🧪 Science & Critical Thinking

Curated links and references for identifying outdated or unsupported scientific claims.

Use this section when a headline, meme, blog post, or video makes a “sciencey” claim that feels a little too neat, too absolute, or just too good to be true.

🧠 Sam’s Take: If there’s no recent, high-quality evidence—or the source won’t show it—treat the claim as unproven.

Look for date, data, and details (what was tested, how many people, who funded it).

✅ Trusted Resources

Here are some trusted resources to help you check science-based claims:

SciCheck (FactCheck.org) —Science & health claim fact-checks with sources you can read. ✔IFCN-Verified
🌐 https://www.factcheck.org/scicheck/

Thinking Is Power —Plain-English guides that show how to evaluate “too tidy” science claims.
🌐 https://thinkingispower.com/

Science Feedback / ClimateFeedback — Expert scientists review popular media articles on science topics,
rating their accuracy and explaining what the evidence really says.
🌐 https://sciencefeedback.org

National Academies of Sciences,Engineering, and Medicine — Nonpartisan consensus reports and plain-language
explainers on emerging issues across all fields of science.
🌐 https://www.nationalacademies.org

Sense About Science — A nonprofit dedicated to improving public understanding of evidence and
scientific reasoning. Great for spotting unsupported or exaggerated claims.
🌐 https://senseaboutscience.org

NIH News in Health — Monthly science-backed health news in plain English from the National Institutes of
Health.
🌐 https://newsinhealth.nih.gov

Evidence & Research Quality

Retraction Watch — Tracks retracted papers; helpful when viral claims rely on studies later withdrawn.
🌐 https://retractionwatch.com/

Cochrane Library —Gold-standard evidence reviews (plain-language summaries for many topics).
🌐 https://www.cochranelibrary.com/

NIH Office of DietarySupplements (Fact Sheets) — What the research actually says about supplements.
🌐 https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/list-all/

Official Science Sources (Good for “What Do Experts Say?”)

NASA Climate — Current data, charts, and explanations on climate indicators.
🌐 https://climate.nasa.gov/

National Academies (U.S.) — Consensus reports and easy-to-read explainers across science topics.
🌐 https://www.nationalacademies.org/

When You Need the Paper

PubMed — Search the biomedical literature; scan abstracts for sample size, recency, and limitations.
🌐 https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/

🔍 How to Use This Page (Quick Guide)

Check the date first. Many“new” claims lean on old or superseded studies.

Prefer summaries over single studies. Cochrane/NIH pages beat a lone blog post every time.

Look for converging sources. If SciCheck and an official source (e.g., NIH/NASA) agree, you’re likely on solid ground.

Beware miracle language. “Cure,” “detox,” “secret,” and “they don’t want you to know” are red flags.