After ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom was inspired to coin the phrase Wheel of Extortion just last week, in reference to Syngenta s disappointing class-action settlement in a suit against its herbicide atrazine, we have, unfortunately, come across another example to add to the wheel.
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ACSH staffers cringed while perusing the first fusillade of a three-week series launched by PLoS Medicine on what its editors call "Big Food." The series is introduced by an editorial that calls for greater public scrutiny of the role that the so-called multinational food and beverage industry plays in the obesity epidemic.
This week, two studies presented at the Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons examined the effects of smoking on joint replacements of the knee and the hip.
Ah, summer. That time of year when the sun is shining, barbecues are fired up, and your favorite fruits and vegetables are finally ripe and available in bountiful supply. But before you head to the grocery store to enjoy these tasty treats, the Environmental Working Group (EWG) wants you to know that many of these delights are not safe to eat. That s because they re covered in dirty pesticides (gasp)!
Dr. Ruth Kava in the Financial Post
Junk Science Week: CT scans are the real risk, not plastics
Whether you are traveling around the world or relaxing at home, a safe, healthy vacation will add to your enjoyment.
Here are some health and safety tips to keep in mind when planning your summer vacation.
Here s one more reason not to skip your next eye appointment. A recent analysis sponsored by Prevent Blindness America and the National Eye Institute found that, in the past decade, the number of people over 40 with vision impairment and blindness increased by 23 percent. Even more disturbing, for those with diabetes, there was a whopping 89 percent increase in the incidence of diabetic retinal abnormalities known as diabetic retinopathy.
Creating designer drugs is an insidiously clever business, and as chemists prepare new street drugs, the results can be disastrous. That s the thrust of a recent blog post by ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom for Medical Progress Today.
Lately in the news, you may have heard about a few cases in which some deranged folks have started eating the flesh off of the face of another person. Though grotesque and creepy, Dr. Bloom explains how such events are largely due to the powerful psychotropic effects of some street drugs.
In yet more dismal news from the smoking front, researchers at Cambridge University have found that, compared to standardized feedback, tailored online advice may be no better at helping smokers quit.
As the much anticipated Fourth of July festivities approach, we d like to remind readers of some of the dangers associated with the holiday: Namely, the improper use of fireworks. As a recent study by the Consumer Product Safety Commission points out, 65 percent of all firework injuries last year occurred within 30 days of Independence Day and more than half resulted from the unexpected ignition of these devices or from their unintended use. In total, four celebrants were killed and as many as 9,600 were injured by either professional-grade or homemade firework devices.
Non-nutritive sweeteners (NNS) are a potentially useful option for losing weight, with some caveats, announced the American Heart Association and the American Diabetes Association in a joint statement yesterday. Excess consumption of sugar can result in adverse health effects, including obesity and type 2 diabetes, yet NNS can provide foods with the same sweet taste without the worry of extra calories.
Yes, they are a man s best friend, but dogs may have an added benefit when it comes to kids, too. Published in the journal Pediatrics, new research found that children who have contact with dogs during their first year of life are generally healthier, reporting less frequent ear infections, fewer fevers, and fewer courses of antibiotics for otitis, as compared to children without dog contact.
For years, cranberry products have been touted as a folk remedy to prevent urinary tract infections (UTI), but now a new study seems to arrive at the same conclusion, but this time uses science to support it.
In contrast with the overall declining rate of lung cancer in the U.S., the rate of death from the disease among women has actually remained steady, or even risen, in some areas of the country.
Thanks to continued advances in HIV treatment, patients who previously had to take 20 or more pills a day can now control their infections with a single daily cocktail drug. The first once-a-day therapy to hit the market was Atripla, which, when approved in 2006, vastly simplified the dosing schedules for many HIV-positive patients and is currently considered the gold standard regimen.
Encouraging news about the hepatitis B vaccine: Vaccination at birth appears to protect against the virus well into adulthood, according to a new study from Taiwan. The results suggest that booster shots in adulthood are not necessary. Nearly four million people world wide are newly infected with the hepatitis B virus (HBV) every year.
Too many women who have had a C-section aren't aware that they can still opt for a vaginal delivery the next time, according to a small study just published in the American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology. The authors of the study suspect that most of these women aren't being given all the information they need in order to make this choice.
In April, we lauded the FDA for ignoring chemophobic hype when the agency refused to ban the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in food packaging, cans, and other consumer products. Despite activist pressure including a lawsuit by the Natural Resources Defense Council the FDA stuck to its scientific guns and determined that BPA posed no health threats to consumers.
It s no secret that staph infections resistant to multiple antibiotics have become a major problem in hospitals over the past few decades. But such infections contracted outside of a medical setting have also been problematic: The rate of community-onset methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) peaked at 62 percent of the population in 2006. However, the increased awareness of this problem may finally have had some impact.
A researcher whose work was supported by the Federal government, among others, has agreed to retract two of her papers published in 2009 in the pages of Environmental Health Perspectives and the Journal of Biological Chemistry, respectively.
Radiation therapy appears to be a good choice for older women with early-stage breast cancer, according to a recent study published in Cancer. In fact, the retrospective, observational study found that women ages 70 to 79 reduced their risk of a follow-up mastectomy by two thirds if they received radiation therapy after their lumpectomy.
We ve been following the increasingly promising anti-HIV drug Truvada ever since a 2010 study showed that it was capable of reducing HIV transmission between male partners by as much as 90 percent.
And, while we re on the topic of obesity, children s obesity is getting some attention today, too. Unfortunately, it s for the wrong reasons. A study just published in Pediatrics has concluded that strict laws in some states restricting school sales of junk food and sweetened drinks may contribute to lowering childhood obesity rates.
Sepsis is a dangerous bloodstream infection, one that can develop from even a minor cut yet lead to organ failure and death. It accounts for about 1.6 million hospitalizations a year (about 4,600 patients every day). Add to that a mortality rate of between 20 and 50 percent, and the FDA s approval of a new device for making more rapid and accurate identification of such bacterial infections seems like very good news indeed.
I couldn't let this one go by. Just too slanted and inaccurate. And it's all over the news today.
"Aspirin Isn't a Wonder Drug," is a fine piece of science fiction by "The People's Chemist," Shane Ellison. Ellison also wrote "Over-The-Counter Natural Cures." His credentials, such as they are, consist of a Masters degree in organic chemistry .
Sounds impressive, but it really isn't. Pretty much anyone with the intellectual capacity of plankton can get one.
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