FB removed the page of a pro-GMO advocate but allows the controversial Dr. Oz to promote miracle cures. Read the rest at National Review.
Category Archives: Science Journals & Journalism
Founding Editor Alex Berezow Says Farewell
RealClearScience was launched in October 2010. The RealClear family, headed by founders John McIntyre and Tom Bevan, took a gamble and hired me, a freshly minted PhD in microbiology, to take the helm of a new science journalism website. I owe the beginning of my professional career to them, and I am happy to report that I believe their gamble paid off. Continue reading
Obama Is Not a Scientist. JAMA Shouldn’t Pretend He Is
The Journal of the American Medical Assn. recently published a very unusual article: a scientific study authored by a sitting president of the United States. That’s never happened before. Read the rest at the Los Angeles Times.
Everything You Think About the Media Is Wrong
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
We have heard it many times. We in the mass media are ignorant and deceptive partisans, propagandists, and shills. The rest of us are just mindless puppets. The 24-hour news cycle is responsible for dividing America and dumbing down political discourse. In short, modern journalism is the worst thing to happen to the U.S. since Justin Bieber crossed the border. Continue reading
Our Know-Nothing, Anti-Science, Anti-Intellectual Presidential Candidates
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
Other than getting a major fact wrong, the worst possible feeling for a journalist is the gut-wrenching notion that all of one’s efforts are for naught. For me, it has become increasingly difficult to escape this dreadful feeling, given the state of politics in America. Continue reading
RealClearScience: Most Transparent News Site Ever!
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
Here at RealClearScience, we pride ourselves on five things: (1) Explaining the science behind complex topics; (2) Debunking bad science or pseudoscience; (3) Endorsing policies and opinions that we feel are best aligned with scientific evidence; (4) Having the site operated by people who were trained in science, not journalism; and (5) Remaining politically agnostic and as transparent as possible. Continue reading
Dr. Oz Hires a Clone to Be His ‘Fact-Checker’
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
There was a brief glimmer of hope that Dr. Oz had changed. In response to criticism that received national attention, the dangerous, money-grubbing quack who makes a mockery of medical science and pollutes our national airwaves issued a press release stating that he has hired Dr. Michael Crupain, who will be “responsible for researching and vetting scripts, evaluating expert guests, ordering and editing medical animations and overseeing liaisons with the show’s Medical Advisory Board. He will also lead efforts to enhance the show’s ongoing dialogue with the medical community.”
That job description is essentially for a fact-checker. Finally, facts matter to Dr. Oz. Right? Continue reading
Subsidies: What Fossil Fuels & Porn Have in Common
This article was originally published on RealClearScience.
It’s time to end the federal porn subsidy.
You might be asking, What federal porn subsidy? Fair question. Technically, there isn’t a federal porn subsidy. However, if we borrow some of the logic commonly used by politically driven economists, we can redefine the word subsidy to mean whatever we want. Continue reading
Slate’s Science Page Has Gone Crazy
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
Something has happened at Slate. Until relatively recently, Slate‘s science page produced so much amazingly good content that we were tempted to link to them multiple times per day. In our 2013 list of the Top 10 Science News Sites, we awarded them an honorable mention.
But, that was then. Now, for some reason, Slate‘s science page has partially abandoned its strong tradition of in-depth analysis to promote an angry, opinion-driven reportage that is mostly aimed at insulting Republicans and Christians.
A Letter to Dr. Oz from a PhD Microbiologist
This article was originally posted on RealClearScience.
Dear Dr. Oz,
As a TV host, book author, and “America’s Doctor,” you hold a powerful and privileged position to which few people inside or outside your profession could ever aspire. I must admit to being envious of your influence. I wish that more Americans were fascinated by the complicated nuance of biomedical research than are fascinated by miracle cures. Alas, they are not (yet). I’m working on it, though.
I am writing to you because I was deeply troubled by your rebuttal to the letter signed by ten medical doctors seeking your termination from Columbia University. Continue reading