McGill Office for Science and Society (OSS)

09/27/2025

Our story begins in the year 1884, with two German physicians. After accidentally treating a patient’s high fever, rather than their worm infestation, the journey to synthesizing aceTYLaminophENOL began. 💊 Hitting pharmacy shelves in 1955, Tylenol turned out to be a popular pain reliever and fever reducer, safe when taken in the proper dose

🇺🇸 Trump’s tirade is not the first time that Tylenol has made the headlines. In 1982, thirty-one million bottles were recalled because some wretched soul had managed to open capsules and insert potassium cyanide. This, however, had nothing to do with Tylenol’s active ingredient.

The consequence of this poisoning case was the development of tamper-proof packaging that features a plastic seal, an aluminum foil cover, and a pop-up cap. If you have an ordinary headache, the struggle is worth it.

Get the whole scoop in Dr. Joe’s latest.
https://mcgill.ca/x/iEM

President Trump’s unhinged, ill-informed and potentially dangerous attack on Tylenol has focussed attention on its active ingredient, acetaminophen. Many others have, and will dissect his harangue (see Jonathan Jarry's article), but I’ll take his vilification of Tylenol as an opportunity to disc...

09/25/2025

When you hear “lithium,” you probably think of batteries 🔋 or bipolar treatment 💊. But researchers are uncovering another possible role: protecting the brain against Alzheimer’s disease 🧠.

Lithium has a curious history and a surprising future:
• Once marketed in tonics, Coca-Cola syrup, even 7-Up as a “mood booster”
• Later proven as an effective (though carefully monitored) treatment for bipolar disorder
• Now linked in studies to a lower risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s
• Harvard researchers found lithium depleted in memory centers of Alzheimer’s patients, but trapped in amyloid plaques
• In mouse studies, lithium supplements reduced plaques and restored memory performance

It’s certainly too early to jump on supplements, but the science is sparking fascinating possibilities.

🔗 Read the full article here:https://mcgill.ca/x/iBR

Mention lithium and you likely conjure up an image of lithium batteries or a medication to treat bipolar disease. But researchers are now looking at another aspect of lithium. The possibility that lithium in the diet may play a role in reducing the risk of Alzheimer’s disease. This is not the firs...

09/24/2025

Fruit flies driving you bananas? 🍌 🪰
Despite the name, the tiny bugs hovering over your counter are usually vinegar flies (Drosophila) drawn not to fresh fruit but to the chemicals released by rotting or fermenting produce.

In this article, we look at:
• Why vinegar (especially apple cider vinegar) works best to bait traps
• How to build simple, effective DIY traps
• Why persistence matters—one fly can lay up to 400 eggs!
• Other strategies: keep things dry, store produce properly, rinse containers, clean drains, and even check for fungus gnats (a whole different problem).

Read the full article here👇
https://mcgill.ca/x/iLn

As I type this, I occasionally have to pause and swat away tiny annoying flying bugs that seem drawn specifically to my face. In light of my plight, let’s look at some fruit fly science – specifically, how best to bait, trap and rid your home of them. While fruit flies might seem like a warm wea...

09/22/2025

Ever had a debate on vaccines, climate change, or public health spiral into chaos? That’s denialism at work, and the FLICC framework can help you spot it.

FLICC outlines five common tactics used to reject scientific consensus:
• Fake Experts – presented as authorities without relevant expertise.
• Logical Fallacies – flawed reasoning like strawman arguments or false dichotomies.
• Impossible Expectations – demanding 100% certainty before taking action.
• Cherry Picking – focusing on the one study that agrees while ignoring the rest.
• Conspiracy Theories – dismissing consensus as a cover-up.

These strategies aren’t just frustrating, they’re dangerous. From fueling anti-vaccine rhetoric to delaying climate action, denialism costs lives.

Understanding FLICC doesn’t just sharpen your debate skills, it helps you recognize misinformation and protect conversations (and policies) from being derailed.

