Bad stats overturn ‘medical murders,’ and linking allergies with climate change

Statisticians fight bad numbers used in medical murder trials, and the state of allergy science

First up on this week’s show, we have a piece on accusations of medical murder. Contributing Correspondent Cathleen O’Grady joins host Sarah Crespi to discuss her story on how statisticians are weighing in on cases where nurses and doctors are convicted of murdering patients based on bad statistics. This segment was produced by Kevin McLean with sound design by James Rowlands.

Also on this week’s show: Allergies are on the rise and this increase is linked with climate change. Sarah speaks with Kari Nadeau, Naddisy Foundation endowed professor of medicine and pediatrics at Stanford University, about her review in Science Translational Medicine on the status of allergy science, and how recommendations have changed from when to give children peanuts to opting for sublingual exposure therapy.

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This week’s episode was produced with help from Podigy.

[Image: bobtphoto/iStock; Music: Jeffrey Cook]

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Authors: Sarah Crespi; Kevin McLean; Cathleen O’Grady

Episode page: https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.adg7524

About the Science Podcast: https://www.science.org/content/page/about-science-podcast

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