Tomato plants emit a volatile compound named hexenyl butyrate  which can be used for closing the stomata, key in protecting plants from bacterial attacks. But Center for Science in the…

A California lawmaker wants to ban paper receipts - those annoying long things that immediately get lost in a grocery bag - but instead of promoting the legitimate reason to get rid of them, they are…

The year 2018 began much like every year does, full of promise and hope. And it ended like almost every year does, jaded and weakened by compromise.  Though a budget shutdown is in the news,…

Researchers have studied the effectiveness of new antimicrobial systems based on the use of essential oils extracted from plants such as thyme or cinnamon to improve the preservation of foods and…

Does the world need another sweetener? With debates raging over cane sugar, corn sugar, beet sugar, raw sugar, and numerous zero-calorie alternatives to sugar, new products would seem to be just…

In Science Left Behind I showed that in America it was easy to accurately correlate beliefs about science to political viewpoints. If you believed in psychics, witchcraft, organic food or homeopathy…

Marta Venier, an environmentalist at Indiana University, recently teamed up with a Michigan activist group to "test" car seats and declared they had toxic chemicals. Obviously that is media clickbait…

In 2017, action star Chuck Norris and his wife Gena sued 11 companies for $10 million over gadolinium used in her MRIs, stating she was poisoned by the contrast agent. Gadolinium is a heavy metal, it…

Mommy shaming and chemophobia have long found common cause when it comes to the cosmetics industry. Though mercenary, it is understandable why companies that make labels "certifying" something safe,…

On Sept. 6, 1958, the “natural” food movement and chemophobia as we know it were born. On that day, the Food Additives Amendment of 1958, which modified the U.S. Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act of 1938…