The aftermath of the heparin crisis should put to rest any notions that there's a conspiracy to suppress a cure for cancer; to control your mind with fluoride; to hide a link between vaccines and autism; or to treat Americans as guinea pigs for GMOs. If there was any truth to those beliefs, somebody would have uncovered it by now.
Search
Can calorie labeling really help people eat less? And if so, what type of label works best? A new study indicates that labels do help — and it may not make much difference for many people what type of label is presented.
Many factors feed into food consumption choices. The bigger the plate, for example, the greater the amount eaten. A new study examines whether or not giving people feedback on the number of bites they take can effectively alter eating behavior.
When the sun is out, the boats are charged up and in the water: but swimmers nearby could be in trouble. Often undetected, electric shock drowning (ESD) is the cause of several fatalities each year, and it's entirely preventable.
1. A website called the National Observer is an "online only" publication whose editor has been accused of political boosterism and using her publication to attack opponents of her family.
What happens when we die? This question is both existential and biological. While scientists cannot address the first, they certainly can address the second. What happens to your body after you die is not pretty. Alas, there is no such thing as death with dignity when the microbial Grim Reaper arrives.
Do our genes influence whether or not we get a Staph infection? It looks like they do. A new study shows that, if your sibling had a Staph infection, you are twice as likely to get one yourself - suggesting that our genes, in addition to other factors, determine how susceptible we are to certain infections.
Vermont's GM labeling law is one of those decisions that seems to make sense — at least, that is — until you examine the science. Then the concept dissolves, and you're left with an anti-scientific, burdensome mess. Fewer products, companies refusing to sell stuff in your state, and higher prices. Nice job, Vermont!
Despite the fact that men everywhere have given up on looking like Brad Pitt circa Troy, is dad bod healthy?
Medical Ethics via Shutterstock
With a reported mortality rate of 30 percent, awareness of susceptibility to Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection is important for immune-suppressed groups. But otherwise it's OK for your dog to lick you.
Tony Robbins is a motivational speaker and self-help guru who believes in "magic moments." He encourages guests to walk over a pit of burning coals, which often isn't as magical as planned.
If mosquitoes are about to become the big threat for Zika transmission in the U.S., the obvious solution to prevent this from occurring is to kill these ecologically-useless bugs using pesticides. Yet environmentalists have already begun invoking "Agent Orange" and claiming if we kill these pests, we're going to get prostate cancer -- because that is the kind of scary thing they do to raise money.
So you don't want to smoke marijuana, nor eat it in calorie-laden junk food. Would you prefer a cannabis beverage? These just might be coming down the pike soon, if certain entrepreneurs have their way.
The intent of the Senate is noble but nationally uniform bad policy does not suddenly become good policy. And this is bad policy, because it promotes the notion that this food process might be a concern.
Activist scientists have been forced to retract two papers claiming they showed higher pollution near natural gas wells.
Joe Biden has good intentions, and it's easy to sympathize with the Vice President's personal pain and frustration. However, threatening and pointing fingers at the scientific community is often counterproductive. If Dick Cheney had similarly threatened to pull funding from scientists, how would the public and media have reacted?
A controversial recent hypothesis is that the use of non-nutritive sweeteners can lead to obesity because they "uncouple" the sense of sweetness from calorie intake. But a recent study failed to replicate the work on which that theory rests. So once again, calories count!
A new editorial in the Annals of Neurology details that stimulation affects more of the brain than anyone may realize, and that could lead to altered brain functions. Stimulating one brain area may improve the ability to perform one task, but it could also hurt the ability to perform another.
How does the architecture of our brain and neurons allow each of us to make individual behavioral choices? Now government is in our metaphors too!
The USPSTF reports that the evidence for screening for skin cancer is weak. Some dermatologists are concerned, saying that lack of evidence of benefit doesn't mean there is no benefit. What should a patient think or do?
Yet another cancer has been found in yet another ancient fossil, further relegating claims that 'modern food and trace chemicals cause more cancer' to the dustbin of history.
Amidst the talks at the International Chiropractors Association (ICA) Council on Chiropractic Pediatrics annual conference this December will be a session on "vaccines and autism." Chiropractors performing spinal manipulation therapy (SMT) on children and babies is bad enough - by including the session on vaccines and autism at the conference, they are offering children a one - two punch. Now babies that are getting their backs cracked will have whooping cough, too.
Pagination
ACSH relies on donors like you. If you enjoy our work, please contribute.
Make your tax-deductible gift today!