in-chief of the student-run newspaper,... Read More »

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Science is frequently employed in the advertising industry, often as a positive selling point for products and services. Four out of five dentists recommend a type of gum. A prophylactic is “tested” in a lab full of leggy researchers. A “breakthrough”diet therapy will help you shed those pounds – and keep them off.

The patina of science can be used to provide a sense that a product is tested under rigorous conditions,though that may not be the case.