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As the sunny summer season gets into full swing, the FDA announced yesterday new rules that will help consumers to determine which sunscreens offer the best protection against harmful ultraviolet (UV) rays. In order to be considered broad spectrum, sunscreens must offer protection against UVB rays, which cause burning, as well as UVA rays, which lead to wrinkles, although both types of UV radiation may contribute to the development of skin cancer.

An eight-year study led by Dr. Saundra Buys of the Huntsman Cancer Institute at the University of Utah Health Sciences Center has found that annual screening for ovarian cancer does not reduce disease-specific mortality in women. In fact, the research team actually found that annual screenings with either cancer antigen 125 (CA-125) or transvaginal ultrasound increased harms associated with subsequent and unnecessary invasive medical procedures.

The findings of a study to be presented at Saturday s annual meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Diego show that people aged 65 or older being treated with metformin for type-2 diabetes face a lower risk of heart problems or stroke compared to individuals taking sulfonylureas to control their blood sugar.

On the breast cancer front, new studies are promoting the use of two well known preventive measures. First, a large new Swedish study challenges recent assertions that the survival benefits from routine mammogram screenings are often outweighed by false positive results or other needless followup procedures.

The Annual Meeting of the American Medical Association (AMA) has resulted in the Association s adoption of a bevy of new public safety policies that have little (or nothing) to do with the actual safety of the public. Among the Association s new policies are its official stance against bisphenol A (BPA) and their support of the Environmental Protection Agency s (EPA) national mercury emissions standards for cement plants. ACHS's Dr.

In case you re still wondering whether you really need to have someone rub sunscreen on your back at the beach, new evidence for the benefits of sun block have been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

Who exactly should be screened for cardiovascular disease? New research indicates that a computerized tomography (CT) scan of the coronary arteries can uncover risks of heart disease even in patients without clinical symptoms or even risk factors.

ACSH staffers were pleasantly surprised to find an op-ed in the Los Angeles Times underlining the scientific illiteracy and irresponsibility of the anti-pesticide scare tactics consistently used by the Environmental Working Group (EWG) in their semi-annual Dirty Dozen reports.

What s next, a tater tax? asks the Los Angeles Times, noting the trend toward imposing taxes on the culinary villain du jour. Currently, the target is soda, but, says the editorial, by the same logic, a recent study linking potatoes to excess weight gain could just as likely result in a proposal to tax consumption of the staple vegetable.

How is the birth control pill like a flu shot? According to the Department of Health and Human Service s newly adopted health recommendations, prescription contraception should join the list of items that health insurers offer at no charge. Since birth control is the most common drug prescribed to women ages 18 to 44, insurance plans should cover it, said Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.

As electronic cigarettes become a more popular means of quitting conventional cigarettes, studies pointing to their efficacy are accumulating.

He thought it couldn t be done, but after reading Karen Kaplan s latest article in the Los Angeles Times, Dr. Ross is now a believer that you can indeed turn lemonade into lemons. Reporting on a recent study from the University of Illinois in Chicago, Ms.

It seems that the latest trend in treating cancer is a combination of cytoreductive surgery and hyperthermic intraperitoneal chemotherapy (Hipec) or, as it is more familiarly called, hot chemotherapy.

It has long been clear that autism runs in families; for some time, scientists have estimated that the likelihood of having a second child with autism is between 3 and 10 percent for families who already have one child with the disorder. Now, a new study appearing in the journal Pediatrics has found that risk to be significantly higher.

In a new National Review Online op-ed, ACSH s Dr. Josh Bloom takes issue with the Center for Disease Control and Prevention s (CDC) unprecedented decision to conduct a national four-city listening tour to garner the public s opinion on whether the agency should include a recently FDA-approved bacterial meningitis vaccine for infants as young as nine months as part of their schedule of recommended vaccines.

Commissioned by the Obama administration to recommend which preventive medical services should be covered under the nation s health care overhaul, the Institute of Medicine (IOM) an independent, nonprofit organization reported yesterday that all U.S.-approved birth control contraceptives be included as part of that list.

We d like to take a moment to remember former New York Governor Hugh Carey. In addition to accomplishing a great deal during his two terms as governor (1974-1982), Carey was an enduring supporter and friend of ACSH. Here, you can read a 2004 interview ACSH conducted with the former governor, a discussion that touches on the Love Canal controversy and on chemophobia in general.

As Congress sets to work on a five-year FDA reauthorization bill, Republicans are proposing to ease recent conflict-of-interest rules they believe are depriving the agency of needed pharmaceutical expertise. The rules determine who can take part in FDA advisory panels, which counsel the FDA on the benefits and risks of new drugs under consideration.

A new follow-up study led by the Early Breast Cancer Trialists s Collaborative Group shows that treatment of estrogen receptor-positive breast cancer with tamoxifen for five years reduces annual breast cancer mortality by 30 percent, compared to a placebo and the effects have now been shown to last for at least 15 years after starting use of the drug.

And, speaking of mistruths in advertising, soy supplements are another product whose health claims have not panned out.

And, from the Annals of What s Wrong with Outsourcing, a new study suggests that clinical trials conducted outside the U.S. may not be a reliable indication of a drug s efficacy for its intended American population. The study, just published in the Journal of the American College of Cardiology, found that beta blockers had no effect when tested on U.S.

Once again, the alleged link between autism and vaccines has been thoroughly and publicly denounced by an esteemed panel of scientists, this time from the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The comprehensive IOM report is certainly not the first to provide substantial evidence that there is no link between autism and the M.M.R. (measles, mumps, rubella) vaccine (or any others).

It seems that among men who undergo prostate removal, there is a disconnect between expectations and the reality of how severe the side effects of the surgery are. According to a study published in the Journal of Urology, many men are shocked by the level of dysfunction they experience after the operation, which commonly includes urinary incontinence and erectile dysfunction.

Marked by its iconic swoosh, sportswear giant Nike announced plans to eliminate the release of allegedly hazardous chemicals from the production cycle of all products in its global supply chain by 2020. Apparently, the decision was spurred by the anti-business NGO Greenpeace, which is concerned that toxic chemicals are winding up in Chinese rivers upon being expelled from large manufacturing sites.

The findings of a recent worldwide trial show that the new anticoagulant drug apixaban was 21 percent more effective at preventing strokes in patients with atrial fibrilliation than warfarin (Coumadin), the current standard of care. The study, presented at the European Society of Cardiology in Paris and published in the New England Journal of Medicine, spanned nearly two years and included over 18,000 participants.