The latest results from the USDA's Pesticide Data Program confirm that America's food supply still very safe, despite allegations from activist groups to the contrary.
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The risk management of raw cookie dough, the psychic and physical energy spent in engaging misery, Don’t look up, and the supply chain, quarterly profits, and too-just-in-time.
Infection of a vaccinated person is referred to as a “breakthrough” case. Such cases are infrequent, but they raise questions about the long-term efficacy of vaccination. Here we examine some of the available breakthrough data.
Separating rights from responsibilities, framing, following the science? Stealing our privacy through our games.
There’s a new study of the benefits of eating your vegetables. It has the usual measurement problems – and concludes that vegetables are good for your health. But it clarifies the issue that your food selection has little effect, as compared to your other life choices.
A new study in JAMA Network Open is a follow-up to a 2015 study done by the same researchers. The questions are: Do you store loaded guns at home? Are they locked or not? Do you store guns that are loaded and unlocked? This is not about the right to bear arms, but the responsibility to store them safely around children.
From the very beginning, the FDA knew that the COVID-19 vaccine was linked to serious heart trouble in recipients. The FDA medical officer review [1] of Pfizer’s original COVID-19 application notes “clinically important serious adverse reactions [included] anaphylaxis and myocarditis/pericarditis.” There is an urgent need for the FDA, CDC, and manufacturers to thoroughly investigate serious heart-related adverse events after the Pfizer and Moderna COVID vaccines.
Electronic Health Records, those over-hyped, energy and time-sucking billing algorithms sold to the American public and healthcare professionals as THE answer continues to search for some valuable clinical role. Clinical decision support are algorithms that scan our data and send timely reminders to our physicians to “Do the Right Thing.” While it may work well in the Ivory Towers, and even that is debatable, when taken out for a real-world test, clinical decision support is nowhere near ready for prime-time.
The Russian invasion of Ukraine has led to what's been described as heavy fighting at the site of the Chernobyl nuclear power station, near the Ukraine-Belarus border. There have also been reports of rising radiation levels in some places, and concerns about possible damage to the entombed reactor that was damaged in the 1986 accident.
The CDC's 2022 revisions of the deeply flawed 2016 Prescribing Advice contains some welcome changes that should reduce the needless suffering of pain patients. Unfortunately, the new document does not go far enough. My comments will be officially submitted to the CDC during the public comment period.
The Michelson Philanthropy Prize in Immunology was awarded on Feb. 24 to Dr. Paul Bastard at the Necker Hospital for Sick Children in Paris. Why should you care? Because his work helps us better understand the biology of why some die from COVID-19, while others are seemingly – and are – immune.
Explaining a paradox of science, let nature bury the excess carbon, Power, and letting go – at least of our notes.
Although the 2022 revision of the 2016 CDC Opioid Prescribing Advice is an improvement over the original document, it still refers to Morphine Milligram Equivalents (MME) as a guide to physicians. Unfortunately, this number does not accurately reflect the relative strength of opioid painkillers. Dr. Jeff Singer and I explain why in a new op-ed in the NY Daily News.
It seems that COVID-19 is, finally and hopefully, waning from the American scene. Before we face another wave or a new threat, it might make sense to review some of the legal fallout, notably the interplay between freedom of religion, the obligation of the state to protect public health, and the prevalence of changing attitudes championing solidarity versus those advocating autonomy.
A new study looks at how those, who vape and use hookahs, inhale and exhale. It's an examination of duration, volume, and velocity. In other words, constructing product-specific puff topographies.
The Biden administration announced a "test to treat" plan to provide easy access to Paxlovid – an effective COVID antiviral drug – for anyone who's infected. It's not perfect, but it's sorely needed.
On January 2, 2022, the Israeli government began the Pfizer vaccine's 4th dose or 2nd booster. The data from Israel's vaccination program is the basis of the decision by the FDA and CDC to recommend a second booster shoot for selected populations. What should you do?
Jane Campion takes home the 2022 Oscar for Best Director in "The Power of the Dog," an unsettling, psychological Western drama. The tension is due to the relationship of the main character, Phil Burbank, with his brother's new wife and her son, Peter. Phil, to put it bluntly, is a bully. However, young Peter is training to become a medical doctor and [spoiler alert] uses his knowledge of pathogens to destroy an unwitting Phil. How did making a rawhide rope lead to death?
Since the CDC, DEA, and Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing have become experts in dispensing prescription drugs, why stop there? Well, in Massachusetts, it didn't stop there. Judges were dictating specific medications to help addicts recover. Judges? Who's quoted in the article? Andrew Kolodny, of course. Why?
Plastics are ubiquitous in our environment. Much has been made about the increasing amounts all around us, in intended and unintended places. A new study indicates that one of those unintended places is now our bloodstream. This is the first step to understanding their potential toxicity, so it pays us to look carefully at what the scientists did and did not find.
A new randomized controlled study pits the oft-maligned potato against the virtuous almond. Which of the two causes weight gain? Should we eat this, not that? What does the research say?
A new systematic review and meta-analysis suggests that drinks sweetened with sugar substitutes may promote weight loss. Could these results end the dispute over the benefits of diet soda? Let's take a closer look.
Recently Dr. Jeffrey Singer wrote about the one hiccup in the COVID-19 plan to “test and treat.” Pharmacists are not allowed to prescribe Paxlovid. He makes a compelling argument, but there are some downstream consequences that we should also consider.
A contrarian view of microplastic in our oceans, upcoming elections seem to be settled at primaries, not the general, and China clamps down on algorithms. Will that become our law too?
Just like a trip to the dentist, it's time for The Dreaded Chemistry Lesson From Hell. This time we'll discuss the element xenon. Also, Dr. Charles "Chuckie D." Dinerstein gets his comeuppance. And a mini-book review. No extra charge!
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