Asbestos is used in many building construction materials and vehicle products, due to its strength and ability to resist heat, fire and chemical and biological degradation. But as thousands of New York City residents are now aware, those who live near last week's steam-pipe explosion that sent a geyser of asbestos particles airborne, there's so much more to know about it.
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A ruling last May in the UK Court of Appeal may have set an important precedent – that genetic testing extends the duty of a healthcare professional beyond the patient. Yet, extending that duty also risks damaging the underlying trust between doctor and patient.
The Guardian's health page is scaremongering about e-cigarettes and pushing bizarre solutions to obesity. This is what happens when political activists write about public health.
Plants, marine organisms and bacteria have the capacity to biosynthesize extraordinarily complex organic molecules. Those are the ones that drive chemists nuts when they try to make them synthetically. Here's the story of monensin, an antibiotic used in livestock. While it's a monumental effort to make it in the lab, bacteria can make it in their sleep.
From the supposed need to take more time off, to accusations of being less productive on the job, there are plenty of falsehoods surrounding workers over the age of 50. Let's take a look at these dubious claims – and put them to bed once and for all.
The pediatric group recently issued a policy statement riddled with chemophobic nonsense. Why are officials there whining so much? Here's why.
Virtual reality devices track our body language, which can pick us out in a crowd. A pediatrician ponders whether this is yet another way we are robbing our youth of its innocence.
It seems that salt's association blood pressure and heart disease along with the recommended amount of salt needs to be reconsidered in light of this new study.
The NRDC, known for its phony chemical scares, may have outdone itself. The group used every trick and half-truth in the book in making a Facebook video claiming that Dow Chemical was using Nazi nerve gas on crops because the EPA okayed it. Good drama. Terrible science. As usual.
Countries that use more pesticides don't have higher rates of pediatric cancer.
America's worst drivers are likelier to be men or people who live in the South, are either young or old, or identify as Native American. America's best drivers are likelier to be women or people who live in the Northeast, are aged 35 to 75, or identify as Asian.
This plant-based chemical is found in a number of growths, especially spearmint and caraway, and it's commonly used to flavor foods. In addition, there's an interesting chemical factoid here: Carvone actually comes in two almost-identical forms, which have different scents and flavors. Welcome to stereo-chemistry.
The game, Clue Master Detective, requires eight potential weapons. The CDC finds two are the most popular.
Risks change in healthcare when imminent life or death are your alternatives.
Tom Frieden has just been arrested for sexually harassing a Brooklyn woman in 2017. Whatever results from Frieden's alleged crime will be determined by law enforcement. But we at ACSH have been writing about his crimes against science for years. Here are some examples.
The EPA is evaluating 10 chemicals under the Lautenberg Chemical Safety Act. So we have created explanations for each, with recommendations when the science is clear.
Municipalities may feel justified in trying to up the ante in the vaccine wars. Drunk drivers who kill somebody can be charged with manslaughter. Perhaps they have a point in saying this law should be extended to those who, through negligence, sicken or kill another person with a vaccine-preventable illness. That is certainly a far more palatable option than filling up tiny coffins.
Formaldehyde is one of the most demonized chemicals. Know-nothings try to terrify us about the 10 milligrams of the chemical you get from a packet of aspartame. But did you know that your body produces, uses, and eliminates 50,000 mg of the stuff every day? That's because every living cell in our body requires formaldehyde.
Did team sports for kids evolve from hunter-gatherers who needed to practice for war? A new paper suggests that is so.
A male physician disparages female doctors. Things don't go well for him. However, we now can have an honest discussion about the issue.
Here's an example of how a kernel of insight from a study evolves into a news item, which can then become a health concept that people can unwittingly incorporate into their personal exercise routines. And all for no good reason.
The siren song of precision medicine is lost in the translation, from the laboratory to the bedside. Two studies suggest that precision medicine is more an aspirational term than reality.
What physical risks do you run during a race of this length? Since high-mileage training can drain the body of vital nutrients, the short answer is: quite a few. Here's some insight into this punishing endeavor.
There are precedents in healthcare to tethering financial compensation to body parts, as in the case with egg or sperm donation, and surrogacy. Are organs any different?
Not all vices are equally bad. In a perfect world, our kids never do anything stupid or rebellious. But we don't live in that kind of world, do we? The principle of harm reduction acknowledges that reality, which means that teen vapers are preferable to teen smokers.
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