2016

We cannot tell a lie: George Washington's false teeth weren't made out of wood, though the materials actually used weren't all that appealing, either. CLAIM: U.S. President George Washington had wooden teeth. FALSE ORIGIN: One of the most popular historical exhibits at Mount Vernon, originally the estate of the first President of

Soaring use of e-cigarettes among young people “is now a major public health concern,” according to a report published Thursday from the United States Surgeon General. It is the first comprehensive look on the subject from the nation’s highest public-health authority, and it finds that e-cigarettes are now the most

It’s bad enough that expertise is under attack these days from populist political movements that dismiss specialist opinion as just another establishment ruse. But lately expertise is being criticized from another direction, too — from would-be defenders of science. Consider the recent controversy over flossing. In August, a widely read

Want to prevent heart disease? Take a look at your teeth. A study published in October in the American Journal of Medicine found that those who used toothpaste that targeted plaque, and therefore were more diligent in brushing their teeth, lowered their levels of heart-attack-triggering inflammation. The study’s authors found that

People who sleep five or fewer hours a night are likely to also drink significantly more sugary caffeinated drinks, such as sodas and energy drinks, according to a new study of more than 18,000 adults led by UC San Francisco scientists. The authors emphasize that it’s not yet clear whether