Search results

A company called ZBiotic wants you to believe that its product – a microorganism that makes the enzyme that metabolizes acetaldehyde – will help prevent a hangover. Should we believe this?

We spend 85% of our time indoors, and air conditioning can provide relief when and where we need it. Nevertheless, regulatory agencies continue to press for tighter outdoor emission controls. Their mantra is that lives can be shortened by long-term (years) exposure, no matter how trivial. This is the linear, no-threshold hypothesis currently promulgated by EPA.

Medical schools emphasizing DEI (Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion) as criteria for admissions is a prescription for disaster.

Discovering the truth about the impact of ultra-processed foods on our brains can be like navigating a maze of conflicting information. In a recent article published by The Wall Street Journal, the spotlight was once again cast on this controversial topic.

Picture this: a digital watchdog, prowling through heaps of patient data, poised to raise the alarm at the slightest sign of trouble. Enter a guardian angel, in the guise of algorithms designed to forewarn medical staff of impending crises. But is it truly a beacon of salvation or a mirage in the desert of clinical uncertainty?

“Should you pack Lunchables for Your Kid’s School Lunch?” asks a piece in the April 9th edition of Consumer Reports. The article claims that these lunch kits contain lead and other contaminants, and may harm children’s health. Do parents need to worry?

In a recent conversation with John Batchelor (CBS "Eye on the World"), we explored the resurgence of measles amidst a wave of vaccine hesitancy sparked by the COVID-19 pandemic.

In Walpole, Massachusetts the circus is always in town. This is because Robert F. Kennedy, Jr. opened his national presidential campaign headquarters there in 2023. RFK, Jr. may blame some of his erratic behavior, mostly regarding science and medicine, on his brain-eating worm, but I don't buy it. He was saying crazy s### well before Wormgate. Here's some of it.

In 2012, there was a bizarre case of "face-chewing" that was attributed to two Florida men allegedly smoking drugs called "bath salts." Twelve years later some drug-addled (Floridian) lunatic took a big chunk out of a deputy's head, at an annual music and art festival held to provide a "captivating journey into a world of electrifying music, immersive art, and spiritual rejuvenation." Read on and you'll find an entertaining chemistry-based article that you really can sink your teeth into.

It's impossible not to notice the exponential rise in people, posting on social media, plunging into ice-filled bathtubs or extremely cold waters. It's not because they are masochistic, but rather because of the supposed “benefits” that the practice supposedly offers.

The guidelines on what we should eat - science speaks but politics reign,
Procedural tricks, the lobbyist's way.
New York's subways crime, AI scan not so intelligent
A Roman pandemic teaches in hindsight.

Two cases now before the Supreme Court threaten to narrow or even eviscerate traditional judicial deference to agency expertise. Soon, we may see this deference afforded under the decades-old Chevron doctrine dismantled entirely - even regarding technical or scientific determinations. FDA Commissioner Robert Califf, for one, isn’t pleased.

On April 30, 2024, the EPA banned many uses of methylene chloride, a chemical widely used as a paint stripper and in industrial applications, based on an “unreasonable risk to human health.” This presents a total reversal of their earlier conclusions that methylene chloride did not pose an unreasonable risk. How did EPA use the same data to reach two opposing conclusions?   

Infectious disease experts predict another coronavirus pandemic in the future, so we need to be prepared. That will require both basic research to devise improved vaccines, including "universal" ones that will provide immunity against new variants, and cooperation from vaccine manufacturers.

It’s final exam time, which means all manner of study hacks are making their semi-annual resurgence amongst students across the country. Among those hacks are nootropics – substances ostensibly increasing cognitive function. What’s behind these brain-boosting products?

We’ve witnessed the opioid addiction crisis suffering through its mismanagement. Now, we face another scourge of addiction – again resulting in untimely deaths of young people while bankrupting and overtaking their emotional lives. This debacle is caused by social media, with recompense and responsibility avoided, and guardrails are yet to be widely implemented.

In an invisible dance, micro- and nanoplastics move about ubiquitously, yet unnoticed. These minuscule particles bob and weave into every corner of our existence. Yet, their impact on our respiratory health is unclear. How do these particles navigate the pathways of our respiratory tree, and what does this mean for our well-being?

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.

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.