About 10% of people report a penicillin allergy, but only 10% of them actually have it. The other 90% who thought they had an allergy are just fine. What's going on?
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Vaxart Inc., a San Francisco based vaccine biotech, just announced that it will begin dosing subjects in a Phase 1b study company's bivalent oral experimental vaccines against norovirus -- the cause of the so-called "stomach flu." Everyone should wish them well.
"Two lawyers, a zoologist, and a nutritionist walk into a bar to try to write about chemistry." The preceding statement is true, except for the bar. The Environmental Working Group, with the aid of these four experts, wants to tell us how all the chemicals in food are going to lead us to an early dirt nap. They get an F in chemistry. As usual.
There are reports that as little as one piece of bacon a day will increase your risk of colon and rectal cancer. A closer look at the study suggests that while bacon is certainly a risk factor in being a pig, its impact on humans may not be as great as the media claims.
Is there a magical prescription for how much exercise and activity eliminates the increased risk of premature death, which comes from sedentary behavior? A new paper takes a swing at an elusive target. Spoiler alert: This is an area that continues to defy precision.
New research analyzed the rate of foreign-body ingestion in young children, only to determine it increased by over 90% over the study’s 21-year period. Though the items and circumstances vary, no age is spared. And preventable injury is quite costly.
If we're not likely to see a significant pull incentive in the United States (or anywhere else) this year, a likely outcome, where can we go next? There are two actions we can take that will help.
Different people respond to cannabis in different ways, making a blood THC level difficult to legislate.
Digital health is coming, and many services are already coming to a smartphone near you. As the first guidelines from the World Health Organization indicate, the obstacles aren't technological. They're regulatory.
Physicians from across the political spectrum and the country, representing nearly every specialty, came to Washington, DC last week. They did so to advocate for patients, spotlighting many hidden ways healthcare dollars are wasted.
Of all the drugs used to treat herpes, acyclovir is the most common. So, how does it work? The devil is in the details ... and the details are fascinating.
The formation of air bubbles is the reason joints in our necks, fingers, and other body parts "crack" or "pop." The young woman's stroke was almost certainly a freak accident.
CBD oil is all the rage now, as the industrialization of marijuana continues. CBD, or cannabidiol, has very different psychotropic properties than THC, even though the two are structurally relater. So much so, in fact, that you can make THC from CBD, just not very well.
Commonly known as “Japanese horseradish,” wasabi is a member of the mustard family and is noted for the short-term burning sensation it produces in the nasal cavity. But historically, wasabi served a purpose other than adding a spicy flavor to raw fish.
The anti-opioid zealots have benzodiazepines, especially Xanax, in their sights. The drug is being demonized by (more or less) the same people who created the fake opioid crisis. But how dangerous is it? It is nearly impossible to kill yourself with Valium, another member of the benzodiazepine class. Does this hold true for Xanax? Yes, more or less.
Professional societies annually release guidelines designed to standardize and improve care. But implementing those standards is harder than they -- or frankly, most of us -- think. A concerted effort to improve surgical care across the United Kingdom is falling short.
Despite substantial research, there remains no cure for herpes, only methods to minimize outbreaks and transmission. But, there is an interesting development - a gel containing a known HIV drug was tested for its ability to prevent the spread of genital herpes. Does it work? Maybe. The answer is not clear.
Let's consider statins, a medication used by millions of Americans. Before we push to get more patients treated, perhaps we should get the ones already being treated to take their medications properly (if at all).
A small, but intriguing study suggests that ultra-processed designer foods are both calorie dense and eaten more quickly. That's a perfect combination for gaining weight.
We would like to believe that most retractions are due to honest errors. But a new paper found that most retractions in chemistry and similar fields are due to actions that are much worse. However, there may be a silver lining in the data.
When we talk of patient safety, the analogy is often to aviation. But perhaps like commercial flight's problems with baggage, the last little push -- from a very few to never -- is a very steep hurdle.
It's no secret that people have bad reactions to some prescription drugs. But not all drugs are equal. Here's a look at four drugs that are rather unpopular.
A company called Recompose in Washington State is betting that you're biggest end-of-life concern is: "How can I minimize my corpse's environmental impact?" It was a good bet. Washington has become the first state to legalize human composting, allowing you to rot in peace.
For those of you who reflexively think that "big pharma" is an amorphous, evil entity that could be replaced by government research, think again. The industry exited antibiotic research in the 1990s (largely because FDA statisticians decided that impossibly large clinical trials were required for new antibiotic approval). Now, the antibiotic marketplace is broken. ACSH advisor Dr. David Shlaes discusses how to lure companies back into the field.
Proposition 65, which began its miserable life as The Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act of 1986, now has little to do with safe water or safe anything else. It's a bad joke to scientists, a plague on California businesses, and a goldmine to attorneys. Coffee went onto the list and now it's off. Why? Good question.
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