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Have you ever wondered how lawyers manage to bankroll mass toxic tort cases, which are notoriously expensive to finance? Spoiler alert: it's not magic; it's money from private equity firms trading in Wall Street glitz for courtroom drama. These cases are now a multi-billion-dollar industry, complete with their own eager investors waiting for their cut of the next big payout.

In the latest issue of Science, a study spanning nearly half a billion years of Earth’s history reveals how easily global temperatures have swung between extremes. This research serves as a stark reminder of how small changes can push the planet past tipping points. But what does this mean for us today?

As fall rolls in and some dream about apple picking, pumpkin spice everything and Instagram-worthy foliage, Medicare beneficiaries and healthcare insurers are gearing up for their own seasonal delight: the dreaded coverage selection circus. Forget the cozy sweaters. It’s time for the avalanche of Medicare Advantage and Part D ads to suffocate your screens, reminding you that choosing healthcare is as festive as bobbing for apples in a vat of bureaucracy.

Ah, the sweet smell of political sound bites — where facts go to vacation and complexity gets a one-way ticket to oblivion. Sen. JD Vance decided to wade into the treacherous waters of health insurance on “Meet the Press.” His grand solution? Protect pre-existing conditions while tossing people into separate risk pools. (Spoiler alert: that’s not how insurance works, Senator, but let’s break it down for those who prefer reality over fantasy.)

It's fall and the trees are beginning their annual display of spectacular colors. Ever wonder where these colors come from? If so, keep reading. Plus, at no extra cost, "A Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell!"

Netflix's The Perfect Couple is pretty bad. But the pharmacology, which is part of the plot, is even worse. Here I complain about both of them.

Let’s face it: reading medical studies from the National Bureau of Economic Research (NBER) is about as thrilling as watching paint dry. So, when The New York Times dropped its bombshell summary that Black mothers are 20% more likely to get unnecessary C-sections, many of us wondered: is this another case of racially biased, profit-driven doctors? Or is there more to the story?

The Forced Swim Test, developed in 1977, models depression using mice or rats to screen for antidepressant medications. It has been known for several decades that this test does not replicate depression, resulting in false negatives and false positives, and is no longer used by most pharmaceutical companies. So why does the National Institutes of Health (NIH) continue to fund studies using it? What's it going to take for the NIH to change?

The National Center for Health Statistics reports that overdose deaths have dropped 10 percent over the past year. Is this just a pause in the fatality rate before a climb resumes, or is it the beginning of a new trend? Though it is too early to know the answer, many factors might explain the encouraging new numbers.

As America’s population ages, Medicare will play an even more critical role in ensuring access to high-quality, affordable care for the elderly. Congress must fix the broken Medicare physician payment system.

While ants live forever thanks to a little parasite, humans are too busy popping GLP-1s and obsessively organizing their kitchens to notice. Meanwhile, your happiness may reach a plateau flatter than your bank account after a month of trendy, influencer-driven "fridgescaping."

Recent surprise decisions have upended plaintiffs’ expectations on the toxic tort front. In Delaware, the top court is rehearing the trial court’s evidentiary ruling admitting plaintiffs’ experts’ testimony in the Zantac cases. The Third Circuit has ruled that Monsanto (Bayer) may avail itself of government protection under the pre-emption doctrine, surely launching that issue to the Supreme Court, while individual plaintiffs have scored wins in Roundup exposure cases. And on September 16, an Oregon judge overturned a plaintiff’s verdict for mesothelioma allegedly contracted from using J&J’s talc powder.

The rapid spread of a new virulent strain of the mpox virus across Africa triggered WHO to declare it a "public health emergency of international concern."

Was Vincent van Gogh the original chaos theorist? While we admire the beauty of “The Starry Night,” physicists decided to crash the party and analyze its swirling sky like a science experiment. It turns out van Gogh wasn’t just painting stars and spirals, he was capturing the essence of turbulent flow. Who needs an advanced degree in fluid dynamics when you have a paintbrush and an eye for chaos?

Much like the Sorcerer's Apprentice, who unleashed a flood by over-relying on enchanted brooms, we seem eager to offload responsibility onto AI while clinging to the illusion of control. In our quest for technological wizardry, research reveals that the presence of a manual mode often leads us to blame people more, even when AI is at fault.

Murder is the unlawful, premeditated killing of one human being by another. It's also considered immoral. Sometimes, however, killing another human can be legal and moral, say during acts of self-defense. But the legal regulation of human killing isn’t uniform, raising the question: if the legal definition of murder can vary, can moral culpability differ as well?

The New York Times recently highlighted how wildfire smoke impacts health, but its coverage missed the mark by not addressing the nuanced science behind particulate matter. As researchers dive into the messy reality of wildfire smoke and its effects, it's clear that relying solely on PM2.5 data doesn't capture the complete picture of health risks.

In a world where we're 99.5% genetically identical, somehow skin color still decides who gets a spot on the kidney transplant list. (Because why fix something when it's clearly broken?) My conversation with Dr. Kevin Pho, discussing "Medicine’s Struggle with Genetic and Social Realities."

Ah yes, the age-old medical mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution." Apparently, a few squirts of hypertonic saline in your kid’s nose can cut down cold symptoms and keep you from catching their next snot-filled surprise.

Despite a decade of people eyeing their phones like potential death traps, recent studies have put the final nail in the cell-phones-cause-cancer coffin. So, feel free to call, text, or scroll — your brain’s not going anywhere.

Lars Larson began our most recent conversation by noting the increase in life expectancy in the U.S., largely due to advances in drug development. However, he quickly pivoted to criticize current drug shortages, which was the subject of a recent article of mine.

For those aching for a do-over on First Amendment rights and censuring COVID (mis)information on social media, your wish has been granted. Last month, the Ninth Circuit ruled on Facebook’s alleged censoring of anti-vaxx postings by RFK Jr.’s Children’s Health Defense.

While Congress twiddles its thumbs, pharmaceutical giants like Lilly, Pfizer, and Nova Nordisk are revolutionizing healthcare by slashing prices and tossing medical responsibility around like a hot potato. With their new direct-to-consumer model, they’re not just cutting out the middleman but slicing through the fabric of the physician-patient relationship. Who needs accountability when you’ve got savings and convenience?

This week’s reading is a mix of innovation, brainy body connections, and a dash of debunking. Apple engineers are turning AirPods into hearing aids—why stop at music when you can reinvent healthcare? Meanwhile, the vagus nerve is doing its mysterious thing, linking brain and body. And it turns out, that in the Blue Zones, living forever might just be creative bookkeeping.

Calley Means, co-founder of TruMed, recently raised concerns about conflicts of interest within the FDA and the influence of corporate funding on public health guidelines. Thereby, he joined the ranks of Robert F. Kennedy, Jr and his newfound friend, former President Trump, who argued for "a special Presidential Commission of independent minds who are not bought and paid for by Big Pharma."