Last updated on February 7th, 2023 at 02:42 pm
Just because it seems like the thing to do over the holidays, I thought I’d do a top 10 review of articles I published in 2022. I’m going to use the parameter of most views during 2022. Despite readership being down a lot on my website during the past 12 months, I still had some breakout hit articles.
If you don’t mind, take a moment to look at any of the top 10 that you missed during 2022. You might find something that passed you by during the massive amount of information that we see on social media.
The official Skeptical Raptor Top 10 list for 2022
- Reverse transcription of COVID mRNA vaccine — anti-vaxxers go wild — Earlier in 2022, the anti-vaccine squad tried to convince people that somehow, in some magical way, reverse transcription could end up incorporating the mRNA code into our genome. Not only is this biologically implausible, but also there is no evidence that it actually happens. It’s more of the anti-vaxxer fear, uncertainty, and doubt.
- Diet soda has a bad reputation, but science disagrees — The myths about nutrition are widespread, and sometimes the myths are repeated so often, we think they are facts. In this case, diet soda doesn’t cause obesity, cancer, or anything. I wouldn’t drink 5 l per day, but otherwise, it causes no long- or short-term harm.
- Virus evolution — debunking the anti-vaccine myth that they become less virulent — Another anti-vaccine myth pushed to lessen the value of vaccines. They claim that viruses evolve to become less virulent over time. They don’t. Measles is still as dangerous today as it was 500 years ago. Influenza virus evolves annually, sometimes to a more virulent form.
- Compare honey to high fructose corn syrup — not much difference — High fructose corn syrup gets a bad reputation in the world, yet it’s nothing more than a syrup of fructose and glucose, not unlike sucrose (a dimer of fructose and glucose) you put in your coffee. And honey can actually have more fructose than high fructose corn syrup (which is not “high fructose”).
- Aspartame (Nutrasweet) claims – most are not supported by science — Another nutrition article that debunks the claim that aspartame is dangerous. It isn’t according to the best scientific evidence. So, go ahead and drink your diet soda with aspartame!
- The tragic passing of the son of Nick Catone – vaccines are not responsible — Dorit Rubinstein Reiss wrote this article a few years ago, but it still remains one of the most-read articles on this website. Professor Reiss examines all of the evidence of Nick Catone’s claims that his son died from vaccines, and, as tragic as the death was, it was almost certainly not caused by vaccines.
- Meryl Nass – Robert F Kennedy Jr anti-vaccine acolyte – medical license suspended — Meryl Nass, a physician who supports Robert F Kennedy Jr’s anti-vaccine rhetoric had her medical license suspended by Maine. A lot of medical licensing boards are taking a stand against anti-vaccine physicians, and here is one.
- Himalayan salt facts — please don’t waste your money — Himalayan salt is one of those nutritional trends that seems to just make a lot of money for people. But it’s just salt, and it’s really not from the Himalayan mountains. It’s mined in Pakistan by overworked, underpaid laborers where most of the profits go to Western companies that sell it to gullible Westerners. Really, it’s just salt, it has no magical properties.
- Increased risk of diabetes in children who have recovered from COVID — This article is scary because there appears to be a statistically significant increase in the risk of type 1 and type 2 diabetes in children who have had COVID-19. I hope that this article got to people who were refusing to vaccinate their kids so that it might convince them otherwise. They should do everything they can to prevent diabetes.
- California revokes Mary Kelly Sutton’s medical license for fake vaccine exemptions — And one more anti-vaccine physician has her medical license revoked. I hope that this keeps going.
And this ends my top 10 list for 2022.
I hope everyone is having a pleasant holiday season, especially those of you that got stuck in the bomb cyclone that recently hit the USA. I went to graduate school in Upstate NY, and I remember getting hit with 150 cm (60 inches) snowstorms with extreme cold.
Chief Executive Officer at SkepticalRaptor
Lifetime lover of science, especially biomedical research. Spent years in academics, business development, research, and traveling the world shilling for Big Pharma. I love sports, mostly college basketball and football, hockey, and baseball. I enjoy great food and intelligent conversation. And a delicious morning coffee!
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