Do no harm
We swim in oceans of quackery. The media is flooded with misinformation about health and pseudodiagnoses based on vibes rather than evidence. Books awash with error and supposition swamp our charts, penned by people uniquely unqualified to write them. Our ears are filled with popular podcasts claiming health benefits but really just peddling unregulated dietary supplements. And Robert Kennedy Jr, a man who has spent a lifetime spewing antivaccine jibber-jabber, is now the US secretary of health. Vaccination is arguably the most successful health intervention in history (with the possible exception of sanitation), and we should be basking in the fact that a global pandemic was brought to a close by safe and effective vaccines.
But here's the conundrum: medical diagnoses are on the rise across the board, and this is fuel for the medical disinformation industry. The most obvious example is autism, the incidence of which has shot up in a couple of decades, correlated with, but not caused by, an increase in vaccination. Cancer diagnoses are also up. A lot more people seem to have ADHD, which was barely around when I was at school. And millions now endure long Covid, a disease with symptoms that did not exist at all five years ago.
Denne historien er fra March 21, 2025-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Denne historien er fra March 21, 2025-utgaven av The Guardian Weekly.
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Grain spotting
From earthquake-defying joints that support a temple to delicate puzzle boxes, an exhibition shows off the myriad possibilities of the art of Japanese carpentry
Rastafarians face eviction and arrest in spiritual homeland
In 1999, Ras Paul, a west London DJ born to Jamaican parents, sold part of his vinyl collection to buy a plot of land and build a house in Shashamene, 200km south of Ethiopia's capital, Addis Ababa.
Doctors recount the horror of waves of airstrikes
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'It is beyond terrifying'
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'Existential' Greenpeace verdict will chill climate protests
A pipeline company's victory in court over Greenpeace, and the huge damages it now faces, will encourage other oil and gas companies to pursue environmental protesters at a time when Donald Trump's energy agenda is in ascendancy, experts have warned.
Can science missions mitigate the effects of cabin fever?
South Africa has a tight regime for scientists wanting to “overwinter” in Antarctica.
Shoppers scramble over border in bid to beat 'eggflation'
In grocery stores across the US, egg shelves sitting empty an and desolate have become a sign of the times.
'Elbows up' Can Carney ride wave of anti-Trump sentiment?
In January, Canadian pollsters and political pundits struggled to find fresh ways to describe the bleak prospects of Justin Trudeau's Liberal party, musing whether it would be a wipeout of existential proportions, or merely a catastrophic blowout.
Crunch time Is dark energy destined to dominate the universe?
Since the big bang, a cosmic battle has been under way between matter (both dark matter and ordinary) and dark energy.
Is the new Snow White a poisoned apple?
Five years ago a $250m remake of Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs, Walt Disney's first full-length animated feature film, must have seemed like a fine idea to corporate executives, who were going all out on remaking the studio's dated classics into contemporary live-action movies.
