BBC: Trump's unproven autism claim-2

Here's our next headline, and this one is from TV News in the UK: British scientists inject large dose of skepticism into Trump's paracetamol and autism claims.

And that headline again from I TV News in the UK, British scientists inject large dose of skepticism into Trump's paracetamlol and autism claims. 

So this is another headline about the scientific community pushing back against Trump's claims. Now, British scientists inject large dose of skepticism into Trump's claims. Let's break apart this phrase. 

Yes, let's look at this word. Dose. Dose usually means the amount of medicine you take at one time. So a doctor might prescribe you a dose of antibiotics to get rid of an infection. 

Yes, but here in the headline, a dose of skepticism, dose is used metaphorically meaning an amount of something. 

So inject a large dose of skepticism. Skepticism means doubting something, unless there is good evidence. And inject is a verb you use to describe putting a needle into the skin to insert liquid into to the body. But again, this phrase is metaphorical, isn't it. 

Yes. So the British scientists inject a large dose of skepticism. That means the scientists are using evidence to add doubt to Trump's claims. 

Yes. So even though paracetamol isn't injected, the headline writers are playing with words to make it a clever headline. It's a medicla story, so they've used the words inject. And dose. Now, where else can we use a dose metaphorically?

Well, Neil, if you've been inside all day, I might tell you to go for a walk to get a dose of fresh air. WE've had dose, an amount of something. 

For example, my friend keeps making bad relationship decisions, so I talked to them and gave them a dose of reality. This is Learning English from the News, oru podcast about the news headlines. Today we've been  talking about President Trump's unproven claims that autism is linked to the pain relief drug paracetamol, known as Tylenol in the US.

The National Autistic Society, a British group representing autistic people and their families, called Trump's claims about Tylenol and autism irresponsible and said he had devalued  autistic people. 

Autism diagnoses have increased since the year 2000, but most experts say this is because of changes in how the condition is diagnosed, increased awareness of autism, and more people being tested. 

Okay, Neil, let's have our next headline. 

Donald Trump's autism claim debunked after paracetamol warning to preganat women. And that's from the Mirror in the UK. 

That headline again from the Mirror in the UK. Donald Trump's autism claim debunked after paracetamol warning to preganant women. 

This time we're looking at the word debunk. What can you tell US about it, Gerogie?

Well, debunk means to show that something isn't true, usually with evidence. 

Yes, so you can debunk things like myths, theories and rumors. 

Yes, or claims like in this headline. Trump's autism claim debunked. So this means that Trump's claim about autism has been shown not to be true by medical experts, according to the headline. 

Another example, I watched a documentary recently which debunked some false ideas about vaccines. 

Yes, debunk is a really useful word to talk about theories or rumors that circulate in the media. 

We've heard debunk, show that something isn't true. 

For example, scientists have used maths to debunk recent UFO videos. 

That's it for this episode of Learning English from the News. We'll be back next week with another news story. 

And if you want to practice your reading skills, go to our website for a new series of magazine-style articles aimed at your level of English.