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We've been seeing news reports about runs on Imodium. The FDA has the anti-diarrheal medicine in its sights because it is being abused and is also really dangerous. How dangerous? You have a 4.6 times greater chance of dying from a coconut hitting you on the head. 

A California judge is going to determine whether or not coffee causes cancer. Think about that. We live in a society where judges and lawyers – not medical doctors or scientists – get to determine the credibility of biomedical research. And guess who paid in the process?

We all tend to do certain things because “it’s just what you do,” or it's out of passive acceptance of conventional wisdom. And especially in the medical realm, it's important not to overlook issues that could be of even greater importance.

It sounds like something right out of a horror movie, but it's real life. Parents in the United Kingdom — desperate to cure their children of autism — fall prey to snake oil, and to the con men that sell it. But this type of snake oil — doing away with autism by drinking bleach, is deadly. 

For many major league baseball players, the placebo effect is alive and well. This is indisputable, especially following a bizarre, public display of one of the most extreme cases of "cupping" – the dubious practice of applying suction to the skin to supposedly enhance muscle relief. Really, who'd do this? The answer is right here.
 

A Florida orthopedic surgeon charged with possession and distribution of an analog of fentanyl called furanylfentanyl, which resulted in the death of a young woman, has had his trial postponed until April. 

Naked mole rats, which are neither moles nor rats, have unusually long lifespans compared to other rodents, and also seem to not develop cancer. Researchers are diligently searching for the key(s) to their success, and recent work sheds some light on how these critters manage to avoid both.

How did the honeybee go, in one year, from poster insect for environmental concerns to invasive species? It's because environmental groups change the story as they are debunked.

Stopping the transmission of Zika and dengue viruses is a top priority in the fields of infectious disease and global health. A novel strategy, one that infects the mosquitoes with bacteria, may just be the key to stopping these viruses in their tracks. 

The adverse effects on patient safety from poor hospital scheduling and staffing are well known. This occurs when there's a shortage of experienced physicians and health professionals at work during non-standard hours. Maternal health is the latest focus.

Many of us get up two or more times per night to urinate. A study by Rand Europe tries to put a societal cost to this symptom. This is, in part, how drugs are priced and brought to market in the United Kingdom.

A heartbreaking tale of technology use gone awry. Despite the many wondrous advances in digital healthcare, its use in end-of-life cases requires well-defined parameters. And customized for families to facilitate humanity, not to replace or undermine it.

A former high school science teacher, who believes the biotech industry commits crimes against humanity, attacked our organization on an anti-Semitic website. We, of course, are honored. And we have a few things to point out as a result.

How did pre-diabetes enter the medical vocabulary? Does it serve to improve our health -- or is it just an opportunity to create a market for medical thinking and medical sales?

The CDC has reported on the horrifying near-death of a 6-year-old boy in Oregon. As is the case with so many stories these days, he was unvaccinated. He was outside playing -- which is, quite frankly, dangerous if you're not vaccinated -- when he scratched his forehead. Then a horror story ensued.

You don’t have to look very far to find wellness facilities touting this or that intravenous infusion for “detoxification” and “revitalization.” And if that's not troubling enough, as fees increase our skepticism is following suit.

Our Dr. Josh Bloom responded to a March 7th article in the New York Times, titled Good News: Opioid Prescribing Fell. The Bad? Pain Patients Suffer, Doctors Say. Here's his take -- brief and right to the point.

Do you want grandma to keep baking cookies? Well, she won't anymore if she dies from the flu. So go get your shot when the next flu season rolls around in October.

The 29-member Pain Management Best Practices Inter-Agency Task Force, led by Dr. Vanila Singh, recently released an important 100-page draft report. The Federal Register docket already shows nearly 2,000 comments, and doubtlessly the HHS email gateway has received many more. Dr. Richard Lawhern, the Director of Research of the Alliance for the Treatment of Intractable Pain, shares his thoughts.

There is overwhelming evidence to suggest that the brains of men and women differ, sometimes substantially, and especially when it comes to mental illness. But a new book, which is making waves in the media, denies this.

There are many misconceptions about strokes that warrant clarification. They range from those who are at greatest risk to be afflicted to their chances of recovery. Let's take a look.

There's a new position paper, and it's pretty strict. Good environmental deeds do not compensate for bad environmental behavior. Take the carbon credits and taxes off the table. Half measures are over in the fight to save the species.

Some science positions are so well-supported by data that every literate adult should embrace them. For those who reject facts, an appeal to emotion with funny pictures and clever text can sometimes work to persuade. So, let's celebrate some of our favorite pro-vaccine memes.
In the science wars, some positions are so well-supported by mountains of data ("vaccines are safe and effective"), that every literate adult should embrace them. Alas, they do not. For people who reject facts, an appeal to emotion might work. Hence, the meme. It's simply a matter of reality that memes with funny pictures and clever text go viral, while the latest research paper from the Journal of the American Medical Association does not. So, let's celebrate pro-vaccine memes.

With fountain-of-youth and cancer-cure promises galore, what's actually transformative -- and happening now -- might surprise you. The key is where to look.

Insurance providers use big sticks. They call them co-payments and high deductibles, used to try and lower their costs. Yet, when they try the carrot of rewards -- using actual dollars -- we have little interest.