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What's an "Impossible Burger" you ask? Among other things, it contains soy protein, sunflower oil and a plant-based binder that produces the right mouth/feel properties. But, no sooner than the FDA finally approved this creation for sale, the nutrition police are now saying that it just isn't healthy enough -- and that it may possibly harm us. Give us a break.

Mass homicides are horrific tragedies. Society must do whatever's possible to understand them fully, so as to prevent them. But people also need to separate the data from the myths and the social, political and moral narratives that often form around crime.

Here's what's on tap this week: Why are seatbelts and airbags designed based on male morphology? Banning plastics is gaining traction, so are unintended consequences. Mosquitos can impact us culturally, as you need to look no further than a gin and tonic. Finally, a bit of eye candy: What those tiny holes in medicine capsules really do.

Some migraine sufferers are easily treated with triptans or opioids. Other migraine sufferers, however, aren't so lucky. Perhaps immunotherapy will provide relief. Several companies are working on injections of anti-migraine antibodies.

Reporters say the long-term risks of vaping are unknown. Here's what 10 years of science says about e-cigarette safety.

Just like airplanes, surgeons' on-time performance can improve patient outcomes. Can scheduling by algorithm make the operating room more efficient?

A story making headlines claims that this fast-food chain is using chemicals that could give you cancer. Ignore them. If you need something to worry about, then focus on possibly getting food poisoning from one of its burritos.

Sometimes groups or individuals propose breaking the patent on an important drug because it's too expensive. This is not the right way to hold down drug prices, because it will hold down innovation. Breaking a patent is theft, no matter how you look at it.

The protection of intellectual property is vital to innovation. If anyone can just take something you created -- be it a song or a drug -- without proper compensation, there would be little reason to develop anything new. That, however, is predicated upon innovators playing fairly. In other words, they cannot seek patent protection for things that are not patentable. Yet, some pharmaceutical companies are doing just that.

Can diseases be treated by modifying the genes of people with genetically-based disorders? Dr. Chris Gerry discusses CRISPR, a technology that edits the DNA in the human body. It has worked in a small number of cases. Does this mean that we have an immediate revolution in medicine on our hands? Or will it be just an esoteric experiment that will fail to live up to expectations? Maybe some of both.

What explains disparate public health threats such as senseless gun violence and anti-vaxxerism? The answer may come from Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, who said that the West had become too focused on personal rights at the expense of duty to one's neighbor.

Florida recently declared a statewide emergency because of outbreaks of hepatitis A. The viral infection has hit many other states as well. Here's a little info about the virus, and perhaps some clarification of its name. There are five different hepatitis viruses (A to E) that affect humans. How does one keep track? Maybe this will help.

I am beginning my eighth year as a writer for the American Council on Science and Health. It has been quite a journey, and given that New Year's is approaching, I wanted to take a moment.

Consolidation in healthcare is not limited to hospitals or pharmacies. Medical practices are consolidating, too. But more worrisome is the arrival of private equity. They are predators hollowing out companies (like Toys R Us, leaving the shell to be cleaned up by others). Is that what we want for medical practices?

Can a predictive algorithm or electronic messaging improve outcomes for patients with acute kidney injuries? Potentially, yes. But practically, not yet.

We are officially in the midst of Summer's Dog Days. Here at ACSH, we have been howling with joy due to the media coverage we have garnered in our tireless effort to promote good science. Here's where we appeared in recent days.

Here's what's in store this time: A bit of beautiful writing (really a meditation) on working with your hands. A possible explanation for why some objects become tainted, i.e. wrapped in the shadows of its origins, like "blood diamonds." Wealth work in the gig economy. And finally, another rapidly diminishing resource: sand.

In the most common type of pancreatic cancer, the abnormal cells contain highly fragmented mitochondria. New research suggests that they can serve as a novel target in the treatment of pancreatic cancer.

Do we act one way at work and another at home? Are ethics part of our personality or more situational? A new study offers some insight, at least based on our cheatin' heart.

The problem of high drug prices is multifaceted and complex. Referring to the pharmaceutical industry employing "crooks" might be good for some cheap applause, but it's demoralizing to the thousands of scientists who work in it. Senator Sanders should apologize.

In the never-ending campaign to demonize any drug that could possibly be abused, a physicians group at the University of Pennsylvania claims that music is a viable alternative to Versed (a benzodiazepine) in calming patients before outpatient surgery. But it is not. All you have to do is read the paper and this becomes obvious. Better orthodoxy, worse medicine.

Dr. Jeffrey Singer (pictured) is one of the brave physicians on the front line in the battle against anti-opioid madness. He graciously gave us permission to reprint his recent Cato Institute blog post. It speaks directly to the role of government in determining who gets what pain medicine, and how much. Dr. Singer addresses just this as he explains why Sen. Robert Portman (R-OH) went way off the deep end, proposing a national three-day limit on opioid prescriptions following surgery -- evidence be damned.

Patients with diabetes frequently have damaged nerves, resulting in neuropathy and a muted immune response. Scientists have found linkage of the two.

Just as the Roman roads helped the Visigoths run roughshod over Southern Europe, cancer’s invasion of distant organs exploits literal veins and arteries. This has implications for treatments and cures.

A new study tells us that since Florida passed a law restricting post-surgical opioid prescriptions, there are fewer post-surgical opioid prescriptions being written. This and other brilliance. Ripe for the picking.