If you pay any attention to sports, you have likely heard about the football scandal that erupted last year when the Indianapolis Colts accused the New England Patriots of deflating footballs to give their quarterback, Tom Brady, an unfair advantage. [Read more…]
An evidence-based look at a football scandal?
January 26, 2016 By Leave a Comment
Are medical talk shows credible?
June 22, 2015 By Leave a Comment
When you turn on the TV, pick up a newspaper or flip through a magazine, you’re likely to come across some advice on how to improve your health. Americans are hungry for “magic bullet” fixes to their health problems – whether it’s obesity, toenail fungus, or back pain. Our desire for medical advice has led to the rise of medical talk shows, where medical doctors offer health advice. But do these shows offer sound advice? [Read more…]
Evidence-based loving: A new book on marriage
January 7, 2015 By Leave a Comment
Love and marriage aren’t typical topics that come to mind when you think about evidence. But Cornell gerontologist and EBL-founder Karl Pillemer found a way to use data to distill the best advice about love, relationships, and marriage. [Read more…]
The science of cooking
August 19, 2014 By 8 Comments
As gardens and local farms are in full swing this month producing vegetables of all sorts, I’ve found myself revisiting America’s Test Kitchen to make sure I’m using evidence-based techniques in my kitchen. I thought it’d be a great time to revisit this post about this culinary research center. [Read more…]
Evidence-based soccer: How to treat hamstring strains
July 18, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Over the past month, much of the world has been glued to the television watching World Cup soccer matches. I’m not typically a soccer aficionado, but I did catch a few games. One thing I learned about the sport this year is the increasing prevalence of hamstring injuries among soccer players.
The systematic review: “A social movement”
May 23, 2014 By 1 Comment
This blog was founded more than four years ago with the a focus on one key idea: Today, there more research available than ever before. So we set out to help readers separate the good scientific information from the bad. One great resource for that is the systematic review. [Read more…]
The evidence on climate change
April 24, 2014 By Leave a Comment
The theory that the earth’s climate is warming has been a highly debated topic in the media for more than a decade. Proponents of the theory point to evidence about melting polar ice caps and increased storm activity, while critics say there’s not enough data to know what’s happening over the long-term. But what does the evidence really say?
Why health journalism often gets it wrong
January 30, 2014 By Leave a Comment
Contradictory tips and strategies about how to improve our health fill the airwaves, magazines and newspapers year-round. Drink coffee; don’t drink coffee. Eat whole grains; avoid carbohydrates of any kind. Vitamin supplements are good for you; wait, no they’re not. All of these news stories claim they are based on “evidence.” So what’s the deal?
What we know about gun violence
January 8, 2014 By 4 Comments
Each year, more than 30,000 Americans are killed in acts of violence using a gun. The problem is complex because it involves so many factors.
New evidence on kids and exercise
December 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
We’ve all heard the reports that children today spend too much time in front of TVs and computers, and therefore are less physically fit compared to children in decades past. But what does the evidence say on the matter?
The link between media and violence
September 2, 2013 By Leave a Comment
Each time there is a tragic shooting that makes the headlines, media pundits question whether the violence found in many U.S. movies, TV shows and video games is a contributing factor to real acts of violence.
An evidence-based birthday
August 5, 2013 By Leave a Comment
By now, our regular readers know that here at EBL, we value systematic reviews above other forms of evidence. That’s because these reviews collect all of the available evidence on a given topic to provide a summary of what we know and an assessment of the data quality. In short, they’re the best way to find a definitive answer about what does and doesn’t work.
