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A new study looks at how eating habits are passed along generation to generation, and species to species. Humans are the rare exception, eating from both the meat and plant side of the buffet.

While we often have good information on what makes a population healthy, it's difficult to translate those recommendations to the patient sitting before us. A new study suggests we look at the diversity of outcomes -- or the heterogenicity -- differently.

A recent study identifies a new risk calculator, one which better predicts the surgical outcomes of complications or death. And while it's an improvement, can it be a useful tool? After all, how many people gamble with their loved ones?

Insects are a natural alternative for those who wish to avoid red meat, and are fearful of laboratory-produced foods. Are they coming to your table soon? Could be ... and they have more antioxidants than orange juice!

This hypothesis suggests that pregnancy may protect women from auto-immune diseases, and further, that not being constantly pregnant and breastfeeding dysregulates the immune system.

Does our immune system act as a defensive barrier, or a translator of different worlds? Is there a mismatch between our genetic heritage and our current environment? And can being less "clean" make us more healthy? Let's find out.

Sometimes physicians learn on-the-job as it were - they don't call it a practice for nothing. A new study looks at how well interventional cardiologists learn new techniques and what mayhem may occur on the way.

The Department of Health & Human Services has tried in many ways to gauge patient satisfaction with hospital care. Perhaps it should listen to hospitalized children, since they make more sense than the current "concerns" attributed to adults.

While indoor air pollution in the U.S. involves cleaning or hygiene products, as well as cosmetics, for most of the world's population the source of indoor air pollution is cooking. India tries to move to a more sustainable fuel source, but with unintended consequences.

Fentanyl washed upon our shores several decades ago, as China White. Today, the fentanyl market has more of a Breaking Bad vibe. A thorough study by the Rand Corporation suggests that fentanyl is a whole quantum different from the opioid crisis narrative.

Here's what we have this time: Is evolution a "struggle" or "snuggle" for survival? ... Any profound loss, in this case of a father, ripples across our lives like a pebble on a lake. ... Physicians are often asked for advice. But do people want instructions or coaching? ... Finally, "mindful" consideration of one of the true vital signs: the breath.

New York Times journalist Eric Lipton, who defended the indefensible by offering support to a group of virulent anti-vaxxers and scam artists known as Moms Across America, is a scourge on public health. The national newspaper recently demoted Jonathan Weisman, a deputy editor based in Washington, DC, for displaying poor judgment. Lipton should face the same fate.

An alarmist article by NPR wants us to believe that we're in grave danger. That's because some deli meats have labels that are inaccurate, regarding the presence (or absence) of nitrate, a preservative. Here's the science that explains why the whole thing is nothing but a silly scare.

Elvis is still alive. Osama bin Laden is still alive. Paul McCartney is dead. These are just a handful of the conspiracy theories involving the alive/dead status of various famous people. Now, we can add Steve Jobs to the list.

Oklahoma now has 572 million extra dollars, thanks to a judge's ruling that Johnson & Johnson was partly responsible for the so-called opioid crisis. Other states will follow and J&J will cough up a bunch of money, regardless of whether the company did anything wrong or not. Other companies will be hit as well. Meanwhile, ponder these questions: Why would any company sell opioids from now on? And what will this mean for you?

The nine-valent HPV vaccine -- which targets nine different HPV strains -- could prevent about 3 in 4 HPV-associated cancers. However, only about half of all adolescents have completed the vaccine series. If everyone was fully vaccinated we could prevent some 32,100 cancers each year.

Using an AI algorithm researchers can use electrocardiograms to tell us our gender and age. Have they found a Magic 8-ball of health?

Fasting for a full day, or any part of it, will certainly reduce one's caloric intake. But can food avoidance, which mimics the activity of our hunter-gatherer forebears, be safe? And can it improve our health? Let's take a look.

A new video released by the magazine attempts to explain why there are more obese Americans today than 30-40 years ago. It claims that even if people eat healthy and exercise, it's easier to be obese today because of three factors -- but only one of those is likely to be correct.

It's summer. Lakes and other waterways are warm ... and polluted with phosphorous and nitrogen. These conditions are ideal for overgrowth of blue-green algae. When this happens very potent toxins are released, potent enough to kill dogs. But people also take blue-green algae as a dietary supplement. What gives?

The Lancet reports on a polypill containing aspirin, blood pressure medicine and a statin. For a large at-risk population, it reduced major cardiovascular events by 20 to 33% ... and for about $1.25 a month.

Evidence consistently shows diet soda isn't harmful. Why does the media insist we quit drinking it?

Can we forget past misdeeds? If you have done the crime (and the time) are you forgiven? Or do you continue to carry that baggage? Forgetting is a topic journalists and hospital credential committees have been grappling with for some time.

The food crazies are now warning us about a new "threat": fruit. One of them, a physician, says that modern fruit has been bred to contain 100 times more sugar than ancient varieties, so therefore it's not a healthy snack. Let's see what Angela Dowden, a real nutritionist, has to say about this.

The science of discovering and developing new antibiotics is difficult enough. But antibiotics present an additional, unique problem: economics. It is very difficult for a pharmaceutical company to even recoup its R&D costs because of a small market, which is mostly hospital use. Some kind of subsidy is necessary. ACSH advisor Dr. David Shlaes examines whether Medicare can help, and to what degree.