Alberta Justice Terry Clackson has come under fire for racist language in his ruling acquitting David and Collet Stephan in the death of their child. Is the criticism deserved? Yes. His ruling was horrible on other grounds, but he added racism to the mix.
Studies done in mice often fail to translate to humans very well. A new study shows why, in neuroscience at least, mouse studies frequently don’t predict human results very well.
Given all the denial of the science behind vaccines, GMOs, evolution, and climate science, you might think that Americans in general distrust scientists and physicians. It’s actually not true. Trust in scientists and doctors remains high, but there are still areas where mistrust of scientists is a significant problem. What can be done?
The claim that medical errors are the third leading cause of death in the US has always rested on very shaky evidence; yet it’s become common wisdom that is cited as though everyone accepts it. But if estimates of 250,000 to 400,000 deaths due to medical error are way too high, what is the real number? A study published last month suggests that it’s almost certainly a lot lower and has been modestly decreasing since 1990.
MuTaTo, a technology hyped by an Israeli company, was all over the news a couple of days ago as the “complete cure for cancer.” But is it? There are so many red flags in the news reports as to raise serious doubts, and the media’s science communication in this case has been an epic fail.
