Politicizing science funding undermines public trust in science, academic freedom, and the unbiased generation of knowledge.

This commentary documents how federal funding agencies are changing the criteria by which they distribute taxpayer money intended for scientific research. Increasingly, STEMM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics, and Medicine) funding agencies are requiring applicants for funding to include a plan to advance DEI ("Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion") in their proposals and to dedicate a part of the research budget to its implementation. These mandates undermine the academic freedom of researchers and the unbiased generation of knowledge needed for a well-functioning democracy.

Excess success for psychology articles in the journal science.

This article describes a systematic analysis of the relationship between empirical data and theoretical conclusions for a set of experimental psychology articles published in the journal Science between 2005-2012. When the success rate of a set of empirical studies is much higher than would be expected relative to the experiments' reported effects and sample sizes, it suggests that null findings have been suppressed, that the experiments or analyses were inappropriate, or that the theory does not properly follow from the data. The analyses herein indicate such excess success for 83% (15 out of 18) of the articles in Science that report four or more studies and contain sufficient information for the analysis.

Lack of effect of walnuts on serum levels of prostate specific antigen: a brief report.

Objective: To examine whether the short-term consumption of walnuts, a food rich in alpha-linolenic acid, affects levels of serum prostate-specific antigen (PSA), a marker of prostate enlargement, inflammation, and cancer.

Methods: Using data from a 12-month randomized crossover study examining the effect of walnut consumption on body composition, we examined whether increased walnut consumption (mean 35 grams daily, 12% total energy) affected serum PSA levels among 40 middle-aged men.

Results: There was no significant difference between mean PSA level at the conclusion of the 6-month walnut-supplemented diet (1.

Almonds in the diet simultaneously improve plasma alpha-tocopherol concentrations and reduce plasma lipids.

The objective of this study was to assess the dose-response effect of almond intake on plasma and red blood cell tocopherol concentrations in healthy adults enrolled in a randomized, crossover feeding trial. Participants were 16 healthy men and women, aged 41+/-13 years. After a 2-week run-in period, participants were fed three diets for 4 weeks each: a control diet, a low-almond diet, and a high-almond diet, in which almonds contributed 0%, 10%, and 20% of total energy, respectively.

What do vegetarians in the United States eat?

Background: Dietary patterns and nutrient intakes of vegetarians in a nationally representative survey have not been described.

Objective: We sought to profile and compare nutrient and food consumption patterns of self-defined vegetarians and nonvegetarians in a representative sample of the US population.

Design: Data from 13 313 participants (age: >/= 6 y) in the Continuing Survey of Food Intake by Individuals (CSFII) 1994-1996, 1998 were used to compare vegetarian and nonvegetarian dietary patterns.

Serum lipid response to the graduated enrichment of a Step I diet with almonds: a randomized feeding trial.

Background: Frequent consumption of nuts may lower the risk of cardiovascular disease by favorably altering serum lipid and lipoprotein concentrations.

Objective: We compared the effects of 2 amounts of almond intake with those of a National Cholesterol Education Program Step I diet on serum lipids, lipoproteins, apolipoproteins, and glucose in healthy and mildly hypercholesterolemic adults.

Design: In a randomized crossover design, 25 healthy subjects (14 men, 11 women) with a mean (+/- SD) age of 41 +/- 13 y were fed 3 isoenergetic diets for 4 wk each after being fed a 2-wk run-in diet (containing 34% of energy from fat).