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One scientist calls it the dark side of open access, the move to make scholarly articles more accessible. The New York Times reports on how there s a proliferation of online journals that will print seemingly anything for a fee, and researchers warn that non experts using the Internet for research will have trouble distinguishing credible research from junk.

Over ten years ago, Derek Lowe, an organic chemist who specializes in drug discovery in the pharmaceutical industry started a small blog called “In the Pipeline,” which was mostly about developments in the drug industry. In the ensuing decade, his blog exploded, and is now the most widely-read and influential blog in the pharmaceutical/chemistry/science universe. [...]
The post ACSH Welcomes a Guest Celebrity appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Sometimes vaccines simply work, and sometimes they really work. Such is the case for human pappilomavirus (HPV), the causative pathogen for most cases of cervical cancer. A study of more than 85 thousand native-born Australians revealed some very encouraging, and possibly even startling results. In 2007, two HPV vaccines were approved in Australia—Merck’s Gardisil, and GlaxoSmithKline’s Cervarix. The country began a campaign [...]
The post HPV Vaccine—Even better than you thought. appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Adding a cash incentive and a bit of peer pressure may make it easier for people to lose weight, according to a paper in the Annals of Internal Medicine which found that companies that offer employees a monetary award based on a group's -- not an individual's -- weight loss performance may be the most successful at getting people to shed pounds.

Despite multiple problems associated with long-term use of narcotics for pain control—addiction, abuse, nausea, and constipation— they remain the best (and sometimes only) option for the millions of Americans that suffer from moderate-to-severe chronic pain. Now, a study adds another problem to the list of liabilities associated with the use of opiate narcotics—erectile dysfunction (ED). [...]
The post Opiates: Bad to the bone appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Scientists at Oregon Health and Science University have successfully created human embryonic cells using cloning technology. The goal of this development is to one day use these cells to produce replacement tissues or organs to treat disease due to the fact that embryonic stem cells can be developed into any type of cell in the [...]
The post Revolutionary advancements in stem cell research appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

A report from the Centers for Disease Control (CDC) presents some startling new statistics about the prevalence of various mental disorders among American youth. Overall, researchers from the CDC found that anywhere from 13 to 20 percent of children living in the US experience some type of mental disorder in a year. This new report [...]
The post Mental disorders surprisingly common in American kids appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Although for all intents and purposes the flu season is over, at least in North America, experts have recently been ringing alarm bells about the possibility of a new influenza pandemic. A new report in the journal Scientific Reports reveals that researchers from MIT found 581 flu virus strains circulating in pigs and birds with [...]
The post Influenza: How do we deal with emerging threats? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Girls in developing countries will have a chance to get vaccinated against cervical cancer, thanks to two pharmaceutical giants and top health groups. Merck & Co. and GlaxoSmithKline PLC have agreed to chop the price of their HPV vaccines, Gardasil and Cervarix, to as little as U.S. $4.50 per dose. The vaccines cost about $130 [...]
The post Cheaper HPV vaccine for developing countries appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Our top stories for Monday, April 29, 2013: The shocking truth about American teens and driving under the influence, and why some asymptomatic men still opt for regular PSA testing.

ACSH’s Dr. Gilbert Ross appeared — again — before the FDA advisory committee on tobacco products regulation. That panel, officially the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee, is required to meet periodically by the 2009 Tobacco Control Act and get public commentary on various relevant topics. Yesterday’s meeting was a discussion about how the FDA’s Center [...]
The post Latest FDA tobacco panel hearing: same old, same old? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Have you heard? New Jersey Governor Chris Christie had lapband surgery in February. Lapband surgery, a variation of bariatric surgery, involves wrapping a device similar to a band or a belt around the stomach in order to make the stomach smaller, limiting the amount of food it can hold, and therefore resulting in weight loss [...]
The post The secret’s out: Governor Christie had lapband surgery appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Josh Bloom in The New York Post, 5/3/13 "Searching for the wrong miracles"
The US pharmaceutical landscape has changed rapidly and radically over the past decade with dire consequences. Companies have exited en masse from research in traditional disease areas, plunging headfirst into cancer research.

Although they’ve been around for years, tanning beds have thus far escaped much regulation — even though the American Academy of Dermatology has stated that they cause a 75 percent increase in the risk of the dangerous skin cancer melanoma. Further, the Academy says the risk increases with each use. The FDA this week proposed [...]
The post FDA proposes new rule for tanning beds appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

“The pharmaceutical industry does many wonderful things, yet most people regard it as one step below head lice on the food chain. This week, Merck, with some questionable help from the FDA, gave more ammunition to industry critics, who typically maintain that the industry contributes little innovation, and is simply concerned with profits. For the [...]
The post Merck gives itself and pharma a black eye appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Selective estrogen receptor modulators (SERMS), such as tamoxifen, are widely used to prevent the recurrence of breast cancer in women who have been treated for the disease. SERMs are drugs that may block or accentuate the action of estrogen, depending on the tissue being examined. Tamoxifene and raloxifene, for example, inhibit the action of estrogen [...]
The post SERMS: Valuable tools for breast cancer prevention appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Here's your Friday Medical Wrap covering our top stories: Why women are getting needless mammograms, Another way to treat high blood pressure, A new vaccine that could control autism, Why some are silent over e-cigarette's surge in popularity, and more on labeling genetically engineered foods.

Somewhat similar to routine mammography of younger women, prostate-specific antigen screening in men without symptoms of prostate cancer has been shown to do more harm than good.

The drip-drip-drip of scare stories, tirades and advertisements warning us about toxic, hazardous and cancer-causing chemicals has turned into a deluge of late. It is impossible to watch a TV news show or read a magazine or turn on your computer without being warned, over and over again, that if we don’t do something, the sky [...]
The post Should we listen to scare groups about chemicals? No. appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

University of Chicago researchers presented preliminary research demonstrating that Qsymia, a diet drug that is a combination of phentermine and topiramate, can successfully reduce both body weight and blood pressure. Obese or overweight individuals who used the drug over 56 weeks lost more than ten percent of their body weight, and those participants also saw [...]
The post Two old drugs combine for new effect appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Ketamine (street name Special K) has been used in a variety of ways— legal and illegal, in both animals and humans. Its primary use is general anesthesia and sedation of animals. As a recreational drug it is known for its hallucinogenic properties, although it never attained the popularity of other street drugs like LSD, cocaine [...]
The post Special K—More than OK for depression sufferers appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Even though a study conducted by Sally Wenzel, MD, and co-workers at the University of Pittsburgh had only 104 participants, the results seen during a clinical trial of a novel treatment for asthma are so impressive that they are still well worth noting. The study evaluated the effectiveness of an experimental antibody drug called dupilumab, [...]
The post Can asthmatics breathe easier? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

It is certainly no secret that we are becoming progressively more vulnerable to bacterial infections because of the explosion of antibiotic resistant bacteria, methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) being the best-known example. In the absence of new antibiotic development, it becomes increasingly important to take measures to prevent infections, since treating them can be very difficult. [...]
The post Taking proactive measures to prevent MRSA infections in ICU appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Based on a new study by Dr. Peter C. Butler, Division Chief of Endocrinology and the Director of the Larry Hillblom Islet Research Center at UCLA, the FDA and the European Medicines Agency have started to look more closely at Merck’s diabetes drug, Januvia, a step which may lead to warnings on the drugs, or [...]
The post Questions about diabetes drug Januvia based on rat tests appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.