Learn more in the full article on our website.
https://mcgill.ca/x/iLm

Ever find yourself in a heated argument about climate change, vaccines, or whether the moon landing was “just Hollywood propaganda”? Suddenly, you’re not debating facts, you’re dodging YouTube links and rants about shadow governments. If you’ve ever wondered how a conversation spiraled int...

09/21/2025

AI platforms like Consensus promise not to hallucinate scientific papers, but are they truly reliable? Our tests found misleading graphs, inconsistent answers, and even generous takes on pseudoscience.

AI can be a useful tool, but subtle mistakes in research or healthcare can have big consequences. The bottom line: use it, but don’t blindly trust it.

Read the full article on our website.
https://mcgill.ca/x/iLW

By now, the fact that artificial intelligence can hallucinate is, I hope, well known. There are countless examples of platforms like ChatGPT giving the wrong answer to a straightforward question or imagining a bit of information that does not exist. Notably, when Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s MAHA Report...

09/20/2025

Seeing that little NPN (Natural Product Number) on one of 90,000 natural supplements may make it look official, but they are not regulated the same way as prescription or even non-prescription medications🚫🌿💊.

Well-known products like "Bach Rescue Remedy", “Wild Rose Herbal Detox”, or “Ear oil” all have NPNs, yet they don’t have to pass the same rigorous testing as prescription drugs🔬. An NPN only means that the government has assessed the product and approved it for sale🏷.

There are some natural products, like vitamins or probiotics, that do have to submit some clinical evidence supporting their health impacts. However, herbal supplements can solely rely on “traditional use” claims. That’s how remedies based on flower “essences” and "spiritual energy" end up with official-looking approval numbers.

The bottom line: don't mistake an NPN for scientific evidence. Get the whole scoop in Dr. Joe's latest:
https://mcgill.ca/x/iLA

“Bach Rescue Remedy” features a Natural Product Number (NPN) issued by Health Canada so one would naturally assume that it will relieve stress and nervousness as the label claims. If you have an earache, you might go for “Ear oil” that claims to relieve pain with extracts of mullein, garlic,...

09/15/2025

Beer Spas claim that a one-hour 🕒 soak in warm beer offers health benefits, thanks to brewer’s yeast. 🍺

In this article, we will:
👨‍🔬 Explain the role of brewer’s yeast in the beer-making process�🔄 Discuss the difference between active and inactive brewer’s yeast�🍻 Debunk the myth that beer is “healthy”

The Key Takeaway? 🔑
While brewer’s yeast may aid some aspects of health, these effects certainly are not gained by soaking in beer 🚫🛁. So for now, skip the soak; your nostrils and your wallet will thank you. 👃🏻

Read the full article here
https://mcgill.ca/x/i6A

“Beer Spa” –– two words that you wouldn’t think to put together. Well, go to the center of Prague, and there is seemingly no end to the signs for these curious retreats. When I think of a spa day, I imagine walking in the door and instantly being embraced by the calming aroma of eucalyptus...

09/14/2025

PragerU calls itself a university, but it’s really a conservative media giant with a $72M budget dedicated to producing pro-American, religiously motivated videos. Beyond politics, its content dives into science and medicine, often by elevating contrarians, climate change deniers, and COVID minimizers as if they were modern-day Galileos.

From false claims about diabetes and climate health impacts to interviews with naturopaths promoting homeopathy and “leaky gut,” PragerU pushes fringe ideas under the guise of education. Its children’s programming is even more concerning: animated shows portray rebels as the only “truth-tellers” and dismiss mainstream science as government propaganda.

The message is clear: distrust consensus, glorify contrarians, and blur the line between fact and fiction. When these videos reach classrooms and kids, the consequences go beyond politics—they undermine how we understand science itself.

Learn more in our full article on our website.

https://mcgill.ca/x/i6d

If we’re trying to understand our era, we need to recognize the following: mainstream institutions and their various consensuses are being replaced by fringe alternatives. In the United States right now, mainstream science and education are being levelled to make way for replacements, and because ...

