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We know health's basics including making good choices about nutritious foods. That said, are subsidies and large scale federal programs the best way to support healthful choices?

Chickenpox is wrongly thought of as a harmless disease. Prior to widespread vaccination, chickenpox hospitalized 13,000 Americans and killed 150 every year. But even if it was a harmless infection, wouldn't we want to vaccinate our children to spare them the pain of shingles in their later years? 

Most of you are familiar with lithium batteries and the drug for bipolar disorder. But did you know it used to be put in soda for hangovers, and it saved the lives of the Apollo 13 astronauts? You don't? Better keep reading.

We no longer provide treatment to drug-addicted or mentally ill people who cannot, or will not, care for themselves. Society has decided that it's more compassionate to allow these unfortunate souls to make their own choices, even if those choices are irrational, self-destructive and dangerous to the community.

With childbirth, the stakes are too high to add a risk factor or another hurdle. A healthy mom and healthy baby should be the goal of any delivery.

Everyone knows by now that astronauts get more herpes outbreaks. Big deal. But did you ever consider what a game-changer this could be for those who might accidentally pick up a little contagion while seeking pleasure outside the marriage? No more "I got it from the toilet seat." Now you have a better excuse. Will you join this club, 62 miles up?

Dawn Anderson, a former nurse who was dying from multiple, painful conditions, faced far worse than just death. She was dying in agony, as hospital staff refused to provide opioid pain relievers that had worked well in the past. Here is Dawn's chilling story, which is the quintessential example of the consequences of "opioid madness" and the cruelty it brings with it.

A cure for herpes? Finally? Synergy Pharmaceuticals claims it has one. The FDA did not agree. Who's right? Take a wild guess.

New guidelines from the American College of Cardiology drop the recommendation for low-dose aspirin for individuals who have not had a heart attack. The reason: the risks outweigh the benefits.

Better safe than sorry. That's a great lesson for a child when a parent explains why she should wear a helmet when riding her bicycle. But that refrain makes for terrible public health policy.

Expectant parents are bombarded with costly propositions. Diverting attention to all the "what ifs" can be distracting, as compared to "what actually is." Storing their infant's cord blood can be preoccupying. But is it worth it?

In the same way second-hand smoke characterized a personal decision in the context of a public health hazard, can a stronger case be made for second-hand alcohol abuse?

The genetic testing company released a new report detailing customer risk of developing Type 2 diabetes. It's better than a coin toss, but not a great screening test. It is medical "edu-tainment." But can it nudge us toward healthier decision making?

Standing up when doing routine things, such as talking on the phone or typing on a computer, can help reduce the amount of time a person sits. And just like taking extra steps when you can, it's worth the effort.

In the middle 1800s, a French industrialist who distilled alcohol from sugar beets ran into a problem when some of his fermentation vats stopped producing alcohol. His request for help from a scientist resulted in one of the most important scientific discoveries ever made. That scientist was Louis Pasteur.

The challenge is to find substances that prevent moisture loss without making the wearer feel like a greaseball. In steps Cholesterol.

One of the most important driving safety tips is to never swerve if an animal jumps in front of your car. Dog, cat, deer, raccoon -- don't swerve. Although it's an extremely natural instinct, it's also potentially deadly. If you swerve, you could hit a tree or an oncoming vehicle. But there's one exception to this general rule.

Even the worst imaginable practices by any company in the pharmaceutical the industry pale by comparison to the reprehensible actions of some dietary supplements companies. Those lowlifes are trying to earn a buck from the exploitation of the unfounded vaccination fears of parents. These companies are claiming that their supplements will protect kids from the perils of vaccines. Nonsense and more nonsense.

Before endless speculation abounds, as we saw with Ruth Bader Ginsburg’s recent post-operative cancer recovery, or when Melania Trump was admitted for a kidney procedure, it is important to debunk falsehoods.

As winter rolls into spring, we here at ACSH are springing ahead with our pro-science agenda. (Did you see what we did there?) From Fox Business to the Financial Times, here are the places we appeared in recent days.

Bad headlines are ... bad. Sometimes they're bad enough that they screw up the story to the point where the headline says one thing and the paper, study or story says another. The folks at the Hospital For Special Surgery in New York did just that, by issuing a press release which suggested that Tylenol is useful for pain following hip replacement. But the study says no such thing. In fact, another study says it's useless.

With doctors-to-be on edge this week, it's important to elucidate the good from the bad of the time-honored tradition called "Match Day."

High blood pressure is perhaps our most common disease. We've been treating it for well over fifty years, so you would think we have a "best treatment" well in hand. A new study suggests that if you thought that was the case, you'd be wrong.

Many hospitals have been consolidated and merged into networks. They are frequently anchored by a "Big-Name Hospital" found on U.S. News and World Report's "Honor Roll," touted as the best of the best. But does going to a network-affiliated hospital provide the same care?

The Lancet is a highly respected biomedical journal that's taken an odd turn toward sensationalism and clickbait. That is troubling. Here's what we've been noticing.