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Lack of genetic diversity can have dire consequences: illness, early death, even extinction for some species. A couple of cases in point — dogs and coffee — seem otherwise unrelated. But both can suffer deleterious effects because of uniform gene pools. But in both cases, genetic engineering could help.

American snowboarder slash Superwoman Chloe Kim just won her first Olympic gold medal in the Women's Snowboarding Half-pipe. But even she isn't immune to getting hangry — hungry + angry. We feel you, girl.

Disparities in physicians, based on gender, make the news when women appear better than men. This study runs counter to the popular narrative – and it's just as flawed as the other studies. Why didn't it make bigger headlines?

We have yet another tragic flu story in the news. This time it's a 38-year old mother who died because she thought the flu drug she was prescribed was too expensive. The only problem? The media got everything wrong. The flu drug would not have made any difference. 

No, I'm not speaking of Jonathan Goldsmith, the guy who just pretended to be The Most Interesting Man in the World. I'm speaking of the real deal, my grandfather, Dimitri Berezow -- a man who survived Stalin and Hitler, cheated death on multiple occasions, and went on to live the American dream. His was an impossibly unique story – one that seems too extraordinary to be true (and yet is) – capped with a cautionary tale about modern healthcare.

Anti-sugar activists have gone so far as to require warning labels about the health risks conferred by sugar-sweetened beverages — in San Francisco. Fortunately, the District Court of Appeals has struck down that ruling because the label wasn't based on validated scientific findings. Whew!

Errors in our scientific beliefs are not always due to Big Industry and its evil intent. Science is a human enterprise, constrained by human foibles. Sometimes we just get it wrong.

This flu season, one product is making its comeback: orange juice. Sales of OJ seem to have gotten a boost — after years of decline — due to consumers' fears of getting the dreaded illness. 
But is dosing yourself with high amounts of Vitamin C warranted for this year's flu from hell?
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 

Meaningful use reform (in the funding bill just signed by the President) is vital toward curtailing the onerous nature of Electronic Health Records' implementation. When satisfying government IT requirements becomes more important than the needs of a patient getting cancer surgery or a doctor’s providing that care, we are really missing the point.

When David Stephan, a man who was convicted in his 19 month old son's death because he treated his son's infection with "natural healing" methods over medicine, was an invited speaker at a Wellness Expo, there was a loud, visceral reaction. The result? Some sponsors got nervous, pulled out and Stephan's speech was no more. Kudos to the pro-science community for a job well done. 

Every single day, you take several IQ tests. You just aren't aware of them.
Did you look both ways before crossing the street? Did you get a flu shot? Did you buy that $4 organic banana? These are all IQ tests, and the result is either pass/fail. Occasionally, flunking one of these daily IQ tests has very real consequences.

Attorney General Jeff Sessions opened his mouth last week and made a fool out of himself. His suggestion that people in pain should "have an aspirin and tough it out" was insensitive, ignorant, and insulting. People who live with pain were furious. They have every right to be.

Just a quick note. I have written previously about the Independent Payment Advisory Board. The budget legislation signed today, permanently repeals its existence. To return to my original metaphor, the final stake has been driven into its heart. 

The FDA has proposed new rules for homeopathic product labeling. Do these constitute a historic strategy to tame the homeopathic marketplace? Or will they merely perpetuate the status quo.

Romanian researcher Istvan Mathe has answered that burning question — "Is it safe to eat snow?" — with a nuanced answer. Yes, it's safe, but only for half a day. That is if you're talking about freshly fallen snow in Transylvania--it may not apply to Central Park.

Uber's payment system is gender-blind, what accounts for a 7% difference in pay to men over women? It is not social injustice. 

A three-front assault.

In a proof-of-concept study, bioengineers have created a designer cell able to release an effective – and apparently non-addictive – analgesic. And it triggers its release by smelling a volatile component of spearmint.  

Did our lost presidents surpass the life expectancy of their respective generations because of their access to superior medical care? The answer might surprise you.

Researchers from Harvard, UC and Duke universities have collaborated on a 'study' of the effect of an Ayurveda-based program on people's sense of "nondual awareness and spiritual awakening." Their work supports what seems to be a profitable program at the Chopra Foundation.

Why is asparagine, a rather boring molecule that biology majors are forced to memorize, grabbing international headlines? It can be found foods containing protein – which are many – including asparagus, the vegetable after which it was named. But some in the media say it causes cancer, which means asparagus causes cancer. (We're not kidding.)

It's been an ongoing quest for researchers in the field of ornithology to try to zero in on specifically where a bird's navigation system resides in their heads. But now a team of European scientists believe that a particular protein in the retina governs this fascinating compass.

Late last year, when Germany unexpectedly voted in favor, European Union member states agreed to a five-year renewal period for glyphosate – instead of the originally proposed 15 years. This illustrates the “Era of Post-Truth” on scientific questions in the EU in general, and in France in particular.

The highly unconventional, unregulated trials of Theravax herpes vaccine were very big news. That's especially true after its inventor, the late Dr. Bill Halford, MD, used the vaccine in people without pre-approval of an institutional review board. Critics abounded, but few wanted to know if the vaccine actually worked. One participant spoke with us about his experience. 

Out of more than 140,000 contestants vying to become the 2018 Gerber Spokesbaby, Lucas Warren from Georgia will be the first with Down Syndrome in the competition’s roughly 90 year history. What took so long!