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Less really is more, bagel rolling, how lucky we are, and the power and limitations of “following the science.”

A detailed investigation has exposed troubling connections between Scientology-affiliated lawyers and anti-GMO, anti-vaccine groups. For years, these forces have colluded to attack safe medicines and pesticides, while slandering scientists and organizations that challenge activist rhetoric as "Monsanto shills."

Advances in genetics have been revolutionized in the last few years. First came CRISPR, which can edit single genes, possibly preventing diseases with a single genetic determinant – raising the possibility of gene editing of children. CRISPR is too immature to be commercialized for this purpose, and this debate is speculative for now. But genome-wide association studies (GWAS) - which assesses the entire genome and can identify multiple genetic markers predictive of disease -- have made landfall and are being commercialized for that purpose.

On the heels of a new survey, public health experts say partisan politics crippled America's pandemic response. At the same time, they want federal agencies like the FDA and CDC to tackle incendiary political issues including racism, gun violence and climate change. Trying to solve these partisan problems won't improve the credibility of the public health establishment.

Extracts from the Ginko Biloba tree have long been used as naturopathic remedies for issues like memory loss and cognitive impairment. But is there any scientific evidence to support their use?

Japanese consumers now have access to a genetically engineered -- specifically, a CRISPR-edited -- tomato that can help prevent high blood pressure. Hopefully, it's one of many gene-edited products we'll begin to see in grocery stores around the world.

As a society, we are increasingly overweight. Some argue that it isn't weight; we're just big-boned. Others say that excess pounds do not equate with being either unfit or unhealthy. Can you be healthy and significantly overweight? What does "science" say?

Had she lived, Henrietta Lacks would have been 101 in August. Instead, she died at 31, a victim of aggressive cervical cancer. Monday marks the 70th anniversary of her death on October 4, 1951.  But her cells live on, immortalized by George Gey, a cellular biologist at Johns Hopkins.

A new clinical trial examining the efficacy of masking on COVID-19 transmission has garnered a lot of media coverage. What the study shows and what people have been told the study shows are very different.

Natural immunity comes from being exposed to a microbe that causes a disease. Vaccination-mediated immunity comes from being exposed to a vaccine that is similar to but not the same as the microbe. If we understand a bit more about our immune system and its memory, it will help us navigate the information and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, the COVID variants, and the length of our immunologic memory.

Scientists and farmers are taking to social media in increasing numbers to fight anti-GMO misinformation. The results so far have been promising.

Could your parents' social circles increase or decrease your lifespan? Are some really born with a “silver spoon” in their mouths?

This will come as a shock to you; it did for me. As a physician, not everyone followed my advice. In fact, some people sought second opinions choosing other paths and other physicians! Why would that be?!

Despite relatively high vaccine uptake, New York City is about to enact mandatory shots for all residents before they can visit indoor restaurants, gyms and entertainment centers. This is unhelpful at best and counterproductive at worst.

Studies investigating serious side effects associated with the COVID-19 vaccines are beginning to give us a better sense of how safe the shots are. Despite what you may see on Twitter, the evidence continues to show that vaccination poses minimal risk to the vast majority of people.

Roughly 70% of Americans have gotten or plan to get vaccinated – a percentage that has not changed since June. The public remains divided between those that fear the virus and its consequences and those who fear the vaccination.

The pushback over mask mandates has been fierce. It’s been portrayed in the media as another skirmish in the political and cultural wars. And while there’s an element of truth to that, framing all of the COVID controversies as political can lead us very much astray.

It's no secret that the weed killer glyphosate shows up in our food. But how much of a health risk is this to consumers? A new review paper examining the evidence offers a reassuring conclusion.

Discussing our mortality is tricky business. Few of us jump into the discussion, even when it’s increasingly important near the end life. So it’s easily understandable why the carbon footprint from the disposal of one’s remains doesn’t always land on most people’s list of worries.

Sometimes an article cries out for attention. This one did because it is a great example of association, not causation. Which did come first, the medication or the loneliness?

The FDA needs to step up and fix the definition of strength. "Business as usual” under the existing language of the Biologics Price Competition and Innovation Act of 2009 means continued disincentives to promote a more aggressive uptake of biosimilars.

Could governments mandate that we quit reproducing sexually for the sake of public health? It sounds outlandish, but there are prominent thinkers making that case. Their argument is superficially plausible but ultimately absurd, both for scientific and ethical reasons.

Medical imaging requires patients to be injected with or drink a radionuclide that can be “imaged” to show various organs and dysfunction. For the time that the radionuclide remains in your system (it is urinated out within a day or so), you are radioactive. According to the Health Physics Society, “our bodies are naturally radioactive, because we eat, drink, and breathe radioactive substances that are naturally present in the environment.”

Public health, in much of this country, is in crisis. Hospitals are overwhelmed and understaffed, vaccination is widely resisted, state governments present mixed messages -- and COVID-19 is out of control and headed for a 4th wave. The more-contagious Delta variant has been spreading rapidly and may challenge the efficacy of our vaccines. We address this situation with population-based statistics in two modes: progression over time and geographic variation.

Is there a political perspective on nature vs. nurture? What to do about losing “the grid” during storms. A whale of a tale! PETA and the fashionistas. And what I am listening to.