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The inconvenience of yearly flu shots prevents many people from getting them, while flu kills thousands of Americans annually. We need vaccines that will provide durable immunity and work against new variants. There is progress.

An ACSH.org reader wrote to us, asking if we would investigate a controversy surrounding Apeel, a protective coating that's applied to some fruits and vegetables. Cucumbers and apples help us sort through the issues and determine whether consumers should be concerned.

The "One Chip Challenge" – a ridiculous exercise in pain endurance – where people are dared to eat Paqui brand chips "flavored" with increasingly hot peppers may have been the cause of death of a 14-year-old boy who ate a single chip. But Paqui tries to portray their product as "healthy," for example, GMO-and-preservative free. What a bunch of BS.

I just finished reading a study on the correlation between the use of beta blockers and the need for a total knee replacement in patients with osteoarthritis. I will share the results and their underlying hypothesis, but I want to discuss their map illustrating the “cause” of what they found.

How do we spend our time? Not individually, but globally? Channeling Frederick Taylor, the “father” of time management, a group of researchers sought to answer how the eight billion members of our species spend a mythical 24-hour day. It may not have quantitative meaning, but the qualitative findings should give us pause to reflect.

Some indicators suggest that we're in for a potentially serious fall COVID surge. How fearful should we be? On a lighter note, are you risking your health every time you eat raw oysters? Maybe not, but at least one scientist thinks this particular seafood is "gross."

In case you haven’t noticed, the coronavirus is still with us. The First Lady has COVID-19, and cases and hospitalizations are rising. Some people where I live are wearing masks, and one of them has Long Covid. The virus is likely in our sanitary sewer systems, and we are responsible for putting it there.

The COVID-19 pandemic flooded the public with both reporting and original scientific research. It was inescapable. Many people waded into these waters, if not for the first time, certainly more than ever before. If you’ve ever tried to read a published peer-reviewed scientific paper, you know how daunting it can be. Jargon, dry language, and difficult-to-understand tables and figures make it cumbersome to wade through. Additionally, most people are not trained in statistics, research methodology, and critical thinking. It’s enough to make people give up and make science seemingly inaccessible.

In 2005, Hurricane Katrina and its devastation resulted in manslaughter charges against Dr. Anna Pou, along with a host of civil actions for murder. Dr. Pou received an AMA commendation for the same activities she was charged with.

Given the evident mental impairment and startling ignorance of certain politicians, maybe the nation's law- and policy-making would benefit from politicians undergoing voluntary periodic testing of mental status and intelligence.

Even as we find ourselves in a new wave of COVID-19, the politicizers and minimizers of the pandemic won't let up. They continue to spread disinformation about both the effectiveness and safety of masks.

In order to prevent "pharmacy shopping" – something that is now pretty much impossible anyhow – the DEA has insisted that prescriptions for scheduled drugs sent to one pharmacy (or refills) be picked up at that same pharmacy, not transferred to another one, no matter how inconvenient that may be. Well, guess what? Officials "listened" to "commenters" and made a very small concession. How kind of them!

Remember the Marshmallow experiment? That's the one to see how long a child could hold out against the temptation to eat a marshmallow, correlated with an enhanced ability at delayed gratification and later adult success. A new study looks at children with different behaviors, oppositional and antisocial. How did they fare?

Why do we get sick?
Why are factory farms exempt?
Why does adoption seem more difficult than IVF?
Are shoppers more angry?

As a vascular surgeon, the underlying physics explaining the biological system we care for, our arteries and veins, is well understood. But in many instances, the systems we built to carry fluids in the real world have been based more on “the laws of physics” than the “lessons of biology.”

Microbiomes are the collective and highly personal assortment of microorganisms that live in, on, and around us. If genetically modified effectively, these "black boxes" may help us cure cancer, understand how we can adapt to rising temperatures, play a role in mental health, and improve nutrition in children.

I still remember the thrill I felt when I made my first scientific discovery – feeling that the late nights and hard work had all been worth it. I remember, too, the feeling that, at that moment, I knew something that nobody else – anywhere – knew or had ever known. It was a heady feeling. And then I wanted to tell everyone!

“It never made sense for the DEA to list marijuana as a Schedule I drug. Making it a Schedule III controlled substance will make researching the drug’s medicinal uses easier. But it still makes federal criminals of the millions of adults who have been using marijuana recreationally for millennia and makes as much sense as it does to require people to get a prescription to ingest beer, wine, or whiskey.”

My background is in public health, and I love the idea of making healthcare accessible for everyone, but health coaching, exemplified by the Institute for Integrative Nutrition (IIN), in its current state, is not healthcare. It’s the Wild West of healthcare, and we need a sheriff.

Perhaps you've seen the television ads asking women whether they know about VMS. Pharma has wrapped an old symptom – the hot flashes associated with menopause – in its medical description: vasomotor symptoms. Of course, now that it's a “medically recognized” condition, it follows that medical therapy and its payment should be covered costs.

Remember plant-based meats? Ok, then how about plant-based yogurt? Roughly 6.3% of the dairy consumed finds its way into yogurt. The environmental footprint of the producers of that yogurt is significant. How does plant-based yogurt measure up nutritionally against the classic?

Reporters like to portray themselves as truth tellers who hold the powerful accountable. In reality, many of them are hired guns who publish propaganda under the guise of doing journalism. The good news is that a growing number of Americans are abandoning the legacy media for better sources of information.

The rising tide of nearsightedness.
Given a choice, I would rather shop online rather than in person. How come?
Are big box stores the new main street?
We are not the center of the universe.

I’ve been fascinated with the Manhattan Project since high school. I’m taking a break from my usual articles to give you my take on Oppenheimer, the movie.

Whether it's better in the mind’s eye to know one’s biological origins (if born of a donated sperm or egg) – or not – is the subject of much debate. The answer depends on where you were born.