Critical Thinking

Does a Chocolate a Day Keep the Grim Reaper Away?

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Theobromine is a naturally occurring bitter alkaloid most prominently found in cocoa beans. A metabolite of caffeine, theobromine shares some of the common effects of the household stimulant. Compared to caffeine, theobromine has a much gentler stimulating effect. This is because it lingers longer in our bodies before being metabolized.

The Paper-Thin Evidence for Mouth Taping

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 27 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

TikTokers can’t shut up about this one simple trick. All you need to do is seal your mouth with tape before going to bed, and you will apparently collect a slew of benefits. It will give you more energy, chisel your jawline, and even improve the health of your heart in the long run.

Will Vitamin D Go the Way of Cod Liver Oil?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 16:58:08 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

In many of my public lectures, I address the topic of dietary supplements and often do a rudimentary audience survey. When I ask about taking Vitamin D, the majority of adult hands go up.

$1,950 Worth of Woo: The Biomat, Unwrapped

Sophie Tseng Pellar BSc — Fri, 20 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Recently, I was forwarded an email about the Biomat—a $1,950 USD “healing mat” that claims to cure everything short of a broken heart. And boy oh boy, is it ever a hotbed of pseudoscience wrapped in a cozy cotton cover and priced like a small vacation. When I dug into the science behind the Biomat’s claims, I found a textbook case of clever marketing dressed up in scientific jargon, with very little evidence to back it up.

Can You Get Cancer from Kissing a Smoker and Other Questions with Definitive Answers

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 15:58:14 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Functional Medicine Is a Pipeline to Alt Med

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 13 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

A 56-year-old university professor with psoriatic arthritis goes to see a doctor because his condition is worsening. Psoriatic arthritis is a disease where your immune system rebels against you, creating patches of abnormal skin and aching joints. Does the man leave the doctor’s office with a prescription for a better medication than what he was on? No.

Best of Times, Worst of Times

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 11 Jun 2025 16:20:29 +0000

Most of us are living the good life. There is no doubt that we are living longer and in greater comfort than ever before, but at a price. We fly through the air with ease, but that air is becoming polluted. We have conveniently packaged consumer goods, but we are beginning to drown in garbage. Ample water runs out of our taps, but it is tainted with traces of perfluoroalkyl substances. We protect our food supply with pesticides, we devise new materials, we clothe ourselves in novel fibers, we synthesize new medications, but we generate toxic wastes in the process.

Disrupting Science with Crypto

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 18:04:27 +0000

Let’s say I am afflicted by a common but non-life-threatening condition. I shall refer to this fictional misfortune as “chin gribbles.” I have chin gribbles. Many people have chin gribbles. It’s annoying and it affects our quality of life. When we go to the pharmacy or speak to a doctor, we’re told there are very few treatment options for chin gribbles, if any.

InTOXicating Beauty

Angelina Lapalme — Fri, 06 Jun 2025 10:00:00 +0000

The inspiration for my articles comes mostly from conversations with those around me. Often my friends, family, teachers or even readers ask me questions for which I do not have an immediate answer. As someone who loves to learn, I then proceed to research the topic until I am able to explain it in my own words which then prompts the writing of an article. I owe this article topic to my mom, who like many others had questions about a widely practiced esthetic procedure that aims to freeze time. She started telling me about injections that can each change someone’s face non-surgically.

Misinformation Piggybacks on Joe Biden’s Cancer Diagnosis

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 30 May 2025 16:59:22 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

“Just the facts, ma’am” is a catchphrase attributed to detective Joe Friday in the classic television police drama Dragnet. If all science communicators took that message to heart, we would not be exposed to the diarrhea of misinformation that plagues our lives today.

That, though, brings up the question of what is meant by “fact.”

The MAHA Report Is Mostly ‘Data Vibes’

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 30 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

Who would be so callous as to not want our children to be healthy?

The Make America Healthy Again movement, now firmly ensconced in the White House under the leadership of Robert F. Kennedy Jr, released a 73-page assessment last week called “The MAHA Report.” It’s meant to give a bird’s-eye view of the problem with American children’s health, paving the way for a multipronged strategy due next August.

Don’t Talk to Me Until I’ve Had My Coffee… and Breakfast!

Eva Kellner B.A.Sc. — Fri, 23 May 2025 15:08:30 +0000

A few weeks ago, my roommate and I found ourselves chatting alongside two steaming cups of freshly brewed coffee. A great start to my day, if you ask me.

This morning, my refusal of the milk she added to her coffee sparked a conversation that drifted into old wives’ tales. She mentioned that adding milk to coffee could make the caffeine effect last longer and reduce the inevitable crash.

What Is a Molecule?

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 21 May 2025 17:15:41 +0000

Surveys reveal that only 50 percent of people questioned know that the Earth goes around the sun once a year, and only 40 percent realize that electrons are smaller than atoms. That’s sad enough, but it is frightening that a mere 10 percent of the population understands what a molecule is. This is distressing, because everything in the physical world depends upon molecular action.

The Devilishly Hard Question I’m Asked All the Time

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 16 May 2025 19:17:39 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

Usually, the questioner has seen or heard something, often through social media, about a loathsome substance that is set to destroy their life or about one that promises to improve their health “naturally.” The answer to the question is almost always “no, it isn’t true, but ... The reason for the qualifier is that science isn’t white or black, it is best seen as several shades of gray.

Doctor Who Compared Pandemic Restrictions to Nazi Germany Gains Keys to the Vaccine Vault

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 16 May 2025 10:00:00 +0000

In the media’s rush to cover the nomination of Casey Means to the position of Surgeon General, one important name was neglected.