09/12/2025

One of the hottest areas of research these days is the microbiome, that complex ecosystem in our gut comprised of hundreds of bacterial species. The trillions of bacteria that inhabit our digestive tract play an active role in breaking down plant fiber and proteins, synthesizing some vitamins, teaching the immune system to distinguish friend from foe, and help regulate inflammation.

And now…? Now, we learn that the composition of the microbiome may be affected by music, specifically Mozart’s. 🎶🎼 At least in female mice. 🐁 When the mice were challenged with Salmonella bacteria, the ones that had been listening to Mozart exhibited less colonization and had a reduced risk of infection.

Cognitive ability and listening to Mozart is a relationship that has been studied more than once. In one 1993 study, suggesting a clear link between listening to Mozart and increased intellect, the original findings were never reproduced, with critics suggesting that listening to music improves mood, leading to better performance (nothing to do with increased intelligence).

So, for humans, there’s no hidden agenda in listening to Mozart—just the simple joy of appreciating his Flute Quartet 🪈. For mice, on the other hand, it might be a matter of health.

🔗 Read all about it in Dr. Joe’s latest piece!
https://mcgill.ca/x/i6g

I must admit that my interest in Mozart has mostly focused on the various theories of his demise in the prime of his youth. The composer had always been sickly, and it is well known that he had often been treated with antimony compounds by his physicians. He even dosed himself when he didn’t feel ...

09/10/2025

With vaccine skepticism on the rise 💉 , and the U.S. healthcare system heading in a backward direction ( 👎), this year’s Trottier Symposium could not be more relevant.

On Tuesday, October 21, we will hear from Nobel Laureate and co-inventor of the COVID vaccine Dr. Drew Weissman, on the twists and turns of this historical vaccine development and the road to the Nobel Prize🏅

The event is free. It will be recorded and made available for viewing afterward on our website & YouTube channel.

Registration is required! Follow this link 👉 https://tr.ee/T70VzN

09/09/2025

With vaccine skepticism on the rise, and the U.S. healthcare system heading in a backward direction, this year's Trottier Symposium could not be more relevant. On Tuesday, October 21, we will hear from Nobel Laureate and co-inventor of the COVID vaccine Dr. Drew Weissman, on the twists and turns of this historical vaccine development and the road to the Nobel.

The event is free, in-person, and will not be live-streamed. It will be recorded and made available for viewing afterward on our website: mcgill.ca/oss

Registration is required: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/2025-trottier-public-science-symposium-tickets-1648877800889

For more information, please visit the Trottier 2025 webpage:
https://www.mcgill.ca/oss/events/trottier-symposium/genesis-covid-vaccine

Looking forward to seeing you there!

09/07/2025

Move over, Food Babe. There’s a new food influencer in town, and she calls herself the Glucose Goddess. 👸

Jessie Inchauspé’s claim is that “spikes” in blood sugar after meals are responsible for everything from fatigue to wrinkles to infertility, even in people without diabetes. And, of course, she has hacks, a monitor, and a supplement to sell you. 💰💊

Here are key takeaways from Jonathan Jarry’s article:
• Normal post-meal glucose rises aren’t inherently dangerous unless they’re very high or prolonged

• Her “hacks” to prevent these spikes are either run-of-the-mill advice freely available elsewhere or they are questionable

• She advocates for the wearing of a continuous glucose monitor, even though there is enough evidence that we should be skeptical of such a universal recommendation

• She sells a dietary supplement to prevent these blood glucose spikes, even though no study has scientifically tested her supplement and many of the studies she cites for its individual ingredients do not show the benefits she claims

In other words, her marketing may be spiking, but your blood sugar doesn’t need to.

Read more here ⬇️
https://mcgill.ca/x/iBr

Move over, Food Babe. There’s a new food influencer in town and she is no mere “babe.” This one hangs out on Mount Olympus. Much like a superhero, she has an origin story. At age 19, the woman who would later adopt the moniker of Glucose Goddess broke her back while jumping off a waterfall. In...