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This study shows that the crisis in overdose deaths is, unfortunately, not new. It goes back nearly 40 years. Three graphs reveal a tapestry over time of drugs, demographics and geography. It's not simply a new problem due to prescription drugs.

Marketing executives at General Mills insisted that if their personal Twitter feeds were evidence, people were in a panic about GMOs. Then they discovered the awful truth.

Caravaggio famously painted various biblical scenes, such as the beheadings of John the Baptist, Holofernes and Goliath. Though the artist did not meet such a violent demise in the early 17th century, he may have suffered an unpleasant one: Sepsis due to Staphylococcus aureus.

Superhyped: superfoods. The concept is ridiculous, yet wealthy Americans are buying into it -- big time. Depending on how you define them, superfoods either don't exist at all ... or we're surrounded by them. One ACSH advisor, the Director of Medical Nutrition at Columbia University Medical Center, weighs in.

Some chemicals are nasty. Some are plain evil. Then, there's methyl fluorosulfonate, aka "Magic Methyl." It's so bad that you have to be out of your mind to use it. Unless you want to dissolve a chicken breast.

With a growing number of teenage pitchers having surgery because of elbow-joint overuse, the former Major Leaguer can no longer observe this trend without wincing. And he has an urgent message for parents whose kids concentrate on playing one sport nearly year-round. Spare your still-developing teen a lifetime of pain and discomfort: Stop focusing on a single sport.

The chemophobia-for-profit crowd has a very good trick up their sleeve and they play it constantly because it works. Let's use this trick against them and show why a very scary chemical may not be scary at all.

The FDA just announced that it is no longer allowing seven chemicals to be used as artificial flavors in foods because of cancer concerns. Sounds reasonable, no? NO- it's not. The agency is allowing the same seven chemicals to be used as long as they are derived from natural sources, not synthetic - something that an Organic 101 student knows is a meaningless distinction because there is no difference. Let's give them an F in chemistry.

Scientists don't like to be definitive the way activists are, which is why science loses many culture wars. But we will state it plainly: Roundup cannot cause cancer. It only acts in plants.

In seeking to nail down an exact day when chemophobia – an irrational fear of harmless trace chemicals – came into existence, one must consider a singular government act that occurred on Sept. 6, 1958.

Probiotics are one of the recent darlings of the supplement world. But do they do anything? A small human study says yes. But what they do isn't good.

Surgeons are frequently the first to prescribe opioids to patients. Of course, surgery usually hurts. After a year of government agencies and legislators practicing "medicine," it's time to hear from the actual physicians. They have practical solutions we can use today.

A recent Supreme Court case presents the question of whether it's ethical to execute an inmate suffering from dementia, one who can no longer recall the crime.

The research has been going on for years. The hypothesis is that cannabidiol, derived from the marijuana plants, combined with an anesthetic, can reduce brain inflammation after a concussive event, as well as relieve the pain and headaches associated with brain injuries. Studies with mice may soon lead to human trials.

After its latest ad campaign, we forced the British distillery to admit it did not believe GMOs were a health concern, nor that non-GMO vodka is suddenly a healthy product.

A group of academics, bureaucrats and self-appointed addiction experts put their collective heads together and their collective noses where they didn't belong. They produced the 2016 Guideline for Prescribing Opioids for Chronic Pain, an abysmal failure. Here are what's wrong with it and some ways to undo the damage.

In discussions about pollution and lives saved, it's hard to get straight answers. But one thing is clear: exempting the biggest polluters as "developing nations" is a mistake. And focusing on PM2.5 instead of real smog is worse.

Loss of bone density can be a significant issue for adults later in life. A new study found that those who regularly played sports as children and teens had stronger bones as an adult, as compared to those who gave up sports or never played them to begin with.

The EPA is evaluating 10 chemicals under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act. To guide its decision-making, we've created explanations for each, with recommendations when the science is clear. Here is the science story on perchloroethylene.

For the three large pharmaceutical companies that still maintain antibiotic R&D, what do the next 12 months have in store? This year a new biotech, Prokaryotics, licensed a number of preclinical antibiotic assets from Merck. What antibiotic discovery activity still remains at Merck? Our expert expects there will be minimal effort.

The Oregon Democrat recently wrote a letter to HHS Secretary Alex Azar, claiming that his Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, formed in 2016, was corrupted by big pharma money. The task force was charged with reforming the CDC's disastrous 2016 opioid guidelines. Sen. Wyden claims that two respected physicians in the group had conflicts of interest. Instead, perhaps it's time for the lawmaker to look in the mirror.

Defrauding the federal government has a long and colorful history. The practice dates as far back as the Civil War, when companies tried to foist lame horses, sick mules and even sawdust in place of gunpowder on our troops. So it's time to cue the theme music ... for this roundup (pun absolutely intended) of this past year's notable healthcare frauds.

With so much disinformation on the Internet, debunking junk science and bogus health claims could be a full-time job. Indeed, "debunkery" is one of the main reasons why ACSH exists. Narrowing down a full year's worth of nonsense into the 10 worst bogus health stories is quite a challenge. But we never shy down from a challenge. Here are the stinkiest stories from the past 12 months.

Branding normal phases of development and transitions have become a thing, mainly to sell books more than identify any new discovery. That said, the first three months of a baby’s life after birth and mom’s postpartum period is a rather unique time for many reasons.

Antibiotics expert Dr. David Shlaes has been fighting two very tough fights for more than three decades. One is against increasingly dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria; the other, against complacency. This American Council advisor is deeply concerned that antibiotic research and development is not even remotely adequate for keeping up with the bugs.