Office for Science and Society - Separating Sense from Nonsense

Confronting Nefarious Nitrosamines

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:44:53 +0000

“Boil the nipples!” was the advice given in 1984 by the Food and Drug Administration in the U.S. to parents who were bottle feeding their infants or calming them with pacifiers. The presence of nitrosamines, compounds that had been found to cause cancer in animals, had been recently detected in rubber products and the concern was that they could be transferred to babies.

Want to Research Something? This Is How You Get Money for It

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 09 May 2025 20:12:36 +0000

Have you ever seen Black Hawk helicopters fly above the Ģ��Ƶ campus? Me neither. Yet, there is a persistent conspiracy theory that might as well invoke their presence.

The Sex Lives of Insects

Melody Ko MD — Wed, 07 May 2025 15:47:43 +0000

Sex is always a hot topic. Sex in insects is even more intriguing. Most people’s first reaction when they think of insects, is disgust. After all, insects are (most of them anyway) ugly, strange, and a nuisance when they invade our households. But they are fascinating creatures and easy to study because they are just about anywhere! In fact, there are more insects in the world than any other type of animal, no matter how you measure their numbers, whether in terms of individuals or species.

Butyric Acid is an Enemy in the Fridge but a Friend in the Gut

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Wed, 07 May 2025 15:22:14 +0000

Smells are caused by volatile compounds that stimulate receptors in our nose. There is a large variety of such compounds with a great diversity of molecular structures. But many of the smells encountered in the fridge are due to volatile fatty acids. For example, when butter goes rancid, it releases butyric acid, a particularly foul smelling compound that is also a component of foot odour, vomit, and curiously, parmesan cheese. It is also the notorious ingredient in stink bombs.

How an Unfortunate Florist Uncovered the Dangers of Nicotine Absorption

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 02 May 2025 18:01:55 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

The 33-year-old florist felt some wetness as he sat down in the chair. On standing up, he realized that he must have spilled some Nico-Fume Liquid, which he used to keep his flowers free of insects.

Conned by Logarithms - How Our Minds Misread Risk

Ben Selinger FRACI, CChem — Fri, 02 May 2025 17:14:26 +0000

History

John Napier is credited with discovering/inventing logarithms but nature had already beaten him to it. Our bodies had already figured it out. Our senses—sight, hearing, taste and touch— use a logarithmic transform to cope with the enormous range of the signals our senses need to handle.

Stem Cells for Pets: Why So Little Progress?

Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. — Fri, 02 May 2025 17:03:17 +0000

Maxine is doing it. Tiny Timon is doing it too. Nash is about to start and Sushi the pug is now “pain-free and thriving.” At a certain age, seemingly every dog on Instagram starts embracing stem cells.

The veterinary clinics that offer this service call it “innovative” and “proven,” with benefits lasting “many years.” If you are to believe your feed, the fountain of youth has finally been found and its water is teeming with stem cells.

Do You Want Artificial or Natural Dyes in Your Food? Wrong Question.

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 02 May 2025 14:47:48 +0000

The little bugs are making news. Carmine, the “natural” red dye they produce, is set to be more widely used as the food industry rails from allegations that its “petroleum-based, artificial” colourants are, in the words of Robert F. Kennedy Jr., “poisonous.” Before going any further, let me state that I am not opposed to the phasing out of food dyes, be they synthetic or natural, because they serve only a cosmetic purpose and make no nutritional contribution. But removing a food dye that serves as eye candy from candy will not make that candy any healthier.

TikTok Is Crazy for Methylene Blue, but Not for the Right Reasons

Joe Schwarcz PhD — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 16:45:51 +0000

This article was first published in The Montreal Gazette.

A short video of Robert F. Kennedy Jr. squirting a blue liquid into a glass of water would hardly have raised an eyebrow were he not the U.S. secretary of health and human services. But given that he now sits atop the U.S. health pyramid, as incredible as that is, his actions reap interest.

Is Creatine the Secret to a Longer Life?

Simran Dhir BSc — Fri, 25 Apr 2025 14:19:32 +0000

When I say creatine, the first image that comes to your mind is probably that of a muscular, young man working out (i.e. a gym bro) but what if I said creatine may be for the grandads? While there is a lot of doubt about the legitimacy of creatine supplementation, here is a look at how it affects different parts of the body and if it can truly counteract detrimental, age-related muscle weakness.