A group at Sloan Kettering is proposing the use of certain types of chemotherapy drugs to treat SARS-CoV-2 infection. One cannot help thinking of the old adage about what everything looks like when you only have a hammer.
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Remember when we all had to turn our cellphones off when planes took off and landed? How about turning them off around medical equipment? It turns out that when we look for something radiating out of cellphones that might harm us, we might consider magnetism.
The logistics of returns, Disney, and nuclear power – “Our Friend, the Atom,” and the fine immunologic line that is pregnancy.
October 16th was designated "Ether Day" in 1906 in celebration of one of the most important discoveries in history. Read this and you'll get some fascinating history about ether and also another hideous chapter in The Dread Chemistry Lesson From Hell series. How can you not?
September began with concerns about increasing COVID-19 cases and deaths across the nation, ending as new cases reached a plateau. These trends are consistent with nationwide spreading of the Delta virus variant. The future depends on interactions of vaccination reluctance with the virulent Delta variant and with a potential repeat of the previous winter peak. Is relief in sight? Are COVID-19 rates comparable to seasonal influenza rates as a reasonable goal?
The vast majority of Americans don't trust the media to "report the news fully, accurately and fairly," according to a new Gallup poll. Let's examine some recent examples that may help explain why the public is so skeptical of journalists.
YouTube announced last week that it's banning a number of high-profile anti-vaccine activists from its platform. The policy shift is meant to stem the spread of misinformation, but it raises some troubling questions. Most important among them: is more censorship worth the cost it imposes on society?
A new wave of lawsuits alleges that the weedkiller paraquat causes Parkinson's Disease. The evidence continues to undermine this claim.
A new study suggests that smokers who take up vaping may "relapse" to cigarettes. But this is more a problem of definitions than evidence that e-cigarettes don't promote smoking cessation.
Wanna hear something crazy? Fentanyl test strips are FDA-approved to quickly test for the presence of the dangerous drug in the urine in overdose cases. They can also be used to check for fentanyl in street drugs and counterfeit pills. But in more than 40 states, this is illegal (!). Why? Because they are considered to be drug paraphernalia. Seriously. Good luck finding any policy or law dumber than this.
Statins, which are used in treating heart disease, are among the most widely prescribed medications in the U.S. Diabetes is associated with a very high risk of heart disease. So the thinking has been that a pre-emptive statin, before heart symptoms appear, would be beneficial for those patients. But statins accelerate the progression of diabetes. A new study tries to determine their downsides.
Those are the words of Pliny the Elder (except for the COVID part). Coincidentally, he died while trying to save friends during the eruption of Mt. Vesuvius. As it turns out, today's home is also where COVID-19 comes to visit, brought in by household members.
We visit the dentist almost as much as we see physicians. But insurance coverage for dental care for many of us is non-existent. Congress is quietly, to this point, thinking of changing that situation.
Risk, the carbon footprint of eating local, Happy Birthday Betty Crocker, and an employee review.
President Biden is proposing that hearing aids be a covered expense under Medicare. Some Medicare Advantage policies cover it. It's time to pull some information together, my fellow citizen-scientists, to help inform our thinking.
Pfizer's Paxlovid looks very promising in fighting COVID. It also provides a good opportunity to learn about how enzyme inhibitors work. For masochists only.
While Canada has already banned menthol from cigarettes, we are considering similar legislation. A new study reports on the initial impacts of Canada’s ban. Can real-world experience inform our policy decisions?
Kudos to Dr. Josh Bloom for persistently and valiantly beating the drum against blaming prescription opiates for the “opioid epidemic.” Sometimes battling windmills isn’t for naught.
A lot has been written about the strengths and weaknesses of using DNA testing to customize individual diets. It's a promising idea, but our knowledge of genetics isn't yet good enough to pinpoint what each of us should eat.
Some scientists say we need tighter gene-editing regulations to mitigate the serious risks associated with the technology. There are some critical flaws in their argument.
The story of what we call the "opioid epidemic" has been distorted by lies and deception, resulting in incalculable harm done to both pain patients and those who abuse drugs. The last thing we need is more anti-opioid propaganda. Unfortunately, an article in Healthline provides just this
TV commercials are vile and profoundly irritating. Perhaps none is more so than the ad for Xiaflex – a drug that can straighten your bent penis. I cannot possibly describe how much I want to throw a brick through the TV when that idiotic bent carrot shows up at dinnertime. That, plus other rants! Proudly presented in poor taste.
Around 7,000 individuals are bitten by snakes annually in the US, with only the tiniest fractions (0.02%) dying – others suffer amputations or continuing disability. [1] Snake anti-venom is largely responsible for saving these individuals. But as with many problems, snake bites are a “neglected” disease elsewhere in our world.
Up until last week, CO2 levels have been the concern; now methane is in the mix. But what can we say about CO2 before adding to our worries? An article from The Conversation provides some infographics.
Remember when the term "designer drug" was used in the 1980s? One of the drugs included in that group was called 3-methylfentanyl, aka, mefentanyl. Although not widely used, it killed groups of people who tried it. Fast forward 4 decades and it's now one of the 30 fentanyl analogs that are responsible for the fentanyl crisis. And it's also one of the worst. What a difference a methyl group can make.
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