Paraphyletic

theweekmagazine:

Scientists have discovered a new molecule that kills all the nasty cavity-causing germs in your mouth.

The molecule, named Keep 32, targets a mouth-dwelling bacteria called streptococcus mutans, which metabolizes any leftover sugar into the lactic acid “that slowly but surely” eats away at tooth enamel. Within 60 seconds, Keep 32 kills all the gross teeth-eating bacteria in your mouth and prevents the pesky germs from coming back for hours at a time, effectively cavity-proofing your pearly whites. Translation: Fewer and less terrifying dentist visits.

The new discovery that cavity-proofs your teeth

This article is complete garbage, and I’ve sent the writer a note about it.

Many words surrounded by sarcastic quotation marks to follow…

1. There isn’t a single peer-reviewed publication about this “antibiotic,” called Keep 32; thus there is zero scientific or medical literature to substantiate the claim that this substance works.
2. There is no Jose Cordova at Yale.
3. The business that developed this supposed product, “Top Tech Innovations SpA,” has no Web page, per se — just a profile page at “AngelList.” There is no public disclosure to investors that I can find. For all we know, neither Top Tech nor Keep 32 even exists.
4. Every article about this “discovery” ultimately points back to geek.com, which itself is merely the lazy translation of another speciously fact-checked article at DF.cl, a Chilean news Web site. The author of the geek.com is logged as having contributed 8924 articles to the Web site, a ridiculous number. (When it comes to good journalism, quantity is not what you’re shooting for.)

The Web is awesome. But proper journalism requires doing some actual reporting, not just regurgitating cool things you see on the Web that might be true.