When we share our thoughts on science as well as our research efforts, the collective good is not well-served if we're speaking only to those who already share our perspective. And specifically, If we cannot convince our own colleagues that there's a serious and growing threat to their ability to continue to treat bacterial infections, then we cannot expect governments to believe us either. That has to change.
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"The COVID-19 pandemic has made brutally clear the need for further research into many aspects of viruses. In this article, we compile data about the basic properties of the SARS-CoV-2 virus, and about how it interacts with the body." Image from Science Forum: SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) by the numbers eLIfe
Universal healthcare, which is touted as a solution to all of America's healthcare woes, is not necessarily a cure. Universal healthcare can be universally bad, as it is in Poland.
Tweeting among politicians is not restricted to the thoughts of the President. Members of Congress also feel the need to tweet. What can be learned about their views of COVID-19? A new study of Twitter offers some clues.
What do an island in the Aleutians, the Ides of March, and climate change resulting in famine have in common? Volcanism.
The effect of "Factory" farms on farmers and animals, catching up with John Ioannidis and the controversy over evidence-based care, the intimate connections of mind and body, and a look at gene drives - CRISPR on steroids?
Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke is featured in a Sun article that describes her efforts to combat the coronavirus. Our advisor is an expert in chemistry, biochemistry, and antiviral drug development. The article, which examines a promising COVID drug she discovered, is a follow-up to a recent Op-Ed that the professor co-authored with ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom.
An interview with the editor of The Lancet where he explains those recent retractions. A story of an ecologic problem in the voice of Rudyard Kipling. A query into fishy meanings of a name.
Shortness of breath, also known as dyspnea, is a patient’s subjective experience. For a long time, we thought that observable measurements, like the degree to which our blood was oxygenated, was consistent with that subjective experience. COVID-19 requires us to rethink those associations.
We normally butt heads with the Center for Science in the Public Interest. But its recent attack on Joseph Mercola's magical COVID cures deserves praise. CSPI could be a great organization if it focused more on eliminating quack medicine and less on labeling bacon as causing cancer.
The FDA’s re-analysis showed essentially what we already knew. There's a huge antibiotic effect in the treatment of bacterial pneumonia. The effect is the greatest when looking at the early response to antibiotic therapy, but is still large even when looking at later cure.
How does GrubHub continue to grow despite losing money every quarter? Birds are not are the only air travelers, high altitude mass transit is used by insects, and dare I say bacteria and viruses. Finally, McDonald's gets a lot of coverage about the harms of fast food and low paying jobs, but as always, there is a back story that portrays a corporation that embraced corporate social responsibility before it was a business term.
As Spock and the other Vulcans say, Live long and prosper. But what actually can we do, according to our best current science, to achieve that healthy lifespan?
From wire services with global audiences to the most modest of informational sites serving average Americans, we are gratified at the American Council that our work is recognized, valued and widely distributed. Here's some of the places we appeared during the month of July.
A new study projects that the world population, which now stands at 7.8 billion, will peak in 2064 at 9.7 billion then fall by 2100 to 8.8 billion. If the UN's Sustainable Development Goals are met, the population could be even smaller at 6.3 billion.
Data suggest that about 3% of Americans, or nearly 10 million people, have been infected with coronavirus. Unfortunately, this data comes from late April and early May, and the virus has spread even further since then. The official COVID-19 case tally, therefore, is a dramatic undercount.
The media regularly reports about deaths from COVID-19 as if that is the whole story. But it's not. COVID-19 doesn't behave like a cold or the flu. In many cases, it hangs on, leaving the patient with a host of chronic (and maybe permanent) conditions. Simply counting deaths will understate the damage done by the virus.
If you're someone who believes that the Food and Drug Administration is purely guided by science and that politics has never influenced its decisions, we likely live on different planets. As for some background, here's some recommended reading to go with our overall perspective on this issue.
There are some striking differences between how Europeans and Americans are navigating the pandemic. The latter have a lot to learn from the former.
A meme posted by "Patriotic Millionaires" on Facebook claims that the federal minimum wage of $7.25 in 2009 is worth $6.11 in today's dollars. That is mathematically incorrect and economically illiterate.
Vladimir Putin and the Kremlin's propaganda machine are working in overdrive.
A study early in the COVID-19 pandemic linked air pollution, especially smaller particles, to COVID-19's mortality. As it turns out, and as ACSH scientific advisor Dr. Fred Lipfert points out, the linkage is weak -- at best.
One of the issues in medical data, brought into sharp relief by the pandemic, is what is written on death certificates. For a while, the presumption of a COVID-19 infection without a positive culture was enough to get it listed as a cause of death –- possibly creating a bit of an over-count. But it is not just COVID-19 that is problematic.
Our body hosts many rhythms. While they are downplayed by Western medicine, Eastern medicine utilizes them as tools. A serendipitous observation by researchers links the breathing during mantras with that of prayer.
FDA Commissioner Stephen Hahn indicated that his agency would be willing to grant emergency authorization to a coronavirus vaccine, even before it completes Phase 3 clinical trials. This is a reckless gamble and could cause an unmitigated public health disaster.
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