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Substitute the word "Halloween" for any celebratory event and pervasive worry-lists abound. Fun also matters.

Many Americans hold beliefs about the flu vaccine that are at odds with the best available scientific evidence. For example, a recent study found that 43 percent of Americans believe that the seasonal flu vaccine can give us the flu. Scientific research strongly suggests that this is not true. Because most modern flu shots do not contain a live virus, the shot itself simply cannot get us sick.

The United Kingdom released a five-year and a 20-year plan for combatting antimicrobial resistance. Both are worth a careful read – especially if you're interested in efforts on stewardship and research support. But there's something buried in the five-year version that's less than straightforward. Let's take a look.

Epic patent gaming, and pay-for-delay agreements to slow-walk introduction of cheaper generics to market, helped bring us to this point. But will a growing behemoth of 750 hospitals actually lower drug prices?

Despite having yet to save the life of a mouse, an Israeli company is making grandiose pronouncements. However, if you look beyond the hype the medical approach is actually pretty interesting.

With recreational marijuana becoming a big deal, how can you differentiate one source of weed from another? California farmers take a page from their wine handbook: marijuana appellations, or geographical designations for growing regions.

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.

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.

The Trump Administration now requires drug advertising to provide a medication's list price. Manufacturers that were initially resistant have reconsidered and have agreed. The only group losing here are patients, who are no closer to lower drug prices or better information than before.

Fuzzy math rears its head in a new report on smoking and healthcare costs. Smoking is a big health risk, and we don't need fuzzy math to see that greatly reducing this health hazard will reduce tobacco-related costs.

As banning plastic -- especially bags -- becomes "a thing," biodegradable or cloth bags are taking their place. But how degradable are they?

Summer is just about here. But we're not going on vacation. There's far too much junk science out there for us to take a break. Here's where we were cited in recent days.

It's been a good month for us at ACSH. Cox Media correctly defined us in a story about glyphosate in cereal. And a media fact-checking group decided that we deserved a 'High' rating for a "clean fact check record." And the month's not even half over.

The FDA has issued an advisory to physicians following two deaths from fecal microbiota transplants. Not a transplant you are familiar with? Read on.

During the opioid epidemic, any form of medical care involving "addictive medications" has sought alternative therapies. So we ask: Can music soothe our nerves prior to undergoing medical procedures?

Good public health is our passion at ACSH. We want to promote it while simultaneously preserving individual liberty. That's been the goal since our founding in 1978. On rare occasions, however, a heavy-handed approach may be necessary. We believe that's the case for vaccines -- which should be mandatory -- because the right of anti-vaxxers to be sick ends where the public's right to health begins.

Our reaction time slows as we age, a study suggests that increasingly autonomous cars can make driving safer for older drivers and the people surrounding them. Yogi Berra sums it up, "In theory, there is no difference between theory and practice. In practice, there is."

Humans are natural-born storytellers. But with science, connecting the dots is storytelling, too, and that causes plenty of confusion. Also, the Malthusians report dwindling food and rising population. Can seaweed be an answer? Finally, a story connecting these dots: the Cold War, supermarkets, market distortions, Walmart and Amazon.

It's astounding how quickly the summer has flown by. For many of you, it was because you spent some of the season on vacation. But not for us at ACSH. Oh no. We were busy keeping the world safe from junk science.

Can we sufficiently alter our diet to eat our way out of a changing climate? Probably not. And even if we did it would require massive changes in what the world consumes. Changing diets would be good news for cows and sheep, less good for chickens and pigs, and tough on plants.

Have the internet and social media created a climate where Americans believe anything is possible? With headlines citing now as the age of conspiracy, is it really true? In a word, no.

A recent study identifies a new risk calculator, one which better predicts the surgical outcomes of complications or death. And while it's an improvement, can it be a useful tool? After all, how many people gamble with their loved ones?

Using an AI algorithm researchers can use electrocardiograms to tell us our gender and age. Have they found a Magic 8-ball of health?

The Department of Health & Human Services has tried in many ways to gauge patient satisfaction with hospital care. Perhaps it should listen to hospitalized children, since they make more sense than the current "concerns" attributed to adults.

The other day, CNN hosted a 7-hour long climate change town hall for the Democratic presidential candidates. This, of course, isn't the only scientific topic of relevance to Americans. If we were running the debate, we would ask questions about the following science and health topics: Vaccines, opioids, energy policy, alternative medicine, vaping, stem cells, and genetic engineering.