Science

News, commentary, critique, reviews, research and more from the world of science.

Placebo Effect

Does the colour of a pill really influence what kind of placebo effect you’ll experience?

Mike Hall -
It's said that pill colour influences what placebo effect people experience, but the primary source for this claim is flimsy at best
Psychology

Comparing misinformation to a virus is neither accurate nor useful in preventing its spread

Ariana Modirrousta-Galian, Phil Higham, Tina Seabrooke -
Portraying misinformation as a virus assumes we're all equally susceptible, and risks distracting us from solutions to the problem it poses
Health

Beware of commercial microbiome tests: how at-home testing can mislead consumers

Cesar Baima -
Despite the marketing claims, research has found no evidence to suggest at-home microbiome tests offer reliable health insights
Society

Are ‘gacha’ games and loot boxes merely gambling in disguise?

Shao Zihang -
Gacha video games - where players pay real money for a chance at winning digital items - are a poorly regulated space that can become as exploitative as gambling
Placebo Effect

Overly simplistic headlines muddy the water around placebo effects and mislead the public

Mike Hall -
Recent headlines claim we 'finally know' how placebos work, thanks to a trial that is little more than Pavlovian conditioning. No wonder the public is confused
Science

Racism is a real phenomenon, but that doesn’t mean that the idea of “biological race” is real

Natália Pasternak -
Just because some people will discriminate against others due to their appearance and racial identity, that doesn't make the notion of 'biological race' true.
Climate Change

We shouldn’t fear a “zombie fungus”, like The Last of Us… but a threat from fungi is real

Georgy Kurakin -
While a zombie-style fungal threat is incredibly unlikely, rising global temperatures mean we're increasingly at risk from a life-threatening fungal pathogen
Climate Change

The 2024 UK General Election came with lessons that skeptics should listen to

Mark Horne -
There have always been parties pushing fringe beliefs at elections, but Reform saw significant gains by courting the conspiracist vote - we need to pay attention
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