John Batchelor and I discussed the ongoing developments and challenges in addressing COVID-19. We emphasized the importance of staying up-to-date with vaccines, especially for older adults with pre-existing conditions, as I’ve always advised. We talked about the concept of a universal vaccine, which, though difficult to achieve, is actively being researched.
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So-called Lifestyle Medicine may become a new medical specialty. It claims to focus on prevention and lifestyle factors as a treatment for chronic conditions. A review of the tenets of Lifestyle Medicine reveals old ideas repackaged for a new age.
A recent study found that controlled periods of fasting could hold the key to unlocking a longer, healthier life. Do we finally have evidence that skipping meals reverses aging, or is the situation more complicated than that?
Can a high school compel an unwilling student to be vaccinated against COVID-19 and be immune from liability? Turns out the answer is yes, at least according to a recent North Carolina decision.
Microplastics are everywhere, including in your arteries, and they heighten your heart attack risk! So declared a slew of recent headlines reporting on a study in the New England Journal of Medicine. Let's examine all the science reporters ignored in their rush to get hyperbolic stories out the door.
It's no secret that teens don't smell all that pleasant. But before you blame them, read this article. The unpleasant scents may serve several important purposes.
The USDA's National Organic Program has embarked on a mission to fortify oversight and enforcement in producing, handling, and selling organic products. While the rhetoric espouses the protection and growth of the organic sector, questions linger regarding the authenticity and trustworthiness of the USDA organic seal. Can the organic industry truly shed the cloak of fraud that has shrouded it for so long?
More than 40 years of AIDS research has led to significant advancements in treatment and prevention. Drugs to treat the infection continued to improve, as did patient outcomes. But now there's another major milestone. Gilead's lenacapavir, a twice-yearly injectable capsid inhibitor, achieved 100% efficacy in preventing HIV infections in women. For anyone who has followed AIDS over the years, this is simply amazing.
A study in Nature reveals that our understanding of the balance of pro- and anti-inflammatory forces extends beyond immune cells to a surprising player: the vagus nerve. This wandering nerve, connecting our body and brain, influences our immune response in ways previously unknown.
AI, a faith-based tech, we see.
Guiding readers, to books brand new.
America's hot dog, a culinary sensation.
China's need for potatoes.
A new study on veterans highlights how the incidence of Long COVID has shifted through time and different variants, bringing a mix of hope and sighs. And yes, vaccination has played a crucial role in this evolving drama, reducing the burden of Long COVID.
Congestion pricing
Visually literacy requires us to go slow
A fork in the fertilizer path
African American English
C. diff is a horrible disease that can cause significant morbidity. It can and often does recur and kills around 30,000 Americans every year. We have made progress in prevention and treatment, but clearly there's more to do.
Despite the staggering amounts Americans spend annually, the latest study involving nearly 400,000 participants suggests those colorful multivitamins might be more of a wallet-drainer than a life-saver.
Holden Thorp, editor of the once-prestigious academic journal 'Science,' has made many strange claims in recent years, including the assertion that anybody involved in or adjacent to science (a journalist, policy wonk and perhaps even an activist) is actually a scientist. ACSH's Dr. Henry Miller calls shenanigans.
The "War on Drugs" has never been a carefully planned public health protection initiative. Government officials did not enact current drug prohibition laws and enforcement policies because of any dispassionate, comprehensive review of drug hazards. Rather, hysterical fear-mongering has always been the real basis for the "War on Drugs."
Whenever I have visited a physician over the last decade, the following scenario has been replayed: We discuss my cholesterol levels (total, LDL and HDL). We review dietary guidelines and other medical recommendations. Then I say, "Don't forget to remind me to drink a glass or two of wine daily." Invariably, the doctor demurs: "That hasn't been proven to protect you against atherosclerosis."
Scientists from the American Council on Science and Health today, in an open letter to Mayor Giuliani, questioned the decision of the city to produce, at taxpayer expense, a pamphlet entitled Safeguard Your Home From Harmful Products, which suggests that numerous common household products - such as kitchen cleansers, insecticides, and mothballs - pose a serious health risk and should be discarded in favor of "all-natural" products. The booklet was apparently distributed to all city residents and signed by Giuliani and Health Commissioner Dr.
Scientists from the American Council on Science and Health called on both the Clinton White House and Republican candidate Bob Dole to back up their recent statements about their commitment to keeping America's children tobacco-free.
A leading public-health scientist today advised state attorneys general against signing a pending deal with the tobacco industry a deal that would give the industry immunity from individual or class-action lawsuits. Dr. Elizabeth Whelan, president of the American Council on Science and Health, stated in a letter to the attorneys general, "Such a settlement would be contrary to the interests of public health and will mean that you will forever be known as having sold out to the tobacco industry."
(From Priorities Vol. 8, No. 2, 1996)
FYI: Three Classes of Medical Devices -- devices (download)
Popular magazines Reader s Digest, Good Housekeeping, McCall sand the like used to be America s number-one source of nutrition information. Today, magazines take a back seat to TV; but according to the American Dietetics Association, a solid 39 percent of the American public still gets most of its nutrition news from magazines. Those readers need to know that the information they get from their favorite magazines is both accurate and reliable.
A leading public health consumer group said that any deal with the cigarette industry that includes shielding it from current and future private-sector litigation would be an unparalleled setback for the cause of public health in America.
Pagination
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