When scientists disagree: 5 (or 6) steps to understanding scientific controversy

With real scientists, the gloves are off. Credit: Ryan McGuire/StockSnap

by Gaia Cantelli, PhD

US scientists’ research on how to promote healthy eating in schools is deeply flawed, watchdog researchers have found. The original studies gained much media attention, secured millions of dollars in funding and are being implemented in thousands in schools. But independent scientists have found that they are filled with problems, including mathematical impossibilities and duplications. 

If you ever look up scientific theories online, it won’t be long until you encounter at least one story like this. Because science is a living subject and constantly evolving, scientists will inevitably disagree and controversy will arise. Choosing who to believe when you are not a subject expert yourself is tricky and confusing, especially if you are trying to use science to make an important decision. Here are 5 (or maybe 6) steps you might want to consider to make up your mind.

Five tips on using science to live a better, healthier life

Image credit Thomas_H_photo, used via Flickr CC BY-ND 2.0 licence

by Gaia Cantelli, PhD

You have just woken up. You check your phone and have a look at the news. What do you see? Most days, a key headline will have something to do with science – and with good reason. We live in what many consider a golden age of discovery. Science is making advances we never thought possible and is helping us work out problems we never thought could be solved. We can look for water in outer space, use light-activated nanoparticles to kill antibiotic-resistant bacteria and use drugs to correct errors in our DNA to fend off deadly genetic diseases.

However, that’s only one side of the coin. At least half of the science news seems to be urgently pointing at a new problem. Just over the past few weeks, even the most casual news-readers could have found themselves worrying about involuntarily increasing their risk of getting breast or lung cancer by doing apparently healthy things like going outside and taking vitamins. You may have been stressing about compromising your heart’s health by sitting too much or being too tall. And that’s before you’ve even gotten out of bed!

So how can you use science to make more informed decisions? Here are a few pointers to empower you to make a change.

Do your research! Six ways to find science you can trust online

by Gaia Cantelli, PhD

Credit: Tim Abbott, used via CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 License

If you wanted to know more about a medical condition would you take a trip to the library and pore over medical textbooks? Of course not, you’d look it up on your phone while you’re still in your doctor’s waiting room.

Looking up things online is essentially second nature for most of us – but do you ever worry if you can trust what you find? Most of us get all our information from the Internet – and science and medicine have been made far more accessible by the Internet and mobile phones. It’s incredibly convenient, but it is also a minefield of potential misinformation, misunderstanding and, even worse, fraud. How can we know if we can trust what we see online? Here are some of my best pointers to use this amazing resource to obtain reliable and relevant information – especially when it comes to science and medicine.