McGill Office for Science and Society

Fake image of Dr. Joe Schwarcz and Donald Trump wearing McGill University scarves inside of a university library room, generated by Nano Banana Pro through Google Gemini.

My article this week for @mcgilloss.bsky.social will cover AI & older adults, and I wanted to show them how realistic AI-generated images have gotten.

Behold! Our director, Dr. Joe Schwarcz, smiling next to Donald Trump at McGill University--"perhaps the most beautiful university we've ever seen!"

Congrats to Dr. Joe Schwarcz from @mcgilloss.bsky.social and host of The Dr. Joe Show for being inducted into the CJAD 800 Wall of Fame. Catch him every Sunday at 3 p.m. on CJAD 800.

Salmon Sperm and Penis Facials Influencers really do influence. When Kim Kardashian, who is famous for being famous, revealed that she had tried a “salmon sperm facial,” dermatologists and wellness clinics offering the procedure sa...

After Kim Kardashian tried a “salmon sperm facial”🐟💉 and Sandra Bullock hyped a “penis facial” clinics saw a rush of curious clients.

But behind the buzzy names are just polynucleotides and growth factors offering only modest skin benefits. Get the full scoop in Dr. Joe’s latest!

mcgill.ca/x/itR

Does Creationism Have a Place in Classrooms? www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/... by @jonathanjarry.bsky.social via @mcgilloss.bsky.social

Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. Nope. And nope.

"To quote Carl Sagan, science is a candle in the dark. We must not snuff it out."

A new poll seemingly shows that half of all Canadians are in favour of creationism being taught in their schools.

But the phrasing of the poll's question begs more questions.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

Hydrogen-Rich Gary Brecka Is Floating on Air The penthouse at the top of the glass tower is vast, airy, and very angular. It boasts a four-car garage and six bedrooms, wrapped by a terrace with “sweeping ocean and bay views,” according to the li...

Gary Brecka has made a fortune endorsing hydrogen-generating tablets as a panacea.

He's a great case study in just how rich you can get selling preliminary findings to the masses.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

The Tongue Map Trap Let me set the scene: it’s the evening, I’m doomscrolling in bed (as is tradition), and a video from Emma Chamberlain pops up. She's slurping espresso with a “coffee expert” who confidently explains t...

Coffee connoisseurs, it’s time to ditch the tongue map myth. Your entire tongue can taste sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and umami — no “zones” required. Curious how this myth spread and why it stuck around? Read the full story on our website.
mcgill.ca/x/iyU

The Strange Story of Nicotine Patches to Treat Long COVID Long COVID can feel like being adrift at sea, tiringly kicking those legs to stay above water. Social media provides lifebuoys but many turn out to be tricks of the light. What about nicotine? On Face...

Some folks dealing with long COVID are applying nicotine patches to their skin even though they're not trying to quit smoking.

How this came about is a really interesting and bizarre story.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

Extraire des médicaments de la nature : plus facile à dire qu’à faire Les promoteurs du bien-être simplifient à l'extrême lorsqu'ils qualifient la nature de pharmacie à ciel ouvert.

"Les promoteurs du bien-être simplifient à l’extrême lorsqu’ils qualifient la nature de pharmacie à ciel ouvert."

Mon article, initialement pour @mcgilloss.bsky.social, traduit en français pour @lactualite.com!

lactualite.com/sante-et-sci...

Dr. Joe’s article shines light on the various forms of light therapy used today🕯️💊 While some therapies may have real merit, he cautions against shadowy clinics ⚠️ making baseless claims about intravenous light therapy. mcgill.ca/x/iy3

Ayurveda Can Harm Your Liver “I know where you live. I know your address. I know who you are. Trust me, they won’t even find your dead body.” This threat was not made privately; rather, it was posted on Twitter and addressed to D...

India’s traditional healing cornucopia comes with a side of heavy metal poisoning.

Arsenic, lead, mercury... but also elephant dung?

