In the previous article here, I tangentially examined a situation that arises often in collaborative data analysis: the digestion of the results in scientific graphs. The focus of that discussion was the building of a sceptical thinking attitude in my student - it is a really important asset in experimental science.

A recent meta-analysis of 151 studies included 11,307 instances of some conditions physicians and scientists dismiss and critics of medicine deem it medical "gaslighting." Joining them are alternative medicine proponents, like Folk Traditional Alternative Complementary Integrative physician Jacob Teitelbaum, MD. As with Drs. Oz and Mark Hyman, he went to medical school only to declare that supernatural forces have been in play all along, forces that only herbs and supplements can help.

Suppose we, meaning the human race, survive climate change, pandemics, and nuclear proliferation. What then? I’m talking about the long run.

We’ve got a faction who think the Earth would have been better off had we not survived – as if the rest of the ecosystem wouldn’t suffer from the radioactivity or the infections that killed us off.

A new paper from a California university warns that dust is changing the microbiome of mice.

Because it is just in mice, and mice are not little people, this is only EXPLORATORY, but so are claims about vaccines, GMOs, and corn syrup and because scientists didn't stand up to those when epidemiology papers claimed their correlation was really causation, it might be worth nipping this in the rodent before the Los Angeles Times prints it as human fact.

'Green' chemical products have generally gotten a pass from the environmental community but with one of their own, former Natural Resources Defense Council lawyer Robert F. Kennedy, now in charge of a gigantic government health agency and going after the modern world, the lawsuit money is too good to pass up. So-called eco-friendly chemical products have come under fire.

Lately I have been writing lots of reference letters for students who are applying to Ph.D. positions in Physics, and in so doing I have found myself pondering on the dubious usefulness of that exercise. So let me share a bit of my thoughts on the matter here.

Reference letters are meant to be an important input for academic selections, because they provide first-hand information on the previous experience of the candidates, from scholars who are supposed to be authoritative enough to be trusted, and unconcerned enough to provide a unbiased assessment. 

The polyphagous Spodoptera frugiperda (fall armyworm), a Lepidopteran pest, has European farmers in a panic and, when the environmental NGOs government funds are not around, it has politicians concerned also. 

Though classified as a priority pest since 2023, fall armyworm remains easy to establish and fast to spread. Corn crops, a vital part of EU agriculture, remain at risk. Despite that, policymakers have been promoted using pesticides which work poorly but are approved by environmental groups while talking about climate change. The problem is clear but environmental activists have insisted human health and the environment will be impacted unless legacy products that are ineffective remain the sole solution.

Yellowstone was the first national park designated in the United States and is a popular tourist destination, but there is a lot going on underneath that people never feel.

A new analysis of 15 years of historical earthquake data from the Yellowstone caldera used machine learning and found an order of magnitude more seismic events than previously acknowledged. 

In early 2025, the Trump administration began to place tariffs on countries that already had them on the U.S., like China, Brazil, and many in Europe. China has already begun to experience deflation but a new book reveals that the business sector likely to be impacted most is the $500,000,000,000 counterfeiting business there.

Real world data show that the respiratory syncytial virus (RSV) vaccine rolled out for pregnant women in the UK last year has already resulted in a 72 percent drop in babies being admitted to the hospital among women who took it. 

Experts predict that as more women take it, England is the home of both the modern anti-vaccine and anti-GMO movements so change takes time, it will further reduce the number of needlessly sick babies each year and therefore the burden on the overtaxed National Health Service system.