Getting Past The Hype Archives

Are There More Bacteria on Computer Keyboards Than Toilet Seats?

We all try to keep our kitchens and bathrooms clean and bacteria-free. But how clean are our offices, computers, and keyboards? Most of us spend many hours every week typing at a computer, but rarely think to clean it. How dirty can our desks get?

Is There a New Kind of Breast Cancer?: Paget’s Disease

Many women have received an email warning that a “new form of breast cancer” starts as a rash on a woman’s breast, instead of showing up as a lump. This Internet story is actually based on truth.

Will Pills, Creams, or Other Products Increase Breast Size?

Question: I got an email about a cream that will make my breasts grow. Then I saw an ad for a different cream in a magazine. My mother says that those products don’t really work. Is that true? Why are they allowed to sell them if they don’t work?

Is Plastic Safe to Use in the Microwave?

Everyone knows that you can’t heat aluminum foil in the microwave, but if you think plastic wraps are a safe alternative, you might want to think again.

Ghostbusting: Exposing Drug Company-Hired Ghostwriters in Medical Journals

Doctors rely on scientific papers for accurate information on which drugs and treatments are best for their patients, but are all these papers trustworthy? Often times, industry-paid “ghostwriters” author these papers, leading to biased articles that mislead doctors into prescribing medication that may not work or could be harmful to their patients.