/oss/articles/rss en /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/we-can-survive-without-food-about-70-days-only-5-days-without-water <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article657433.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:26:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10227 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/evidence-mounts-against-ultra-processed-foods <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article647194.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 19:13:55 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10225 at /oss /oss/article/technology-did-you-know-general-science/dangers-mirror-life <p>One of the better-known episodes of the original <i>Star Trek </i>series is called “Mirror, Mirror” and it dramatizes a freak transporter accident which sends Kirk, Uhura, Bones, and Scotty to an alternate universe. Their mirror universe colleagues on the <i>Enterprise</i> are greedy, violent, and bent on conquest. And Mirror Universe Spock sports a goatee, so we know he’s evil.</p> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 18:40:42 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10224 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/magnesium-necessary-nutrient-it-does-not-perform-miracles <p>The year was 1618, the place, Epsom, England. The farmer had just dug a well for his cows but the animals refused to drink the water. On tasting the water, he quickly discovered why. It was bitter! The water was undrinkable, but it would do for washing, he figured. That’s when he discovered that rubbing his body with the bitter water had a therapeutic effect. A skin rash disappeared, and his aching muscles stopped aching. When the water evaporated, it left behind some white crystals.</p> Thu, 09 Jan 2025 01:10:31 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10221 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know-general-science/lactose-free-milk <p>Ice cream, milk, cheese, yogurt, cream, butter and all other dairy products haunt the dreams of people with lactose intolerance. Over 68% of the world’s population has some degree of lactose malabsorption which is the inability to properly digest lactose, the sugar found in dairy products. Until the introduction of lactose-free milk, these unfortunate souls had to take Lactaid pills just to be able to indulge in some of their favourite treats.</p> Fri, 03 Jan 2025 02:08:44 +0000 Angelina Lapalme 10218 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/quantum-university-misuses-physics-train-fake-doctors <p>The current member of the Legislative Assembly for the British Columbia electoral district of Langley-Willowbrook is Ms. Jody Toor. I’m not veering off into political punditry; I’m writing this to clarify Toor’s courtesy title. “Ms.” Toor, or “Mrs.” if she’s married. But certainly not “Dr.” Toor.</p> Fri, 03 Jan 2025 01:35:38 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10217 at /oss /oss/article/infographics/2024-year-review <p><img style="width: 615px; height: 2306px;" class="media-element file-original " src="/oss/files/oss/2024_year_in_review_article_cat.png" width="1200" height="4500" alt="" /></p> <p><strong>January</strong></p> <ul> <li>Article - <a href="/oss/article/critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/macropanic-over-nanoplastics" rel="noopener">Macropanic over Nanoplastics</a> [Joe]</li> </ul> <p><strong>February</strong></p> Fri, 03 Jan 2025 14:25:44 +0000 Cat Wang, B.Sc. 10219 at /oss /oss/article/history-did-you-know/bubbling-new-year <p>So, you celebrated the new year with a glass of the bubbly. But was it the right kind of glass? A little background first. Champagne is produced mainly from black grapes in the Champagne region of France. From the moment the Pinot noir grapes are pressed in the vineyard, where almost fanatical care is taken to ensure that not even a trace of black skin ends up in the white juice, to the moment the cork pops, champagne receives more care and attention than any other wine in the world.</p> Tue, 31 Dec 2024 20:54:39 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10216 at /oss /oss/article/health-and-nutrition-did-you-know/why-do-fruitcakes-last-so-long <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/are-all-snowflakes-really-unique-is-nutmeg-a-hallucinogen-why-do-fruitcakes-seem-immortal-and-other-festive-science-questions/#:~:text=Why%20Do%20Fruitcakes%20Last%20So%20Long%3F">The Skeptical Inquirer.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>It comes down to the high sugar content of fruitcake and the not insignificant amount of booze included in many recipes.</p> Fri, 27 Dec 2024 18:52:33 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 10215 at /oss /oss/article/critical-thinking-pseudoscience/shamwow-fallacy-or-how-placebos-were-redefined <p>If I told you that an all-natural remedy performed just as well as a placebo in a clinical trial, how would you interpret that?</p> <p>Proponents of so-called complementary and alternative medicine often clamour for large clinical trials to be done of their interventions like homeopathy and acupuncture and criticize the lack of money to conduct these studies. Very often, however, these studies have been conducted, but because the results were disappointing, they are easily swept under the carpet and wiped from their memory.</p> Fri, 27 Dec 2024 18:22:56 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10214 at /oss