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Social media is a significant purveyor of health misinformation (including outright falsehoods), seeded and fertilized by celebrity know-nothings and a handful of contrarian physicians, and abetted by disreputable organizations with legitimate-sounding names. One recent scam misreports an American Heart Association (AHA) study, falsely claiming that the COVID vaccine is tied to heart defects.

However, the dangers of misinformation aren’t limited to vaccines and haven’t stopped with diminished vaccine uptake.

Congestion pricing a troubled dream.
Congress, in its gridlock, stands, laws abandoned to executive hands.
The machines don't believe or see, AI’s errors, seen anew.
BLM and lockdown protestors go hand in hand.

In his latest article, Alex Berezow asks, "Is the US doctor shortage intentional?" Alex presents some compelling points about high healthcare costs and supply and demand dynamics, but it does not address the complete picture. Here’s my take, not as a rebuttal, but to add some missing nuances to the complexities at play.

The shortage is at least partly to blame for the high salaries of America’s physicians, who earn 220% more than the French, 129% more than the British, and 73% more than the Germans.

A group of archeologists just published a paper with proof that Greeks on the island of Aegina Kolonna manufactured a very rare dye called Tyrian purple as early as 1600 BC. Here's how the group figured this out. Plus some pretty colors.

Nuclear power, both peaceful and military, is based on atomic fission, unleashing titanic amounts of energy via splitting the nucleus of certain atoms, mainly enriched Uranium U235. In 1944, Otto Hahn received the Nobel Prize for its discovery. Omitted from recognition was his co-discoverer, the first female physics professor in Germany, Dr. Lisë Meitner.

Seventeen people in the U.S. die each day waiting for an organ transplant that never comes, while over 100,000 linger on the transplant list. Lars Larson and I dive into the crux of the issue: our organ transplant system, as government-run as it gets, is plagued by inefficiency, inconsistency, and a distinct lack of accountability. There are solutions, however.

Imagine being on a ventilator and then getting pumped full of opioids as a bonus. A new study suggests that opioid use during mechanical ventilation might be setting patients up for long-term addiction. However, the study's findings are as flawed as the logic behind them.

Xylitol, a popular sugar substitute, has recently come under scrutiny following a new study linking it to potential cardiovascular complications and increased blood clot formation. The sensationalized findings have sparked debate and concern, however it's crucial to balance the reported risks with the broader context of xylitol's benefits and its role in harm reduction compared to traditional sugar.

There was a famous commercial that asked the question, “Where’s the Beef?” This can be applied to the rolling wave of stories in local media about toxic PFAS contamination of drinking water. In these cases, there is no beef.

For most of us, the closest we get to special treatment is boarding a plane using our frequent flyer miles. Concierge medicine provides the undivided attention of your primary care physician. With the Boomers needing more care coupled with a growing physician shortage, here’s the big question: Is concierge medicine the golden ticket it promises to be?

Recent research suggested that our lungs contain tiny (micro- and nano-sized) plastic particles, courtesy of our widespread use plastic consumer products. Let's take a deeper look at the study to determine how serious of a health risk we're up against. As always, the media didn't tell you the whole story.

There's yet another adulterant showing up in illicit fentanyl in cities across North America: medetomidine, a drug used for sedation, analgesia, and muscle relaxation, typically in veterinary settings. How dangerous is the drug, and what can be done to stop its recreational use? Let's take a look.

In a world where our love for meat and dairy is anathema to environmental activists, why do we cling to our beef and dairy habits? Forget saving the Earth; as long as it tastes good and doesn't break the bank, toss it in the shopping cart.

It's one thing for the government and other busybodies to restrict opioid use to minimize addiction, even though this premise is dead wrong. But a similar intrusion has metastasized; doctors are disincentivized from writing scripts for any controlled drug, for example, sleep aids and sedatives. Who suffers? Patients, for example, my dying friend, who just wanted a good night's sleep. And was denied it.

The polar thaw, slows the Earth's spin;
Ozempic's whispers, calorie's tale;
Challenger's fate, faith in systems misplaced;
IVF's journey and an embryos' fate

KSCJ radio host Mark Hahn and I discussed a range of topics, starting with the controversy surrounding "Gain of Function" laboratory research, which I explained is often misunderstood and not inherently dangerous if proper biosafety measures are followed. Then we turned to medical issues: a new medical technology to measure bone health and a new vaccine to prevent recurrent urinary tract infections.

Coral bleaching is a serious global problem that is getting worse with increasing ocean temperatures. While there is some bleaching in the reefs surrounding Bermuda, there is also plenty of healthy coral; the water does not get as warm as in more traditional snorkeling/diving sites. The beaches are gorgeous, and much of the sand consists of parrotfish poop. That and more.

Gone are the days when weather updates were simple forecasts. Now, every hot day is a full-blown crisis. We used to just sweat through heatwaves, but now we’re at risk of death. Yes, it’s hot, but do we need the melodrama?

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.

Noise is the second most common complaint among restaurant-goers. From the clinking of cutlery to the relentless chatter, restaurants have become veritable sound factories, making it challenging for patrons to hold a conversation, turning dining out into a shouting match. Striking the right balance in the soundscape is critical for a restaurant's success.

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.

Lars Larson and I discussed the recent ban on an important and widely used class of insecticides in New York and the potential for Vermont to follow suit, despite historical evidence from places like Sri Lanka showing that such bans can harm farmers and devastate food production.
(Since this segment aired, Phil Scott, the Republican Governor of Vermont, vetoed the bill that would have banned neonicotinoid pesticides in the state.)

Remember when doctors looked you in the eye, to build a connection beyond mere transactions? With the rise of ever-present screens, physicians are more engaged with pixels than patients. For those struggling with the digital shift, medical scribes have stepped in. But has this tech-driven change improved healthcare?

Roughly 40 years ago, the Supreme Court created what is known as the "Chevron doctrine,” requiring judicial deference to reasonable agency decision-making, where a statute is ambiguous or is invoked in ambiguous situations. But things may be about to change, and the FDA, for one, isn’t happy.