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Would knowing more about one's genetic makeup help select the best type of diet for weight loss? Apparently not, since researchers found that information about a person's DNA doesn't help when choosing between low-fat and low-carb diets.

We all want physicians to use evidence-based medicine, but sometimes the early evidence is literally "too good to be true." A recent study demonstrates the Proteus effect when early studies are often contradictory and fail to reflect real-world practice.

Last year, Italy had more than 5,000 cases, for an incidence of 8 per 100,000 people. Meanwhile, the United States had 118 cases, for an incidence of roughly 0.04 per 100,000 people. The populist politicians and anti-vaxxers are to blame.

Cosmetics and cleaners are not the great Satan of atmospheric pollution that the media suggests. But why let facts get in the way of a good story?

The American Cancer Society estimates that more than 13,000 cervical cancers will be diagnosed in 2018. Of those, more than 3,000 women will die. 
Cervical cancers stem from the Human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection. And it can be prevented with a cancer vaccine already in place. Yet, the rates of immunization among young adults are low.

A media dustup involving statements made by a former medical director for Aetna has led to multi-state investigations into the practices of the insurance carrier. But for a doctor, is such a job even ethical in the first place?

Regarding the negative effects of antibiotics, an Australian research group sought to understand the effect that non-antibiotic, antimicrobial (NAAM) chemicals have on increasing antibiotic resistance. One of the more infamous of these is Triclosan, which was present in many over-the-counter antimicrobial products before its use in hand soaps was banned. 

When bitter custody battles hit the front page (e.g. the mom recently jailed for secretly baptizing her daughter), it is mostly the child who suffers.

For those with a mild or severe head injury, the examination when arriving at the Emergency Department is the same – a series of questions and followed by a CT scan. But a new blood test may change all that, in that it could separate those who need a scan from others who simply should just go home and rest.
 

Like a series of bad sequels, the media is back with yet another terribly botched story. This time, the claim is that using household cleaning sprays is like smoking 20 cigarettes per day. Wrong again.

Yet another food-cancer story is in the news. But folks, there's little "there" there. It's a correlational study, and the risks for several types of cancer don't increase much at all. This is a finding that should not keep you up at night.

This summer, a new mosquito emoji will be available for use in your texts and tweets. Global health advocates hope that it'll be used to raise awareness about mosquito-borne diseases. Get ready to give your messages about malaria, Zika, dengue, and yellow fever a little more buzz. 

Over the last decade, the gene-editing technology CRISPR – Clustered Regularly Interspaced Short Palidromic Repeats – has nearly become a household word. Now, there's a new publication dedicated to the process. It's a peer-reviewed journal and its inaugural issue just came out.

When two scientists have contributed equally to a project, the authorship can be sticky. Whose name should come first? It turns out that there may be different factors at play. One group sought to determine if gender was one of those factors – and the answer just might surprise you. 
 
 

A new proposal for changing the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program has riled up people for several reasons — some of which are likely sound. But one complaint certainly isn't: The idea that SNAP participants would be shabbily treated because their food boxes would include canned items. That's because there's nothing wrong with them.

A new law passed by a slim margin in the Netherlands reflexively making anyone over the age of 18 an organ donor, compelling them to have to take specific action to opt out. Should the U.S. follow suit?

We shouldn't let politics, on either side of the aisle, distract us from talking about food distribution and how to help small, rather than large, American business.

Given the countless books written on babies – month-to-month pregnancy guides, labor and delivery primers, and others particularly on sleeping and feeding – information overload is very real. But then again, there are books like The Baby Whisperer that make you glad you added it to your family library.
 

The only honest people are journalists. Such self-serving naïveté appears to be the creed at the website Undark. It's an outlet that claims, apparently with a straight face, to be interested only in "true journalistic coverage of the sciences."

Biosimilars are less expensive generic versions of expensive biologic medicines. Rheumatologists, who prescribe a lot of these medications, have a few concerns about how they're approved. Namely, if these meds provide identical treatment as biologics, and that they're expensive. A position paper and accompanying editorial have been written focusing on these issues.

With concerns about global food insecurity and the increasing demand for animal protein, the efficiency of sources producing that protein is being questioned. It turns out that conventional measures may be inadequate. And, at least when it comes to farming efficiency, tuna is not the "chicken" of the sea.

He oversleeps, can't find his jacket and still wins gold at the Olympics. The tale of 17-year-old Red Gerard's victory has lessons for us all.

The CDC screws up yet again. This time it's meth.

A recent study shed light on something we've known for some time, but haven't quite lived by: Eating slowly could curb weight gain. Here's why this makes sense. 

We can do a lot of things in under 24 hours. Now, we can add to that list sequence a human genome and diagnose a genetic disease. This amazing feat was done recently and shows just how quickly personalized genetic information is revolutionizing medicine.