Cultured meat, not meat raised listening to Mozart, meat raised in a petri-dish or bioreactor, the emotional connotation of words like privilege, cybersecurity is this generations' asymmetric warfare, and while waiting to be vaccinated, take a moment for delight.
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A consumer will often attempt to compare the taste of locally-grown organic produce with its national chain-store counterpart. This is not a fair comparison. Regarding taste, the key is not whether it's conventionally grown or organic, but when it is harvested.
The Lancet once published a controversial study claiming that any alcohol consumption is bad for your health. Now, the same family of journals is coming after you poker players.
A few weeks ago, our medical director, Chuck Dinerstein, sat down to discuss ACSH with Great.com on their podcast “Great Talks With.” Great.com is a Swedish company funded by online gambling and dedicated to talking “with organizations and experts dedicated to doing good in the world.” Dr. Dinerstein discusses our role in separating science fact from science fiction in a media environment where trustworthy commentary is difficult to find.
Andrew Wakefield, the godfather of the modern anti-vaccine movement, is spreading disinformation about the COVID vaccine, falsely claiming that the mRNA vaccines made by Pfizer and Moderna are a form of genetic engineering. Like all good liars, he mixes a tiny bit of truth into a sea of lies.
There's growing evidence that B.1.1.7, a variant of concern, or VOC, is more infectious than the garden variety COVID-19. What's been missing is data on whether it's more aggressive and lethal. Media reporting says it “may be 30% more lethal.” Of course, a lot depends on what "may" means.
Some ingenious pharmacists have figured out how to get a sixth dose out of the "fill" in Pfizer's vaccine. Pfizer wants those magically-found "extra doses" counted towards its commitment to the U.S. government. And the company wants to be paid for what it's providing.
While most medical reports on artificial intelligence algorithms note how well they perform against clinical judgment, lawyers focus on the prize. Who is liable for the bad outcome, the physician or the algorithm? It makes a difference in trying to get money from deep or deeper pockets.
A substantial proportion of frontline healthcare workers are refusing to accept the COVID vaccine. This poses an unacceptable risk to public health. They should take the jab or lose their job.
How to become a member of the Jonas Salk Society.
India’s population is 1.4 billion, four times greater than in the United States. Yet we have 26 million cases of COVID-19, while they have 10.8 million. As for fatalities, India is closing in on 160,000 through Feb. 4, while the U.S. has recorded 455,000 – nearly three times as many. Further, U.S. healthcare is generally believed to be better than India's. So what’s going on here? More importantly, what can we learn?
As the EU reverses its plans to restrict the exportation of vaccines from Ireland to the UK and in the wake of stinging criticism that wealthy countries should not be monopolizing the vaccine supply, the Biden administration says it will participate in WHO’s global COVID-19 vaccine-sharing project, reversing Donald Trump’s America First approach.
According to the CDC, food allergies continue to be a growing problem for children. Peanut allergy is the number one food allergy among children, and its incidence has increased by 21% since 2010. What happens to our body when we have a peanut allergy, and why are some schools declaring themselves nut-free?
Dr. Joe Schwarcz, the director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, (somehow) churns out one video per week in his "The Right Chemistry" series. "Dr. Joe" manages to make all of them fascinating. This one is about polyurethane, a substance that should NOT be used in place of hair spray.
At some point, we're gonna run out of people to deny opioids. What to do?? There are many anti-opioid zealot mouths to feed. New victims are needed. How about cats?
IV Tylenol is commonly used to control pain following surgery. But, should it be? A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial – the gold standard – of patients who underwent abdominal surgery gave us a very clear answer. Take a wild guess.
Canadian pain patients may have it even worse than those in the US. Our northern neighbors are buying opioids on the dark web (shudders) because they can't get them from their doctors, just like here. Perhaps we need a "Borders Without Doctors" group.
Last spring, New York City was the first major COVID-19 hot spot in the U.S., with cases and subsequent deaths surging out of control. Residents sought refuge from the burgeoning plague by fleeing the City, and suburban real estate markets became inflated. However, by midsummer and fall rates of new COVID cases in New York dropped and became among the lowest in the nation. What happened?
As the news cycle brings us more COVID-19 variants and reports of the efficacy of the new vaccines by J&J, Novavax, and AstraZeneca, you have to wonder which vaccine is best and why.
Obesity has been a health problem long before it became a COVID-19 risk factor. The most significant advances in its medical, rather than behavioral treatment, has been bariatric surgery, until now. Could Big Pharma triumph over Big Knife?
The CDC's estimate of 83 million infections is really quite stunning, yet few if any people are talking about this. That's a real shame. It's vital that we learn not to repeat the same mistakes, including the social and economic ones, not just the epidemiological ones.
Most individuals simply have a very unrealistic expectation as to how many calories they burn during exercise and what they can achieve in weight loss through exercise alone, even though they may have expended a great deal of effort to do so.
Is it too early to try and summarize what we have learned about the pandemic? Pompeii's lessons on recovering from disaster. Rules to live by?
Ever heard of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center in Houston? If not, you're better off. Its founder, Dr. Steven Hotze, has plenty to say about COVID, almost all of it completely wrong.
Foam insulation is an important material used in houses and buildings. A wide variety of components are used to make insulation in various forms; some are flammable, some require toxic chemicals. However, in Germany, two groups using chemistry we learned in high school have devised an effective, recoverable, insulating foam that won't burn. It’s a simple, elegant solution using, of all things, calcium carbonate, otherwise known as chalk.
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