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The controversy surrounding ivermectin as a therapy for COVID has been longstanding and fierce. A recent paper in NEJM may or may not settle the ongoing debate. But the paper is full of data. Here is a condensed look at the key numbers.

Miracle foods that keep you "focused and sharp" as you age probably don't exist. Popular news reports claim otherwise, though they're based on flimsy evidence.

We know from many studies that there is an inverse association between our intake of dietary fiber and the development of cardiovascular disease. The mechanism joining fiber to cardiovascular disease is thought to be mediated by INFLAMMATION! A new study strongly suggests that it is time to give that hypothesis a rest – as always, it is more complicated and unclear.

Disparities in healthcare are increasingly a hot topic in the journals. Two recent studies demonstrate disparity but identify very different actionable causes. As with all healthcare, it is more complicated and entangled than a single narrative or lens can explain. The data dots are correct, but there is more than one way to connect and explain them.

As we get older, our bodies change. This means our nutrient requirements for healthy living change too. People over 60 years-old need to eat more protein to help maintain muscle mass which atrophies due to the ravages of time and lack of exercise. Diets rich in vitamins, minerals, and fiber help reduce the risk of developing chronic diseases. Unfortunately, seniors tend to eat poorer as they age. A recent report found that diet quality decreased among older U.S. adults from 2001 to 2018.

To thousands of women gifted with childbirth through assisted reproductive technologies (ART) and their children - the practice can only be described as a godsend. The industry, including IVF facilities, with global revenues in the billions, I am sure, agrees. But perhaps technology has run away with itself before we’ve considered the full ramifications of the risks and conjured solutions for the abuses, some of which have come to light just this week.

Monopolies in pharmaceutical (think pharmacy benefit management), a different view of Twitter (still negative though), and Microsoft reports we have three peak areas of work every day; the last is at 10 PM – what up with that?

Vice News endorses all the currently fashionable opinions—including activist bromides about modern agriculture. The magazine recently took exception to children's books meant to teach elementary-school students about pesticides. I take exception to Vice's sorry excuse for science reporting.

Hear about the German guy who got arrested for getting selling forged vaccine cards to anti-vaxxers? That should be funny enough, right? Nope. ACSH goes the extra kilometer, as usual.

Antibiotic R&D is hard. Getting to approval is harder. Surviving the commercialization step today is almost impossible. Government-based funding to fix the broken antibiotic market is essential to stop this march of the lemmings. Private investment will follow a government incentive and amplify its effect.

President Eisenhower worried that we were creating a scientific/technologic elite that controls the narrative and stifles heterodoxy. But the digital age and the democratization of knowledge threaten the scientific "priesthood" – much in the way the printing press threatened the controlling interest of an earlier time. The priesthood must learn to adapt to a world where it no longer has a monopoly on specialized knowledge.

To obtain a permit for a handgun in New York City, the applicant must provide written consent from those living with them that the presence of a gun is OK. Is that a good or bad requirement? A new study looks at homicide deaths among “cohabitants of handgun owners,” what could go wrong?

FAIR Health aggregates pricing and cost information for private insurers of healthcare. Its annual report, on what we might consider primary care, shows the changes wrought by COVID-19 and how we seek care. [1]

North Carolina State University recently cancelled a science-outreach event because the invited speakers have the wrong skin color. It's another example of academic institutions prizing a radical social agenda over education.

When Will Smith slapped Chris Rock at the Oscars for making a joke about his wife’s bald head, it brought attention to a disease that is often invisible, misunderstood, or treated as a punchline for jokes: alopecia areata. What is this disease? Why does it create such intense feelings that Will Smith lost all control on stage in front of millions?

Access to health care and having health insurance are two easily recognizable “social determinants” of health. But is having access to the Internet another social determinant? A new study and the media suggest that the answer is yes. Let’s see what the paper actually said and what it might mean.

COVID-19 may remain in our communities for the foreseeable future, and we are told to live with as yet to be defined “new normal.” By and large, this pandemic has been fought on an individual level, one case, mask, and vaccination at a time. Alternatively, environmental risk analysis involves three levels of specificity: community, local, and individual, comprising a “3-legged stool”. Understanding the first two legs is required to benefit the third.

The big news for Chernobyl watchers was learning that Russian forces packed up and left – with several news sources claiming that some Russian troops had developed acute radiation sickness (ARS) and one article claiming at least one had died. The Ukrainian government has contacted the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) about returning the plant to regulatory controls, which is a good thing. But there’s still that nagging question – did the Russian troops really get radiation sickness?

COVID, war, inflation, drug overdoses, the Yankees. Enough stress! Let's take a stress break. A slice of American history with *very* little science. And some pretty pictures too.

Dr. Fauci, along with two of his colleagues, writes in a journal on the concept of herd immunity and COVID-19. Buckle up; it will be a bumpy ride, at least in the media.

Polling the population for their opinions and views has a long history. But are we most informed by the opinions categorized by race and gender, or might we learn more by viewing thoughts among like-minded individuals – like birds of a feather? A new study suggests how we consider how we cluster and flock.

The proposed Purdue bankruptcy plan has its champions and its detractors. Many bemoan usurping the victim’s rights to confront the bankruptcy debtor. Others see bankruptcy as a chance to provide some compensation to those injured in a rapid and streamlined fashion, guaranteeing recovery funds are available while allowing the concern to continue operating, providing an orderly resolution so that business might continue, preserving jobs and some revenue.  

Is the "GMO debate" finally over? A new study indicates the end might be near.

Claims made on food packaging have been increasingly scrutinized, resulting in a precipitous rise in class action lawsuits against food manufacturers. Food activists and consumer advocacy groups view litigation as a means of protecting consumers from deceptive marketing and greenwashing by large food manufacturers. On the other hand, food manufacturers may view this as a form of extortion, using the threat of court costs and legal fees for out-of-court monetary settlements. 

Jane Campion takes home the 2022 Oscar for Best Director in "The Power of the Dog," an unsettling, psychological Western drama. The tension is due to the relationship of the main character, Phil Burbank, with his brother's new wife and her son, Peter. Phil, to put it bluntly, is a bully. However, young Peter is training to become a medical doctor and [spoiler alert] uses his knowledge of pathogens to destroy an unwitting Phil. How did making a rawhide rope lead to death?