/oss/taxonomy/term/1769/all en /oss/article/covid-19-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/doomsday-prophecy-dr-geert-vanden-bossche <p>The COVID-19 pandemic has attracted a swarm of vocal contrarians like little else in the recent past. These public commentators, often bedazzled with advanced degrees, have painted themselves as brave mavericks escaping from the mainstream herd to denounce the cataclysmic consequences of public health measures. The latest example of this phenomenon comes in the form of Dr. Geert Vanden Bossche, who recently published<a href="https://www.geertvandenbossche.org/"> an alarming manifesto</a>. In it, Dr.</p> Wed, 24 Mar 2021 17:22:57 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 8668 at /oss /oss/article/health/we-still-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics <p> </p> <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in</em><span> </span><a href="https://montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/christopher-labos-we-still-prescribe-too-many-antibiotics">The Montreal Gazette<span>.</span></a></p> Wed, 26 Feb 2020 20:59:48 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 8154 at /oss /oss/article/general-science/farm-pharmacy-wading-through-muddied-waters-antibiotic-resistance <hr /> <p><em>One of the mandates of our Office is to foster students’ skills in communicating science. We encourage students to submit articles and we publish the ones that we consider to be well written. These pieces are totally the work of students and the opinions expressed are their own.</em></p> Mon, 19 Feb 2018 20:35:57 +0000 Simona Bene Watts, ���ϲ����� Writing Centre, Communicating Science 6926 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-health-household-products-news-quirky-science/marketing-appears-trump-science-antibacterials <p>Store shelves these days sag under the weight of antibacterial soaps, cosmetics, socks, toys and even garbage bags. There’s no question that “antibacterial” on a label increases sales, but there are plenty of questions about the wisdom of impregnating everything in sight with compounds that kill bacteria indiscriminately.</p> <p>Triclosan has been the hot antibacterial ingredient in household products for about four decades. But it is now itself feeling the heat, due to concern about endocrine disruption, the promotion of antibiotic resistance and effects on aquatic ecosystems.</p> Thu, 24 Jul 2014 11:24:08 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2172 at /oss /oss/article/controversial-science-food-health-news/cherry-picking-cranberry-juice-data <p>Cranberry juice manufacturers are adept at cherry-picking data. Of course this is not a unique pursuit. Be it milk, or blueberries or pomegranates or artificial sweeteners or beef or turmeric or bottled water or virtually any other food or beverage that is on the market, its producers scour the scientific literature for any study that can be used as promotional material. And given the vast number of scientific papers that are published, something can always be found and relatively insignificant data can be seductively exaggerated.</p> Fri, 17 Oct 2014 14:38:45 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 2205 at /oss