The good news is that African swine fever has nothing to do with swine flu and does not infect humans; the bad news is mostly for pig farmers and ranchers who are facing, as Russian scientists claim, "arguably the most dangerous swine disease worldwide."
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Dr. Edward Archer believes that nutrition science is not just misguided but actually harmful. That's an extraordinary statement that requires extraordinary evidence. Does he provide it in his latest paper?
Conventional wisdom tells us that 10,000 steps per day is the "magic number" required for health benefits. But is there sound evidence behind this number? Dr. Christopher Labos, from McGill University’s Office for Science and Society, investigates.
Plants can be turned into fuels and chemicals, but much of their stored value is lost in the woody component that's hard to break down. A sea creature, among others, has found a way to get at that additional value. It provides both something we can use – and a reminder about the power of nature and evolution.
There's a phenomenon known as superheating. And in your typical microwave oven, the container is not heated -- only the water is. So to answer this question, we first must understand what boiling is all about. Let's take a look.
The New York Times objectively reports on how the news media, politicians and science were wrong about "crack baby" epidemic. But they never apologize to their readers or accept responsibility.
With women opting for "free birth" or "unassisted birth" the stakes are only getting higher. Dismissing medical advice is also taking the form of a misguided practice of prolonging delivery well beyond due dates.
Using made up numbers, The Lancet reports that surgery is the third greatest burden of global disease, right after cardiovascular disease and stroke. In order to save lives should surgeons actually "put down the knife"?
Treating addiction first requires that we understand it. As it turns out most people know little about what addiction actually is, and even less about what causes it. An expert breaks down the issue, so we can better understand what we're seeing unfold around the country.
There are many misconceptions about strokes that warrant clarification. They range from those who are at greatest risk to be afflicted to their chances of recovery. Let's take a look.
The 29-member Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, led by Dr. Vanila Singh, recently released an important 100-page draft report. The Federal Register docket already shows nearly 2,000 comments, and doubtlessly the HHS email gateway has received many more. Dr. Richard Lawhern, the Director of Research of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain, shares his thoughts.
Our Dr. Josh Bloom responded to a March 7th article in the New York Times, titled Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. Here's his take -- brief and right to the point.
You don’t have to look very far to find wellness facilities touting this or that intravenous infusion for “detoxification” and “revitalization.” And if that's not troubling enough, as fees increase our skepticism is following suit.
So-called "play or pay" was designed as an incentive for pharmaceutical companies to engage, or to continue to be engaged in, antibiotic discovery and development.
Doing so is becoming increasingly problematic these days, as another person was arrested for practicing medicine without a license. One common aspect among imposters is that they know just enough information to be dangerous. Here's how to separate physician fact from fiction.
Can yoga, instead of producing only anecdotal success stories, instead demonstrate that it can deliver quantifiable health benefits? A new study may herald a shift in the Western discussion of an Eastern practice.
As Big Pharma shifts risk for drug discovery to start-ups, the acquisition and licensing of those discoveries serve as a hidden driver of medication cost. Consider Keytruda.
Hospice provides comfort during the last months of life. But many patients requiring dialysis cannot, or do not, take advantage of this care. We need to do less harm.
Why on Earth does the media print sensationalist nonsense over and over again? We know of at least three reasons: (1) It cares more about internet traffic (and $$$) than anything else; (2) science journalists often have no formal education in the field; and (3) university press offices purposefully exaggerate their research.
"Cost per Quality of Life Years Saved," and "Cost Effectiveness or Budget Impact Analysis" can be used to analyze information for decision-makers in various components of the economy, such as wearing helmets while operating a motorcycle. However, these analytical techniques were never meant to be applied as the ultimate arbiter of whether a medicine was worth paying for.
While we can "fix" a hip fracture, patients just are not as mobile and independent after the injury. And that's the case even after a year of recovery. One preventative measure may be Tai Chi, a martial art that teaches defense through balance, and working with -- rather than against -- forces.
How far would you go to get an aphrodisiac effect?
Can a physician's past professional deeds be forgotten? And if so, who gets to decide? If you ask the European Union, the answer is Google.
Of course, not all causes and manners of death are within our control. Nor should we be so preoccupied with them that we avoid living. But the National Safety Council's annual report proves to be an interesting read, given a 5.3% increase in preventable-injury-related deaths.
For some expectant mothers, there's a strong desire to have less "medicalization" of labor and delivery. It manifests itself in home births and water births for those adamantly opposed to a hospital setting. Now, “unassisted birth” goes a step further excluding a trained professional from the delivery. It's time to clarify the risks.
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