Centre for Inquiry Canada (CFIC)
Your humanist community for scientific, skeptical, secular, and rational inquiry.
By Sandra Dunham Alongside the medical research being conducted about COVID-19, there are a number of studies being carried out about the psychological, sociological, and mental health effects of the pandemic, social distancing, and closing of economies around the world. Many of these studies look at the effects of religion on the pandemic. It is…
By Andrea Palmieri It seems like there are endless ways companies can use labels to promote their food products — sometimes, it can even take up most of the real estate on the package. Labelling the absence of ingredients is in right now: gluten-free, MSG-free, sugar-free, cholesterol-free, carrageenan-free, soy-free… the list goes on. Many of…
By Sandra Dunham Every day I read something new about COVID-19. Some of it is clearly “snake-oil,” but some sounds very legitimate, and a host of other information seems to fall somewhere in the middle. Should I wear a mask? Wash my groceries? Will the virus hang around in the air for days? Or merely…
Read More “Science Takes Time: Understanding Information and Misinformation About COVID-19” »
By Zack Dumont In a past edition of Critical Links we talked about the value of using a common research tool — PICO — to help critically app raise science news. With this tool, a reader can think skeptically/critically about the following: P – Was this a patient/population of interest? Who is included? Who is excluded? Who will this study…
By Andrea Palmieri The human gut microbiome and its relationship to disease is an excitingly new and rapidly evolving field of study. Over the last couple of decades, rapid advances in genetic technology and bioinformatics methodology have led to greater insight and appreciation of the microorganisms inhabiting the human body. More and more research scientists…