I wrote several weeks ago about the possibility that the UK variant, B.1.1.7, in addition to being more infectious, may be more deadly. The data provided to the UK’s Scientific Advisory Group for Emergencies (SAGE) has now been updated. Here is what we know now.
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Given recent events, including Europe's botched approach to procuring a COVID vaccine, do we think the E.U. will be able to get it together to provide a significant pull incentive for antibiotic research and development?
Geology tells a story of Earth's long history of climate change, the Supreme Court - of Facebook, searching outside the algorithm has replaced searching outside the box, and California rarely walks its political talk.
Over this six-part series, I have demonstrated that purported organics are neither safer, healthier, tastier, or better for the environment. It is time to consider whether that organic label is trustworthy.
Millions of families around the world are separated due to COVID travel restrictions. These people are left to suffer in isolation, consoled only by the platitude that the benefits of strict lockdowns outweigh the cost of emotional pain and psychological torture.
While we lament the lack of cooperation in Western culture that allows a virus to spread, we can simultaneously celebrate the entrepreneurial spirit that allows a cure to be discovered.
The rainbow that hung over Scotland’s Kingdom of Fife for a half-hour yesterday stunned me.
Human factors in North Pole efficiency, the cost-effectiveness of Christmas, would we see evolution differently if Darwin played Go, our friends the T-cell, and why it is difficult to separate economics from the form of government we choose.
We know we develop an immune response to COVID-19 if we are infected or vaccinated, but just how long does it last? The answer to that question is becoming more evident.
Race is a social construct; until we consider healthcare and research, where it is an increasingly outdated biomarker. Before treatment disparities get worse, we need to have a discussion. Let’s get started.
There's a new vaccine in town and all the nut logs and screwballs are blabbering nonsense rumors all over the Internet. Here's one that is especially bad – that the Pfizer/Moderna COVID vaccines can give you COVID. No, they can't. It is physically impossible. Here's why.
ABC News really pulled a stinker when it published an online article entitled "Over 100 fully vaccinated people contract COVID-19 in Washington state, officials say." Sounds scary, right? No. The results paint a very different picture. Cheap scare tactics are the last thing we need right now.
Much of our behavioral changes during the COVID-19 pandemic are driven by fear, a primal survival instinct, subsequently re-enforced by state mandates. It is proving difficult for some to unwind their fear even having been vaccinated. Is fear the best means of influencing our behavior?
As we try to reopen our domestic and global markets, as well as entertainment venues, increasingly there are voices calling for a method to ensure safe passage. That method is a so-called immunity or vaccine passport. But each comes with its own price – and ethical problems.
COVID-19 has taken a toll on our mental health. With more and more cases of depression, the deadly virus has made us more aware of our fragile existence. Perhaps, as a result, more attention is being paid to end-of-life issues, including hospice, and more controversially, euthanasia. Are we going down a slippery slope?
In a pandemic, will physicians, who determine that the potential benefit of Ivermectin outweighs its well-documented risks for their patients, finally once again be given free rein to practice medicine?
The anti-biotech movement continues to warn that consuming GE crops makes people sick. A recent email blast from The Institute for Responsible Technology typifies the latest arguments coming from activist groups. How well do these stand up to the facts?
Can two well-intentioned clinically trained individuals look at the same data and reach differing conclusions? Yes. When it comes to ivermectin, I have more doubts and concerns than others. Here’s my take.
ACSH friend, Dr. Joe Schwarcz, who is the director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, makes one short video every week in his "The Right Chemistry" series. This week we learn about "leaded coffee." Fascinating and entertaining. Treat yourself.
Usually, our strategy to handle unfair attacks is to ignore them. But occasionally, the assaults are so egregious that they deserve a full-throated rebuttal. This is one of those times.
Victims of disinformation campaigns can use a five-pronged strategy to fight back and win.
The Pew Charitable Trust just published its analysis of the antibacterial pipeline. Is it adequate to fulfill our needs? The answer is no. Is it supported by the market? Also, no. (Sigh...)
Perhaps you remember the snail darter, a tiny endangered fish that delayed the final construction and opening of the Tellico Dam in Tennessee. It was also the proximate reason that the Supreme Court upheld the Endangered Species Act. How has our understanding of the science of ecologic habitats shifted in the past forty-eight years?
Since the start of 2021, the media has regularly urged Americans to get their COVID shots as soon as possible. But this effort won't be very effective unless reporters begin changing how they frame their coverage.
To speed COVID vaccine uptake and bring the pandemic to an end, some commentators are calling on the government to mandate immunization as a condition for participating in society. This may seem like a reasonable policy, but there's compelling evidence that it could backfire.
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