Ayurveda can harm your liver. My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

The False Economy of Education Cuts Why This Matters (Even If You Don’t Live There) A public education system is the scaffolding of any democracy. It’s where young citizens learn not only arithmetic and grammar, but curiosity, empathy, ...

Cutting education isn’t fiscal prudence; it’s social decay.

Alberta’s strike shows what happens when a government treats schools like a budget line, not a lifeline.

Money does matter.
Teachers do matter.
Democracy can’t thrive when classrooms crumble.

Read more: mcgill.ca/x/iVX

Who Is the Low-Histamine Diet Really For? Do you have difficulty falling asleep? A bit of anxiety? Headaches? Any sort of digestive issue? A low-histamine diet may be for you! So claims a blog post on one of the many websites promoting this d...

Have you been tempted to try a low-histamine diet? Do you suspect you may have histamine intolerance from the food you eat?

I looked into this trend and was surprised/not surprised by what I found.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

Double, Double Toil and Trouble Oh, human nature! When something goes wrong, we try to rationalize why the calamity has occurred. We try to find the cause of our illness or misfortune. Today, many people point accusing fingers at pe...

In the past, people blamed witches for disease and calamity; today, many people point accusing fingers at pesticides, vaccines, food additives, and technology 🧙🏻‍♀️🔮😷

Times change, but the fear of the unknown unfortunately stays the same ⏰

Get the whole scoop in Dr. Joe’s article.
mcgill.ca/x/iHN

A Century in the Making: The DNA Discovery Story When most people hear about the discovery of DNA, they picture James Watson and Francis Crick in 1953, triumphantly holding up a model of the double helix. But DNA’s story doesn’t begin, or end, there...

🧬 The journey from surgical bandages to the blueprint of life took a century of false starts, rivalry, and overlooked heroes.

Read all about the discovery of DNA on our website 👇
mcgill.ca/x/iHc

The Genesis of the COVID Vaccine: The Path to the Nobel Prize (Trottier Symposium) YouTube video by McGill Office for Science and Society

If you missed this year’s Trottier Sympsoium (or would simply like to re-watch it), you can watch a recording of the presentation & the fireside chat on our Youtube channel!
www.youtube.com/live/tmF0CDq...

Seeds of Hope Require Roots of Integrity: Remembering Jane Goodall On Wednesday October 1st, 2025, Dr. Jane Goodall passed away while on a speaking tour in the United States. As an esteemed scientist whose life mission was to advocate for wildlife, promote conservati...

Jane Goodall dedicated her life to wildlife advocacy and connecting humans with the animal kingdom— a mission she stayed true to until her final days. Yet, controversies surrounding Dr. Goodall’s book, Seeds of Hope, remind us of the importance of academic integrity 📖✅
mcgill.ca/x/iK6

In vivo CAR T therapy for killing cancer cells has several advantages over the ex vivo approach www.thelancet.com/journals/ebi... Nobelist Drew Weissman described it at the 2025 Trottier Public Science Symposium last night @mcgilloss.bsky.social

The Genesis of the COVID Vaccine: The Path to the Nobel Prize (Trottier Symposium) YouTube video by McGill Office for Science and Society

Superb symposium included Weissman's insights into in vivo CAR T therapy's advantages over in vitro; serendipity's role in the mRNA vaccine development; #RKJr 's dangerous hepatitis B policy; Joe's witty intro to #vaccines and a lot more @mcgilloss.bsky.social www.youtube.com/live/tmF0CDq...

AGZ Is More Shaky Science from the Makers of AG1 “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” This famous line from Michael Corleone is apt here: our Office and others have been over the AG1 story, denouncing its flimsy scientific evidence...

AG1 has a new product out: a sleep aid called AGZ.

The costly powder is a potpourri of wellness sleep hacks gentrified with slick marketing.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

The Genesis of the COVID Vaccine: The Path to the Nobel Prize (Trottier Symposium) YouTube video by McGill Office for Science and Society

The Genesis of the COVID Vaccine: The Path to the Noble Prize by Dr. Drew Weissman

Trottier Symposium, by the McGill Office for Science and Society

@mcgilloss.bsky.social

www.youtube.com/live/tmF0CDq...

