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Mark Bittman s column in the NYTimes rails on against Big Food. The title: Parasites, Killing Their Host. Sounds like Karl Marx, right? His brief: the Food industry cynically kills consumers for profit by making junk. Wake up, Times! This guy s a loose cannon.

Another study supports the lack of adverse effects on the heart from e-cigarettes. Don t expect a reduction in politicians and regulators clamor against this breakthrough technology: willful blindness has taken over it seems.

California s drought has many impacts especially on agriculture. As Dr. Henry Miller, a physician and molecular biologist, research fellow at Stanford University's Hoover Institution (and former ACSH Trustee) points out, the anti-GMO crowd is making the situation worse.

The latest news on 3D mammography, tobacco use decline, and why not a smartphone app for genetically modified products?

In 2012 the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) promoted annual screening pelvic examinations for non-pregnant women over the age of 21. This recommendation was reaffirmed in 2014.On the other hand, the American College of Physicians (ACP) recently reviewed the efficacy of such screening exams, and recommended against them ...

Catch the latest news on increasing rates of whooping cough in CA, what's holding up GM technology in some areas of the world and why you should stay away from Chikungunya- the mosquito-borne disease you probably haven't heard of

After thirty years of research, the British drug company GlaxoSmithKline announced that it is seeking the approval of the European Medicines Agency (EMA) for its anti-malaria vaccine, known as RTS,S.

Considering the sound and fury surrounding anti-GMO activists pronouncements on genetically engineered crops, one might think these improved varieties are on the way out that farmers would be shunning them. But recent research from the USDA s Economic Research Service (ERS) demonstrates that nothing could be further from the truth.

Although psoriasis is primarily a disease of the skin, its effects often go well beyond skin deep.
The disease, which is considered to be autoimmune, can be very difficult to live with. Its most common form causes white, scaly patches, which are itchy, unsightly and can cover large areas of the body. Although uncommon, it can be so debilitating that people who are afflicted have higher rates of depression and suicide.

Large database study of Medicare patients shows no significant benefit in terms of survival from prostate cancer for those receiving androgen deprivation therapy: bilateral orchiectomy or hormonal anti-androgens.

Bacterial resistance is a devastating problem. Over two-million Americans suffer from antibiotic-resistant infections every year, causing about 23,000 deaths. And the World Health Organization warns that a post-antibiotic era may be upon us, when common infections and minor injuries

The good news about obesity is that recent trends suggest that its rate of increase in Americans has stabilized. The bad news is that many of us are already overweight or obese, and a significant part of the problem, as suggested by a recent study in The American Journal of Medicine, is a widespread decrease in physical activity.

Oregon is now joining the ranks of states trying to pass GMO labeling laws. Advocates for the labeling law collected about 118,000

Seems like old times: a few expensive new drugs (although money-saving in the long-term) lead to renewed calls for negotiated prices for Medicare patients price controls. Short-term savings are short-sighted however: politicians think long-term is the next election.

According to questionnaires administered by the World Health Organization, about 1.5 billion people or 31 percent of the world s population is sedentary, meaning they do not get the 150 minutes

A doctor s op-ed in today s NYTimes expresses eloquently the frustration felt by conscientious care-givers over the bureaucratic hassles engendered by preferred drug formularies, supposedly aimed at saving money. Do they, really?

New international review of studies of e-cigarettes confirms the obvious (to most): these devices offer much less risk to smokers trying to quit than cigarettes, and regulation should be proportionate not prohibitive.

For many years Body Mass Index, or BMI, has been the go-to index for establishing trends in population weights, and has also been used to establish what are the best BMIs to avoid certain ailments such as diabetes as well as early death. It has been widely accepted that the relationship of BMI and risk of death, or mortality, is J- or U-shaped.

The ban on super-sized sodas was finally defeated in New York City, but the attack on sugary beverages is far from over. Last week, Congresswoman Rosa DeLauro (D-CT) introduced a bill in the House the Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Tax Act of 2014 that would put a tax on sugar-sweetened drinks of a penny per teaspoon

Dr. Gilbert Ross and Dr. Michael R. Hufford in the Nicotine Science and Policy blog
Today approximately 14,000

Dr. Gilbert Ross and Dr. Michael R. Hufford in the National Review Online, August 5, 2014.
Today approximately 14,000 people will die of tobacco-related diseases around the world. The same will

The GMO labeling debate continues, but the anti-GMO movement has suffered some serious losses in the past few years. Both California and Washington State defeated GMO labeling proposals in 2012 and 2013, respectively. While

Medically, it just never made sense. Pfizer s Prevnar-13 pneumonia vaccine works very well in protecting against infection by Streptococcus pneumoniae the most common type of pneumonia, and the leading cause of death for adults 65 and older. (The 13 refers to the number of strains of the bacteria that the vaccine is designed to protect against.)

There are currently about 42 million American smokers. And smoking remains the leading cause of preventable death, with 480,000 people

A recent opinion piece in The Economist discusses a very polarizing topic whether patents granted to pharmaceutical companies help or discourage innovation in biomedical research.
Unlike reflexive reactions of many other groups and commentators, who somehow think that it is fair to take intellectual property away from one particular industry, the Economist article recognizes that this is impossible, that is, if we ever want to see a new drug again.