Predictive Policing, Gender Bias, and Median Survival

“Predictive policing” driven by bias A recent New York Times story describing the increasing practice of “predictive policing” does a good job of describing what this is all about, at least in broad strokes: “The strategy… combines elements of traditional policing,...

The 20-Year Old Study that Shook Medicine

The controversy over clinical trial transparency exploded last week as the BMJ published a reanalysis of previously hidden data on an antidepressant drug called Paroxetine (or Paxil). Paxil was approved for adults in 1992 by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA), but...

Should women drink beer to prevent heart attacks?

A new Swedish study found some benefits for women in moderate drinking, and some health consequences of heavy drinking—as many studies before have indicated. Yet the Daily Mail seems to have read an entirely different study on alcohol, resulting in a headline...

Epistemically Challenged: Julie Rehmeyer

Epistemically Challenged is an opinion series about how each one of us explores knowledge. In this installment, we spoke to award-winning math and science writer Julie Rehmeyer. My thinking about science has been very strongly affected by my experience with chronic...