Back in the first week of this month, I posted about a paper (Prada 2025),[1] which featured a so-called navigation-guide systematic review of the scientific evidence on the issue whether pregnant women’s ingestion of acetaminophen causes their children to develop autism.[2] The focus of my post was on some dodgy aspects of the Prada review, […]| Schachtman Law
A few weeks ago, four scientists published what they called a “navigation guide” systematic review on acetaminophen use and autism.[1] The last named author, Andrea A. Baccarelli, is an environmental epidemiologist, who has been an expert witness for plaintiffs’ counsel in lawsuits against the manufacturers and sellers of acetaminophen. Another author, Beate Ritz, frequently testifies […]| Schachtman Law
Back in September 2023, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), with its Center for Scientific Responsibility and Justice, sponsored a two day meeting on Scientific Evidence and the Courts. If there were notices for this conference, I missed them. The meeting presentations are now available online. Judging from camera views of the […]| Schachtman Law
The United States is in political crisis as its citizens are frogmarched into an authoritarian, illiberal, and unlawful dystopia. The seriousness of the political situation makes it difficult to focus on scientific issues, but as with past fascist regimes in history, the crisis is not limited to any one sphere of life in the United States.| Schachtman Law
There is plenty of room for a healthy science-based environmentalism, but finding the room in the American political house has always been difficult. The current administration brings together the horseshoe wacko excesses of the worm-brained Robert Kennedy, Jr., and the crony capitalism of Felonious Trump. In this toxic, post-truth milieu, environmental groups such as Sierra Club and Greenpeace are both complaining about their setbacks,[1] as well as stepping up their own propaganda.| Schachtman Law
At Open Mind, Tamino has a masterful post in which he shows quite clearly that there has been no “pause” or “hiatus” in the rate of global temperature increase since at least the 1970s: It’s the Trend, Stupid Posted on January 20, 2015| Both NASA and NOAA report 2014 as the hottest year on record. Despite the […]| Science or not?
In the late Old Testament (Septuagint) Book of Wisdom we read the inspired author’s interpretation of man’s labored — and sometimes idolatrous — response| Homiletic & Pastoral Review
A couple of weeks ago, the Wall Street Journal ran an editorial that complained that FDA Commissioner Makary had touted dodgy evidence about the potential harms of talcum powder in food and medications,[1] and called an improper public meeting to discuss his concerns. The editorial noted the procedural irregularity of convening a meeting to review evidence of the supposed harms of talc in food and drugs, without proper notice and public comment.[2] The panel met just four days after the FDA...| Schachtman Law
In the early days of the COVID-19 pandemic, many scientists embraced the idea, based on past experience with other coronaviruses, that it was highly probable that the new coronavirus (Sars-Cov2) originated as a result of a zoonotic jump from an animal to people. They believed that such a jump likely occurred in the Huanan wet…| Blog of the APA
