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Media attention has focused on recent downturns in COVID-19’s breakthrough cases in hopes that the nation can reach a continuing and tolerable endemic status. Others have warned about a potential 4th wave in conjunction with increased cold weather exposures. A New York Times commentary claimed to have discovered 2-month cycles in the U.S. and globally and concludes “the worst of the pandemic is almost certainly behind us” [1]. 
What’s going on here? What does the future portend, given what we’ve endured thus far?

“Scientists initially estimated that 60 to 70 percent of the population needed to acquire resistance to the coronavirus to banish it. Now Dr. Anthony Fauci and others are quietly shifting that number upward.” NY Times December 2020
“Reaching ‘Herd Immunity’ Is Unlikely in the US, Experts Now Believe” NY Times July 2021
Is this poor communication, flip-flop, or evidence of conspiracy?

Once, a long time ago, it seems, individuals used rules-of-thumb, fancy name heuristics to navigate transactions – social or commercial. As the scale of our interactions grew, rules-of-thumb gave way to algorithms, which were, in turn, unleashed to create new algorithms based upon artificial intelligence. Somewhere along the way, those artificially intelligent algorithms became dangerous. What is high-risk artificial intelligence? Spoiler alert – it is already upon us – welcome to our version of Skynet.

This article is written by Dr. Peter Attia [1]. It is helpful to understand the study of health, especially in the time of COVID. Summarizing it does not do it justice - so we are reprinting it from his website, with their permission.

Apparently, the U.S. Department of Justice thinks the answer to the above question is “yes.” The agency presumes to know just how much pain medication, and what type and dose, each and every inhabitant of the country will require each year, an upside-down debacle by any measure.

Antiviral drugs will be a necessary addition to vaccines to tamp down COVID. Both Pfizer and Merck have drugs in the clinic and they both look good. Roche also has a candidate but things are looking pretty grim. How grim? Better read this.

The media likes to compare COVID-19 outcomes in different states based on carefully selected metrics. A closer look indicates that these match-ups are less compelling than reporters think. This has consequences for the public's trust in science.

To paraphrase a well-known phrase about government intervention, can there be any words more feared than these: “I’m from Amazon, and I’m here to help.” After a failed endeavor – in conjunction with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, known as Haven – Amazon is moving into healthcare on its own. What might that mean for physicians and patients?

A friendly exchange between a former vaccine skeptic and a University of Florida scientist illustrates how we can get more people immunized, during the pandemic and beyond.

In March, President Biden fired 40 independent, external science advisors at the Environmental Protection Agency. A president had never done that. He replaced them with researchers – many of whom receive, or are involved in research that receives, millions of taxpayer dollars from EPA grants. This act epitomizes the politicization of an executive agency.

"Synthetic chemical in consumer products linked to early death, study finds.”
“People with the highest levels of phthalates had a greater risk of death from any cause, especially cardiovascular mortality, according to a study published today in a peer-reviewed journal.”
Let’s take a look behind the headlines, at the study itself, to see what it actually says. [1]

Kombucha is a popular high-acid, low-alcoholic beverage composed of fermented tea and sugar. Kombucha lovers tout its use as a remedy for everything, calling it a miracle elixir. It has grown from a regional beverage to a global market. Are its health claims factual, or is it just another trendy “bubbly” beverage?

Whether the source is carbohydrates, protein, or fat, a calorie is a calorie. New dietary math based on the microbiome says that a calorie may get eaten– not by us – but by our bacterial companions, altering the balance needed to reduce one’s weight.

Short answer: no one.
Sure, you’ve probably read that you can sue the person who you think infected you. But you never read that based on anyone who’s ever actually tried a tort case, which is why this is a common and serious misconception. Sometimes, knowing how the law works in real life is different from what you read in a book or an article.

Here's the news, straight from the headlines: “70% of fully vaccinated prisoners caught COVID-19 in a Texas Delta outbreak, the CDC says — but vaccines protected against severe disease.” This is not misleading; just incomplete. It was a choice to report the easy narrative, rather than digging deeper. Here's what information was overlooked.

As the inhabitants of an ancient Middle Eastern city now called Tall el-Hammam went about their daily business one day about 3,600 years ago, they had no idea an unseen icy space rock was speeding toward them at about 38,000 mph (61,000 kph).

The recent international climate summit involved 40,000 individuals coming to Glasgow from around the world. The Brits have calculated the carbon footprint of the meeting on carbon footprints.

The answer is that patients profit the most; it’s a life-saving and life-extending drug. But the sticker price (termed wholesale acquisition cost) keeps rising. Following the money will reveal both the lack of pricing transparency, and those who are raking the greatest share of the price increases.

Electric vehicles require very large lithium batteries – some even believe Tesla is more a battery than a car company. In any event, as an article in Wired points out, no good deed goes unpunished. What do we do with batteries at the end of their life?

Over the past 20 months, some formerly unknown terms have become part of our vernacular, thanks to COVID-19. Do most non-scientists understand them? We’re guessing: Probably not. So, here’s a primer that may help you better understand what you're hearing and reading.

Dr. David Shlaes has been following the various discussions around the development of rapid diagnostic tests for acute bacterial infections. The ACSH advisor has concluded that broad-spectrum empiric therapy of potentially serious infections in the hospital will continue – and well it should – regardless of the availability of such rapid tests.

As the Supreme Court gears up to determine “the fate of the fetus,” the state of their “pre-genitors” also remains murky.

Some social justice activists have alleged that Western companies use biotechnology to "colonize" the developing world. There isn't a bit of evidence in support of this popular but very dangerous accusation.

Let’s face it, Dr. Google remains the Dr. Benjamin Spock of our current generation; 53% of Americans search there for health information. A close runner-up is Mehmet Oz, a cardiovascular surgeon and now influencer – and when he speaks, he moves markets, at least for diets and supplements that often, although not always, have scant if no scientific basis. A new study looks at how we combat or, more appropriately, do not combat the Oz Effect.

Multiple studies have shown that vaping can help smokers give up cigarettes if they want to quit. But research is beginning to show that vaping may actually incentivize smokers to quit, even when they have no plans to stop.