Kambo
'Complementary medicine chiefs have warned Britons to avoid an ancient healing ritual known as "
kambo", which involves the use of frog poison, after a Briton died during a ceremony in their London flat. Those curious about the practice have
been urged to stay clear of self-appointed shamans who promise to administer the treatment safely, despite it not having any backing in the scientific
community.'
Faith Healing
Authorities are calling for investigations into families who belong to
a Pennsylvania church they say has a long history of children dying due to parents believing that God can heal ailments such as pneumonia,
ear infections or, even dating back to the first known case, typhoid fever
Peptides
'Health influencers are selling peptides
as a cure-all for everything from building muscle to losing weight and even boosting your libido. While Health Canada warns consumers they pose serious
risks, in the U.S., government regulators are talking about loosening restrictions. Jonathan Jarry with McGill's Office for Science and Society on the
potential risks and why they've become so popular in spite of a lack of evidence-based research.'
UFOs
'The tranche of never-before-seen documents released by the Pentagon
on UFOs includes descriptions of reported sightings - by civilians on Earth and by astronauts on the Moon. The documents, spanning decades, were
declassified and posted online on Friday at the direction of US President Donald Trump, who said earlier this year that he would release them
"based on the tremendous interest shown".'
Chronic Disease
'The rise
in chronic disease doesn't necessarily mean we are getting sicker. Robert F. Kennedy Jr is right to say chronic disease is on the rise - but it's due to a
population that's living longer and less likely to die from disease.'
Nick Pope
On April 6 this year, Nick Pope,
often described as "the UK's top UFO expert", died at his home in Tucson, Arizona. A few weeks earlier, he had shared the news via X that he had been
diagnosed with stage 4 oesophageal cancer and that it had metastasised to his liver. According to his wife, Professor Elizabeth Weiss, he was still
conducting interviews right up until his final few days.
Open Access Publishing
'Why we won't be funding open access publishing any more' by
Cancer Research UK'.
'We need efficient scholarly communications to spread scientific ideas via a fair economic model. We currently don't have that. The open access
movement was bold and promising, but ultimately disappointing. Now is the time to stop and call for a new way to make publishing work…'
US Education
'Masquerading as a university: inside the brazen right-wing plan to conquer American schools. As teachers eagerly adopt its free lesson plans and
the White House boosts its videos,
PragerU is intent
on one goal: attracting young people to conservatism.'
Exorcism
'Pope Leo XIV met with exorcists earlier this month who warned of increased spiritual danger
from the growing prevalence of cases related to occultism, reports EWTN Vatican News, part of Irondale-based EWTN, founded by Mother Angelica in Alabama
in 1981. Representatives of the International Association of Exorcists asked the first U.S.-born pope, in a private audience on March 13, to ensure
that every diocese in the world has at least one priest adequately trained in exorcism.'
Childless Russian Women
Russia is set to refer
women who do not want children to psychologists. 'For decades, Russia has been facing a plunging birth rate and population decline. The issue has
been one of President Vladimir Putin's main concerns over his 25-year rule. And the problem has only worsened amid the ongoing invasion of Ukraine,
with high casualty rates and men fleeing the country to avoid being conscripted to fight. The birth rate is at a low of 1.4 births per woman,
significantly below the 2.1 that demographers say is needed to maintain a stable population. The new guidelines from the health ministry will see reproductive health checks, where doctors will ask women how many children they would like to have. If a woman says she does not want children, she will be guided towards counselling with the goal of developing a positive attitude to motherhood.'
Echoes of the days when people who did not agree with Soviet ideology were regarded as having a psychiatric illness.
'Gullible, Cynical America'
'The trouble with believing anything and nothing at the same time':
Many Americans believe that vaccines are unsafe, but will jab themselves full of performance enhancers. They think seed oils cause chronic disease,
but beef tallow is healthy. They'll say you can't trust federally insured banks, but you can trust the millionaires who want you to invest in their
volatile vaporware crypto tokens. They think food additives are toxic but support an administration removing all restrictions on pumping pollutants
into the air and water. They'll insist that you can't trust scientists, because they're part of the conspiracy. The podcaster selling you his special
creatine gummies, though? He seems trustworthy.'
AI Misinformation
'In boardrooms from New York to Singapore, executives are obsessing over how fast they can roll out AI tools — but far fewer are asking a more
uncomfortable question: what happens when those tools start confidently generating falsehoods in their company’s name.
AI-driven misinformation is no longer a fringe concern reserved for social media platforms and election cycles; it is now embedded in how
organizations market, communicate, automate, and even make decisions. As generative models are wired into customer service, finance, HR, and
content workflows, the line between “experimental tool” and “enterprise risk” is vanishing.'
Climate Change
'On January 7th, 2026, Donald Trump explicitly withdrew the United States from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), along with 65 other
organizations. His reasoning was that these organizations and treaties "no longer serve American interests." This action is one of Trump's many attacks on
the integrity of climate change. This exit allows Trump to dangerously control the narrative of climate change in America, through his perpetuation of false
information and the silencing of scientists. (Continued in next column.)
'Amidst this darkness, however, there may be a glimmer of light. In Belém, Brazil last November, at
the 2025 United Nations Climate Change
Conference COP30, 13 countries-- including Canada-- signed The Declaration on Information Integrity on Climate Change, calling for tangible steps
towards dismantling structures promoting the spread of climate misinformation. Importantly, too, it outlines protections for environmental scientists
and journalists who work to promote evidence-based climate change narratives. In a time where social media algorithms and tyrants spread false information,
disarming denialist echo-chambers is an important first step towards dismantling these harmful spaces.'
Autism
In the US, scientists have launched
an independent autism advisory panel to counter what they see as the politicization of research by Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr.
'Theta Healing'
'The full scale of what's been dubbed a dangerous cancer curing "cult" operating in Dubai has been revealed - as experts claim the city has become the
"dumping ground for the world's worst criminals". Practitioners of ThetaHealing, founded by Vianna Stibal in 1995, say they can access the brain's
'theta wave state'
to find cures for mental and physical ailments. The controversial practice has been accused of luring in vulnerable families and encouraging them to
"reject medical healing in favour of fantasy" - amid claims it can "cure HIV" and "re-grow amputated legs".'
More Measles Cases
At least 34 children have been infected by a "fast-spreading" measles outbreak in several north London schools, health of
ficials have said. The cases from Enfield were confirmed in laboratory tests in January, the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) reported. A local GP
surgery said one in five children who contracted the illness had been admitted to hospital, all of whom "had not been fully immunised". Families have
been urged to ensure their children are up to date with their immunisations against the highly contagious disease, which can cause serious health
complications.
UFOs
In a development that has captured public attention, Lara Trump says she has
heard that her father, President Donald Trump, will soon make a significant announcement regarding unidentified flying objects that could impact
how Americans view government transparency and national security. Her comment, made during a recent online conversation, has stirred both curiosity and
debate across social media and political circles.
Exorcism
'An NHS trust
called in an exorcist after staff at a Norfolk hospice complained the site was haunted, including by the spectral figure of a girl in a
red dress. Workers said they had experienced a series of "paranormal incidents" at the Priscilla Bacon Lodge, which was previously used as a
children's hospital. To address their concerns, the lodge's chaplain contacted the Diocese of Norwich and requested the assistance of deliverance
ministers, commonly referred to as exorcists, to rid the building of any evil spirits.'
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