It is no secret that opioid drugs are big news, both because of the escalating number of heroin deaths and new rules that make them very difficult to get—even when you legitimately need them. The latter is thanks to the CDC, but did they use sound evidence to formulate their prescribing advice? It would seem not.
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Things aren’t always what they seem – especially in the medical realm. That's precisely what surgeons in Japan discovered when performing an emergency appendectomy. Brain tissue ... in ovaries?!
The Food and Drug Administration has just cracked the whip on the use of antibiotics in animal feed — something that should have been done long ago. However, many of the antibiotics used for this purpose are not used in humans. Does this matter? You may be surprised.
A large outbreak in Washington State of hundreds of cases of mumps – a disease projected to be eliminated from the United States by 2010 – is raising new questions, two in particular. Why is it back? And can we ever rid the nation of it for good?
McKesson Corp. has been repeatedly fined for failing to report suspicious opioid orders, which is required by the Drug Enforcement Agency for all parties in the opioid supply chain. This is not the corporate citizenship and good stewardship its officials claim – and there is little we can do about it.
Not only does bariatric surgery provide substantial weight loss to the obese, but it can also ameliorate the metabolic derangements of diabetes and decrease their need for medications. And, a new randomized study found, these beneficial results aren't transient — they were still apparent five years post-surgery and were superior to the results of strictly medical treatment.
A doctor talking about gun safety is not advocating gun control. Let's get politics out of medicine.
Are you your dog? Is your dog you? The science.
United Healthcare, the largest provider of Medicare Advantage (MA plans) services, is being sued by the Department of Justice (DOJ) for fraud. I think they may be right. They are gaming a system designed to protect Medicare beneficiaries and taxpayers from excessive cost and they are very profitable. Did your revenue go up by 11.6% last year? Theirs did.
If the average person is asked to assess their own driving skills, most will give themselves an above average rating. By definition, half of all drivers are below average, but most people lack the self-awareness to realize this due to a cognitive bias known as illusory superiority.
When you are buying gasoline with a particular octane number, joke's on you. There is little or no octane in there, because octane will blow you engine up. A little primer on anti-knock additives. They're not so great either.
So are baldness and height related? After studying the genetic material of more than 22,500 adult, bald men, German researchers determined that "short men have an increased risk of becoming bald prematurely."
1. Nature magazine covered our ranking of the good and bad science journalism sites last week, highlighting our concern that "Not only is it susceptible to the same sorts of biases that afflict regular journalism, but it is uniquely vulnerable to outrageous sensationalism”.
People often think that pheromones play a role in who we find attractive or how we choose a mate. Although researchers keep addressing the question, the scientific evidence for the presence of pheromones in humans is lacking. Here, yet another study has failed to uncover any proof of their existence.
GNC is screaming mad over a late decision by the Fox network to reject its commercial from the Super Bowl broadcast. This shifty purveyor of supplements, vitamins and all sorts of unsavory stuff is saying it was blindsided by the move as is threatens to sue. Instead, here's a better idea: Stop selling dangerous products – and get off the NFL's banned list of companies.
Our findings indicate that the congestion tax in central Stockholm reduced ambient air pollution by 5 to 10 percent. This policy induced change in pollution has been associated with a significant reduction in the rate of urgent care visits for asthma among children 0 to 5 years
Results of a recent "right track-wrong track" poll of Americans aren't just negative; they are overwhelmingly and embarrassingly negative. Moreover, the idea that the nation has been heading in the wrong direction has been holding sway for years. Pessimism is in high gear, and at the center of this perfect storm is social media.
The perfect energy solution is really quite simple. Implementing it only requires political will and scientifically savvy voters. Unfortunately, both are in short supply.
Did you ever stop to think "wouldn't it be nice to make puke smell like pineapple?" On the off chance that you haven't, and would like to know, here ya go.
The American Medical Association owns the intellectual property rights to the system for determining physician fees – a property that generates $72 million annually. Why?
Initial reports suggest that Kim Jong-Nam, the estranged half-brother of North Korean dictator Kim Jong-Un, was murdered with VX, a type of agent used in chemical warfare. What is it, and how does it work?
Who knew that if you looked hard enough, you'd find a supposed sinister side to even the most popular super food? We were surprised to hear fans of Quinoa are now afraid of chemicals in the grain called Saponins.
How long can an image of one's face be used to accurately identify that person? Approximately 6.5 years, according to the results of a new study from Michigan State University. Given the premium being placed on security worldwide, the findings may prove useful to strengthen law enforcement procedures.
A number of recent headlines imply that a new case study in the New England Journal of Medicine proves that gene therapy has cured sickle cell disease — a genetic disorder that causes tremendous pain, suffering and diminished life expectancy. Let's unpack the significance of the researchers’ findings.
Want to decrease your risk of death? Try eating hot red chiles — or so you might think based on a recent research paper. In all, the data aren't terribly convincing. It seems that relaxing to some music would provide as much of a benefit as this study seems to show.
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