AGZ Is More Shaky Science from the Makers of AG1 “Just when I thought I was out, they pull me back in!” This famous line from Michael Corleone is apt here: our Office and others have been over the AG1 story, denouncing its flimsy scientific evidence...

Again, sale of supplements = HUGE red flag for bunk!

🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩🚩

AGZ Is More Shaky Science from the Makers of AG1 mcgill.ca/oss/article/... by
@jonathanjarry.bsky.social via @mcgilloss.bsky.social

"The ingredients it contains have very little convincing scientific evidence behind them..."

Happening this coming Thursday! If you're in Manchester, please come! You won't be disappointed.

The Trottier 2025 Symposium is underway @mcgill.ca! Featuring 2023 Nobel Laureate, Dr. Drew Weissman!

#Trottier2025 #mRNA #COVID19Vaccine

Faster, Higher, Stronger… Enhanced? For most people, track and field exists as a fleeting summer spectacle: ten days every four years when the fastest, strongest, and most gravity-defying humans wage war on a 400-metre oval. For me, thi...

🏃🏅 Olympic medalist Fred Kerley just joined the Enhanced Games: a new event that allows performance-enhancing drugs.

Are we witnessing the future of sport… or its downfall?

Read more: mcgill.ca/x/izA

Claims About Blue Spirulina Raise a Red Flag In the science communication business, we call them “weasel words.” Why? Because weasels have a reputation for being sneaky and tricky. We are talking about words like “may,” “suggest,” “possible” and...

More often than not, when you read that something “may” have health benefits using the term “may not” can just as well substitute for “may”

Read Dr Joe’s latest on how blue spirulina 🌀 has been caught in the weasel-word crossfire and learn what the product definitely IS below!
mcgill.ca/x/izd

Everyone Else Is Lying to You: A Damning Archive of Science Denial “Future generations will know that at least some of us tried to resist the intrusion of quackery into medicine, and they’ll gain some semblance of insight into a confounding reality.” Thus ends the da...

Dr. Jonathan Howard has a new book out.

"This is as much a review of the book as it is a reflection on the state of public health administration in the United States right now, where the inmates are running the asylum."

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social.

www.mcgill.ca/oss/article/...

Can Nature Design Technology Better Than Us? Biomimicry, a scientific field dedicated to using nature as a model to guide the development of more efficient and better technology, recenters the anthropocentric narrative that often takes the reign...

Transportation networks 🚃 Velcro, airplanes ✈️ and water filtration 🌊systems. These four things have one thing in common: they are innovations that owe their origins to nature🌲🌿

Get the whole scoop on biomimicry in this piece: mcgill.ca/x/iDW

Extracting Drugs from Nature Is Hard A video on Facebook with nearly one million views informs me that the avocado tree is a pharmacy in disguise. “Its leaves help regulate blood sugar,” the narrator says, “its seeds target cancer cells,...

That “miracle” plant killing cancer cells on Facebook? It probably won’t work in humans.
Read our latest piece on why extracting drugs from nature is harder than it looks.
mcgill.ca/x/iDd

When a natural compound is introduced inside of a piece of plastic in the lab where individual cells grow, scientists will often see something interesting happen, and these preliminary findings are often used to market the plant to an eager audience. Natural compounds are said to have anticancer activity, or antibacterial activity, or anti-inflammatory activity. It’s true. In artificial conditions, when a large dose of some natural compound is repeatedly dropped on top of cells that have been plucked from the human body, they do cause interesting changes. But that’s a little bit like choosing a child who has just learned to ride his tricycle and immediately putting them in the driver’s seat of an eighteen-wheeler to drive cross-country. Driving in the real world is a little bit more complicated than this.

We are bombarded with the message that nature is one giant pharmacy.

But extracting drugs from it is a lot harder than wellness influencers believe.

My latest for @mcgilloss.bsky.social