A generic version of Crestor—the final statin drug that enjoyed patent protection—was just approved by the FDA. This will benefit consumers and hurt AstraZeneca, the drug's inventor. It is unlikely that we will see any more new drugs from this class, which has proven cardiovascular benefits.
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A new study presents calculations suggesting that increasing intake of peanuts and tree nuts might dampen levels of inflammation and thereby decrease the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. But this type of study can't prove causality — so take these nuts with a grain of salt.
Here's a good place to avoid: Rio de Janeiro. What a mess. And it's not only because of the Zika virus. The ocean is going to make many athletes very sick -- and possibly even reading this will make you feel the same way.
Krypton and xenon serve practical and important purposes. But harvesting them from the air is energy intensive, as it requires a temperature of -300 degrees F. So chemists constructed a molecular sieve that easily separates the noble gases at room temperature.
Despite what eugenics proponents thought -- and their population control descendants still think now -- more people actually lead to more innovation. A new study makes the case again that, when stressed, human ingenuity is likely to win out, even in the short term.
Great frigatebirds seem to defy the rules of gravity, and now they are redefining basic physiology. To understand how birds who remain in flight for weeks at a time also sleep, scientists recorded their brain activity with surprising results. They were found to not only sleep one hemisphere at a time, but even more surprisingly both hemispheres of the brain slept simultaneously -- while in flight.
Miami is now a very scary place to be, and Zika is the reason. Health authorities are taking the matter seriously. They are spraying a very toxic insecticide from planes. Sometimes tough times call for tough measures, and this is one of them.
Starting in middle age, the brains of obese people show startling differences as compared to those of normal weight, according to an analysis of fMRI images. White matter tissue connects regions of the brain and allows for information to be communicated between those regions.
Researchers in England say they're the first to "monitor injury risk using the GPS technology used to track players' speed and acceleration" in soccer. The overarching concept is that if a correlation can be made between the amount of sprinting players do, and the related injuries they sustain, then practices can be altered to reduce injurious situations.
Hot enough for you? No problem, just go back inside into your air conditioned house. But animals don't have the same luxuries. Here's how some creatures beat the heat in the hot summer sun.
When it comes to picking someone who exudes terrific health, physical stamina and excellence in aging, a great choice would be Laird Hamilton. Given the surfing legend's sculpted physique, what principles does he live by? And in regard to maintaining his overall health and fending off back pain as he ages, does his approach make sense for the rest of us?
Our public health strategy tends to be reactionary rather than preventative. Thus, instead of focusing most of our efforts in preparation for what is coming next, we are dumping limited resources on battles already fought. This is a dangerous gamble, considering that the Ebola virus has deadly cousins.
In the first article of this series we discussed the last of four measures that the Center for Medicare Services uses to establish hospital star ratings — the patient experience — which heavily weighted in determining hospital ratings.
New York hospitals had significantly longer delays than national averages, and the ratings reflect this.
With only my own stupidity to blame, I got into a Twitter "discussion" with an anti-DDT zealot. Big mistake. All I got was a stomach ache. Not sure what he got from it.
Traditionally, science has been a refuge from this hyperbolic nonsense. But no longer. More and more scientific journals are wading into partisan politics. Current Biology, in its most recent issue, has published a feature article that is every bit as ghastly as it is incoherent.
The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services released their hospital rankings, and New York isn't happy about being last among 50 states.
What's the secret to a happy marriage? Hint: it ain't love. Apparently, it's alcohol (P.S. There are so many jokes here...)
A recent study claims couples who drink alcohol together have a happier marital quality over time. Sound too good to be true? It probably is.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N9bBF9RktAA
Social media, with all of its anonymous participants, can be a little daunting, especially when strangers are just firing questions at you.
One of the profoundest mysteries of medical microbiology is why some people become deathly sick from rare infections while the vast majority remain unscathed. Now, a common horse bacterium has killed a Seattle area woman.
Severe droughts can wreak havoc on coastal marshes, which typically provide habitats for many species, like mammals, amphibians and birds. But researchers from the University of Florida suggest one factor that can help these areas recover more quickly is the presence of mussels clumped on the roots of marsh grasses.
1. There's no question some parts of American culture, including academic and private sector science, have been hijacked by 'virtue signaling' - subject to condemnation or praise by groups to show how virtuous and superior they are to those they self-identify with.
When, exactly, was the Age of Stupid? Was it when people practiced human sacrifice to placate the brutal gods they worshiped? Was it when people believed the Earth was flat and everything else in the universe revolved around them? But one thing's for certain: If we behave like sheep we're going to get fleeced.
1. In America, we have the luxury of plentiful, affordable energy and full bellies - and so we have groups who are raising a billion dollars a year criticizing modern science and technology. Most media outlets just play along but UPI recently took a critical look at one topic; the claims of health effects related to modern natural gas extraction.
California’s Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act, commonly called Proposition 65, was enacted by popular vote in 1986. It was initially sold as a way to prevent cancer and birth defects due to chemicals in drinking water and therefore got an overwhelmingly favorable response. Who isn’t in favor of clean water? (1)
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