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In my recent radio conversation with John Batchelor (CBS Eye on the World), we delved into the sad saga of Golden Rice — a revolutionary crop engineered to combat Vitamin A deficiency, a condition that claims the sight and lives of hundreds of thousands of children in poor countries each year.

Lilly, the pharmaceutical giant, would love for you to believe that tirzepatide is the silver bullet we've all been waiting for — slashing your diabetes risk by 94% while you shed pounds. But dig a little deeper, and nearly two-thirds of those taking the placebo managed to normalize their blood sugar levels, too, just by eating better and moving more. Tirzepatide does the job. But is it the miracle cure, or another way to avoid those pesky lifestyle changes?

Who needs beach reads when we’ve got tales of pharmaceutical overreach, urban chaos, and big business playing doctor, right?

Sunscreens are essential in the fight against skin cancer. The FDA, in its proposed order on sunscreen products, ignored the best science and required expensive and outdated animal tests on ingredients already cleared and that have been used for in sunscreens for decades. In issuing this order, the agency threatens access for millions of Americans to products known to be effective.

Imagine a judge reviewing all the key scientific evidence regarding RoundUp’s alleged carcinogenicity – not an IARC or EPA monograph – but the studies themselves. Let’s say he also had a truly impartial expert, an “assessor,” to teach him the science behind the research. Well, this actually happened. Surprised you haven’t heard about it?

Let’s face it, healthcare has become less about care and more about cash. Enter UnitedHealthcare, playing a game of Monopoly with our arteries. In their latest feat of fiscal gymnastics, the corporate colossus with a stethoscope turned a dubious artery-screening program into a golden goose. Stat reveals how United Healthcare has perfected the art of diagnosing profits using a nifty little device called QuantaFlo, turning upcoding into an art form.

It’s another of my (Henry Miller's) weekly appearances on Lars Larson’s radio show. In it, we discussed the resurgence of measles due to declining vaccination rates and touch on the potential role of vitamin D in mitigating COVID-19 severity.

Food ads for kids, and on-screen exposure to tobacco for adults, are still a thing. Two studies suggest that the little ones are bombarded with junk food commercials, and adults are stumbling over tobacco promotions in the dark corners of streaming platforms. Maybe it's time to ask: Are we really this helpless, or just looking for something new to regulate?

Most people get their caffeine from coffee. But some, especially those who are younger, are increasingly turning to so-called "energy drinks," leading to concerns that teens are consuming too much caffeine. How risky is this?

The American Academy of Pediatrics warns that pesticides are endocrine-disrupting chemicals that harm children. Absurdly, AAP also endorses the use of puberty blockers and cross-sex hormones — treatments designed to disrupt a child’s endocrine system. It’s the latest example of a major science institution promoting harmful, hypocritical nonsense.

The never-ending quest for the ultimate diet: satisfying, healthy, and tasty! With half the population opting for no diet, and the other half following a smorgasbord of contradictory rules, it's a wonder that anyone knows what to eat anymore. But as long as Dr. Google approves, who needs actual nutritional advice?

America's anti-opioid crusade routinely denies chronically ill patients access to adequate pain control, relegating them to an agonizing existence. Many of these individuals would rather die than withstand the anguish, and some advocates of physician-assisted suicide say we should help these patients end their lives. Is this an ethical solution to the crisis of untreated pain? We have our doubts.

Anyone who poo-poed the risk to the Olympic open-water swimmers from the disgusting Seine River is s### out of luck. Plenty of swimmers got sick, just like I predicted last month, from swallowing river water during the 10 km event. And a little toilet humor thrown in. No extra charge.

If you're too busy for an hour-long gym session, "exercise snacking" – short bursts of intense activity over several minutes – may help you stay fit despite your jam-packed schedule. That's according to a new study, but how compelling are the results? Let's take a look.

As the August sun sets on another summer, it's time to dive into conversations and debates across various spectrums. From the contentious discussions surrounding the banning of cell phones in schools to the emotional undercurrents fueling riots in the UK, the mounting criticism of ultra-processed foods, likened by some to the early battles against tobacco, and a visit to the timeless insights of Tom Wolfe, whose sharp observations continue to resonate. Here's a look at what I'm reading this August 22nd.

We live in a country where becoming ill might as well come with a foreclosure notice. Despite insurance, many of us are saddled with medical debt, and "land of the free" doesn’t quite describe a bill that’ll outlive you.

Keto this. Keto that. Does anyone really know what it means? This may – or may not – help.

There are over 38 million people with diabetes in the U.S. They owe their treatment to the pioneering work of Gerty Cori, and her husband. Although strongly admonished that she was impeding her husband’s career, Cori's joint involvement was critical to their co-discovery: the Cori cycle of sugar metabolism, for which they won the Nobel Prize in Medicine. And in the laboratory they shared for 30 years, the duo mentored scores of important scientists, producing six Nobel Prize winners.

The quest for a guilt-free sweet fix has led us to erythritol and xylitol, sugar substitutes once hailed as the saviors of our waistlines and blood sugar levels. But hold on to your sugar-free desserts. The latest research suggests that these sweet stand-ins might be doing more than just keeping the calories at bay. They could be inviting a one-way ticket to heart disease. Could this really be true?

Aging is far more complex than just an advancing clock. It's a tangled web of molecular changes that don’t play by linear rules. Recent studies reveal that the risk of diseases – like cardiovascular issues, diabetes, and cognitive decline – don’t just creep up steadily with age but instead can spike after certain chronologic milestones (e.g. reaching 60). These findings, powered by cutting-edge "omics" technologies, expose the inadequacies of traditional aging models that treat the process as a straightforward slouch towards old age. Instead, they suggest a dynamic and multifaceted aging process where each organ, system, and individual follows a unique trajectory.

The latest "villain" in the never-ending war against sugar substitutes is erythritol, a sugar alcohol. Is this a sugar? An alcohol? Steve and Irving, our miserable hosts of The Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell (tm) will answer this and more.

The confluence of events that have engulfed the discovery, clinical development, and the market for antibiotics over the last two decades is evolving. And not for the better.

A recent story about the bizarre symptoms of policemen, who were exposed to street fentanyl, turned out to be anxiety attacks – not fentanyl poisoning. What happened? Yes, it's time for another Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell!

Scientists’ use of flawed statistics and editors’ complaisant practices both contribute to the mass production and publication of irreproducible research in a wide range of scientific disciplines. This crisis poses serious questions for policymakers. How many grant dollars and federal regulations reflect irreproducible, flawed, and unsound research?

Paxlovid, the most effective Covid drug to date has its share of critics. But is the criticism fair? Drs. Henry Miller (an ACSH advisor) and Josh Bloom examine the benefits and limitations of the drug.