There is widespread agreement in the scientific and public health communities about the importance of vaccination, to bring the pandemic under control. Public actions consist mainly of wishful thinking and handwringing. Vaccination resistance is widespread throughout the nation, with few signs of abatement. Fortunately, we’re awash in data, and we still hope to find sensible patterns.
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A new report documents the hefty price countries pay for banning genetically engineered crops. The results aren't pretty, but they clearly illustrate the benefits of embracing biotechnology.
Awful parenting advice proliferates across the internet, especially as it relates to caring for a new baby. Here are a few things I've learned in the first few months of fatherhood.
Instagram recently censored the Cochrane Collaboration, a highly respected nonprofit group made up of medical experts, for allegedly sharing "false content" about COVID-19. This is an inevitable consequence of the growing push for social media censorship.
The desire for eternal youth, and relief from the aches and pains of age, remains far more potent than the efficacy of stem cells in regenerating our youth and vigor. Into that breach, we find the modern-day purveyors of hope in a syringe. A new study looks at their suspect marketing. We should, too.
The FDA recently released the latest results from its Pesticide Residue Monitoring Report. Spoiler alert: America's food supply still isn't tainted with harmful synthetic chemicals.
Research has shown that adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination are very rare. Another large study of VAERS reports strengthens this conclusion.
Few words strike terror into the heart of 50-year-olds more than "colonoscopy." True, it’s a procedure that most of us do not look forward to. But it's very important, and in reality, not really that bad. For you "colonoscopy virgins” here are a few words of encouragement.
With the recent hurricane in Florida, the concern about how and what to build back has returned to center stage. Should we continue to rebuild where time after time it is washed or blown away? And if we relocate how do we compensate the homeowners?
Perhaps I should not give this study any oxygen, but the cherry-picking of words is so egregious that it must be called out. I am talking about a study done by the Lown Institute, a “nonpartisan healthcare think tank.” As Becker’s Hospital Review reports, “Overall, Lown found that “racial segregation is common in urban hospital markets.” Segregation? Does that word inform or inflame?
In our affluent nation, most dogs are no longer working animals who help hunt, guard property, protect children or herd livestock. They’ve been taken from the farms and kennels, welcomed into our homes, and treated as cherished family members. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the food trends for the “pet parents” have spilled over to canine cuisines. Feeding raw diets to dogs is a growing alternative to commercially processed dry, semi-moist or canned pet foods. Here’s what we are seeing as a result.
An Illinois woman is suing Kellogg's for substituting pear and apple for strawberry in Strawberry Pop-Tarts. I examine the earth-shattering ramifications of this crucial lawsuit.
The saying that you can buy pretty much everything online these days is truer than you might think. Check out this craziness.
Mothers and newborns form special bonds from the moment of initial skin contact, if not from all the life kicking about within them in the last few months of pregnancy. Those bonds also form through eye contact and smell. A new study looks at “maternal chemosignals” in the bonding process.
Decades ago, I became a fan of the ACSH long before becoming an occasional contributor. I was motivated by one clear point of reasoning. I found it next to impossible to locate a reliable source of health-related issues I had an interest in, as well as being able to recommend that source to students enrolled in my college course for continuing education purposes.
Is it tax avoidance or tax cheating, robot dogs from Electro to Spot, synthetic meatspace, and synthetic meat and the coming bio-economy
It was pretty much a forgone conclusion, but the FDA's decision to grant an Emergency Use Authorization to Pfizer's COVID drug, Paxlovid, could mark the turning point in our battle against the virus. Here's the story that you won't find anywhere in the press.
Here’s the conundrum. Seafood contains omega-3 fatty acids, which are good for you. But seafood also contains mercury, which is not (think the Mad Hatter). So given the tradeoff, should you have that tasty swordfish steak? Will it improve your health, or undermine it? A new study answers the first of the two questions, and perhaps the second.
We need the industry to respond to AMR the way it responded to Covid. For that, we need a government intervention to fix the broken antibiotics market - the Pasteur Act.
One of our loyal readers brought a recent Newsweek cover story to our attention. It is titled, Americans Are Addicted to 'Ultra-Processed' Foods, and It's Killing Us. In addition to cherry-picking words to favor “natural” over “ultra-processed,” whatever that means, the article raises but does not resolve or necessarily clarify some crucial issues. Are our foods addictive, like fentanyl? What does processed and ultra-processed really mean to our health? What does “the science” reveal or not fully comprehend? It is time to take a deeper dive.
Fruitcake aficionados, look away. It's holiday time and some of you will receive a re-gifted fruitcake that is ??? years old. How old? We'll show you how to figure it out in this Christmas Special Chemistry Lesson From Hell. We will also explore whether the fruitcake is the worst gift ever. And more!
"For everything, there is a season,
A time for every activity under heaven."
Just as there are patterns to our lives, there are patterns to our afflictions. More specifically, in the time of COVID, a pattern to how it spreads, our symptoms, and outcomes. A new pattern discerns a subtle but intriguing pattern that may help to explain why delta is more transmissible than alpha. Perhaps it can help provide a clue to omicron’s heightened powers.
A new study finds that if you vape and then quit, you're more likely to suffer a fracture than if you currently vape. The authors say their results suggest that e-cigarettes pose a risk to bone health. What sense does that make? Very little. Let's take a closer look at the paper.
Sepsis, a microbial infection that’s overwhelming, remains one of the most significant sources of morbidity and mortality. In the U.S., “black individuals” have both a greater risk of hospitalization and death than their “white” counterparts. While exposure and susceptibility may have roots in socioeconomic disparity, a new paper suggests that genetics may influence outcomes more than disparate care.
Will there be pull incentives to support the broken antibiotics market? Where is Biden?
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