Science Facts & Fallacies Cameron English

Popular science news is often shot through with the assumption that industry-funded research is inherently suspect because companies value profits above all else—including scientific integrity. No doubt there are examples from recent history of companies behaving badly--the tobacco industry being the most prominent and offensive example--but these instances are exceptions to a very important rule that generally keeps industry in line: misrepresenting the science behind your products opens you up to costly litigation, regulation and reputational damage that can destroy your company.

















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Indeed even when companies don't do anything wrong, they can still end up paying billions of dollars to settle legal disputes, as the recent crop of lawsuits brought against baby powder manufacturer Johnson & Johnson illustrated. Nevertheless, we shouldn't just take it on faith that industry always tells the truth about its products or the research it conducts. And that raises a crucial question: how should we approach industry science?



Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 270 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down this critical issue from their most recent Twitter Space.

Podcast:





Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD



Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the American Council on Science and Health. Visit his website and follow him on X @camjenglish

A recent study and subsequent news coverage alleged that the weedkiller glyphosate causes reproductive damage in men. As usual, there is much more (or perhaps less) to the story.  Social media may not be so bad for teenagers after all, according to recent research. The all-meat "carnivore" diet is all the rage on social media today, but is it a healthful way to eat?

Podcast:





Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 269 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:



* How the media portrayed a study: “High Levels of Glyphosate Found in Sperm” – What data actually show: Almost no chemical traces and no effect on sperm



If you're worried that glyphosate exposure will damage your sperm, take a deep breath. Recent alarmist headlines boosting a study linking the weedkiller to reproductive harm are completely baseless. Let's take a closer look at the study that stirred the controversy.



* Nuance needed: Teen social media use has positive influences as well



We often hear horror stories about the negative influence of social media on children. A team of researchers in Norway, while not denying the often-harmful effects of Instagram and TikTok, says that the situation is far more complex. It turns out that many teenagers struggling with a variety of challenges find support from communities of people grappling with the same problems on social media.  The simple takeaway: these websites and apps have positive and negative effects. Parents and other authority figures have an obligation to help teenagers in their care navigate the wild world of social media.

















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* Pros and cons of the ‘carnivore’ diet?



Meat can be part of a healthy, balanced diet; and the assertion that animal products cause cancer, diabetes or heart disease is based on shoddy science. A handful of health influencers and other celebrities have taken these conclusions to an extreme and endorsed the so-called "carnivore diet," an eating regimen made up entirely of meat. Advocates claim that cutting out all other food groups and nutrients helps them effortlessly lose weight and treat everything from depression to epilepsy. What does the evidence say about this radical diet?



Dr. Liza Dunn is a medical toxicologist and the medical affairs lead at Bayer Crop Science. Follow her on X @DrLizaMD



Cameron J. English is the director of bio-sciences at the a hr...

Once fiercely skeptical of "Big Ag," even adamantly progressive media outlets like Mother Jones are beginning to embrace the use of conventional farm technologies like synthetic pesticides and genetically engineered crops. What explains this dramatic opinion shift? A reporter for the Atlantic recently discovered, much to her surprise, that organic farmers don't take better care of their cows. What led her to that conclusion? Every culture seems to have some appreciation for music, but researchers are still uncertain about why humans would evolve to love music. What does the latest science tell us?

















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Podcast:





Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 268 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:



* Viewpoint: Mother Jones takes stand against American Academy of Pediatrics’s misguided case against GM crops and glyphosate



After years of criticizing the science behind crop biotechnology, progressive magazine Mother Jones has had a change of heart. The outlet recently joined the coalition of science publications and individual experts that has blasted the American Academy of Pediatrics for publishing a critically flawed--and some would say intentionally deceptive--guidance document attacking biotech crops and synthetic pesticides. Mother Jones' sudden acceptance of mainstream agricultural science appears to be part of a larger trend of formerly hostile environmental groups and media outlets embracing biotechnology as an important means of boosting food security and farming sustainability.



* Podcast: Do you buy organic milk because you believe organic farms treat their cows better? Here’s a reality check



If you think certified-organic products promote animal welfare, Atlantic contributor Annie Lowry has a revelation for you. Speaking to Slate recently, Lowry recounted her experience at a cattle auction where saw a "Certified Grass-Fed Organic" cow with its eye hanging out of its eye socket, a disconcerting symptom of ocular cancer. That observation led Lowry into a deeper investigation of animal welfare on organic farms and ultimately to the conclusion that organic farming doesn't protect animals from mistreatment or sickness—and in some cases may actually make those problems worse.















Follow the latest news and policy debates on sustainable agriculture, biomedicine, and other ‘disruptive’ innovations. Subscribe to our newsletter.

Researchers are increasingly relying on Chat GPT and other AI platforms to write their peer-reviewed studies, raising yet another serious question about research integrity. A vegan restaurant owner who began serving meat is now under fire from thousands of former customers—and the animal rights group PETA. In-vitro fertilization (IVF) is decades old at this point, but the industry is still very lightly regulated. Partisan politics may prevent us from developing the kinds of rules necessary to protect prospective moms and their children.

Podcast:





Join hosts Dr. Liza Dunn and GLP contributor Cameron English on episode 267 of Science Facts and Fallacies as they break down these latest news stories:



* Is AI infiltrating scientific publishing? Rise of ‘suspicious’ tell words popping up in published papers



Some scientists have turned to AI text generators to write their academic research. The scandal was uncovered because strange phrases like “certainly, here is a possible introduction for your topic” began to show up in published journal articles, meaning neither  the peer-reviewers nor the journal editors caught the obvious gaff before approving the papers for publication. AI-authored studies are the latest problem on a long list of issues that are crippling academic publishing. What can be done to bring this critical problem under control?



* ‘My identity was tied to veganism’: Why this restaurant owner decided to swap plant-based cuisine for regeneratively-grown meat



A Los Angeles-based vegan restaurant owner began serving meat after abandoning her lifelong vegetarianism. The decision sparked an explosive response, triggering more than 4,000 critical comments on Facebook as well as a denouncement from PETA. The episode helpfully illustrates an important point: seemingly scientific discussions about nutrition and environmental protection have important cultural components that go way beyond the evidence.

















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* Viewpoint: ‘Real IVF industry regulation is long overdue. But consumer protection is not enough’



Although IVF has been used to treat infertility for decades, serious ethical questions about the technology remain unresolved.