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The good news is that African swine fever has nothing to do with swine flu and does not infect humans; the bad news is mostly for pig farmers and ranchers who are facing, as Russian scientists claim, "arguably the most dangerous swine disease worldwide."

It is time to push back over society's chaos-aversion. The price the next generation is paying is too great.

Pretty much everyone is behaving badly in the public sphere as politics is infecting everything. “Johnny made me do it” was not an acceptable argument in childhood, so why would it be now?

The deadliest occupational group for men was "construction and extraction," with a suicide rate of 53.2 per 100,000 in 2015. For women, the deadliest group was "arts, design, entertainment, sports, and media," with a suicide rate of 15.6 per 100,000.

Placebos work, but focusing on their neurobiological effects to make their efficacy palatable to the scientifically inclined misses the point. For social creatures, caring helps to heal, by whatever name you give it.

Macaque monkeys are starting to overrun parts of Florida. Like humans, macaques have their own version of herpes. It doesn't bother the monkeys but is very deadly to humans. Here's why.

The Florida man who was arrested for synthesizing the "Mother of Satan" claims that he was just making fireworks. Uh-huh. Celebrating the Fourth of July early, we suppose? Here, we explain the chemistry behind the explosive.

We don't know if probiotics are a good idea during antibiotic therapy. So eat plenty of fiber -- such as fruits, vegetables, and whole grains -- instead.

The knee is an incredibly complicated structure, which is why "knee pain" can be rather challenging to address. New research examines the physical distribution of knee pain and finds three common patterns.

The systematic erosion of continuity of care has financial and personal health costs. This is well-known, especially to health professionals, and it's supported by overwhelming evidence. And yet, it persists.

Yelp is a very popular source of recommendations for food, activity, physicians and now the people weigh in on Emergency Departments and Urgent Care Centers. Patients have different expectations for these facilities and it influences their "satisfaction."

The flu season is upon us. But what is it that makes an infectious disease seasonal at all?

The bacterial symbionts living in our gut, the microbiome, is subject to the evolutionary pressures our body – and by extension our diet, activity, and geography – create. Nature provides good examples of both change and resilience. Can we learn from those examples?

Polio peaks in the summer, measles during the school year, and chickenpox in the spring.

One of our core missions is to spread the good news about science as far and wide as possible. Obviously, we do plenty of that on the ACSH website, but we also regularly appear in various media outlets across the country. Here's where we appeared recently.

You probably haven't spent a lot of time lately thinking about the element, nickel. Talk about boring. Well, guess what? It is very far from boring, especially when you learn some cool stuff. Here is some cool stuff.

Antibiotics expert Dr. David Shlaes has been fighting two very tough fights for more than three decades. One is against increasingly dangerous antibiotic-resistant bacteria; the other, against complacency. This American Council advisor is deeply concerned that antibiotic research and development is not even remotely adequate for keeping up with the bugs.

The brain has evolved a method of protecting itself called the blood-brain barrier. But the BBB can backfire when it prevents drugs to treat brain diseases – for example, a malignant brain tumor – from reaching the site of the disease. Science has come up with some clever methods for defeating the brain's own defenses.

The litany of new problems these glorified billing platforms have created (and old ones they never solved) is discussed often today, ranging from their role in medication errors to job dissatisfaction. But, the most basic, fundamental harm is largely ignored.

The prevalence of cigarette smoking among American adults is at an all-time low. Many media outlets decided to downplay or ignore this milestone public health achievement and instead scare people about vaping.

Rare diseases are becoming the focus of more and more biomedical research. And the cost of developing medicines to treat them takes center stage in the discussion. A new article in JAMA concludes that clinical trials for rare diseases should cost less than those that require a larger number of patients. But it's not that simple. Pfizer's Dr. Robert Popvian explains.

Winter is on the way and the hideous norovirus (stomach virus) always comes along for the ride. Are we still helpless against this little monster? What's going on out there? You may be surprised.

Did you know all falls are not alike, and why that is the case? Or why every rib fracture is not the same? Here are a few factors that influence prognosis.

It's ironic that a great science fiction story could be responsible for some of the science fiction passed off as health and science news today. The effect of that radio broadcast on our citizenry continues to be felt today.

Not only did Americans vote on members of Congress this week, but citizens of several states also voted on various science- and health-related policy issues. How did those turn out? On the upside, an anti-fracking law was defeated. On the downside, workplace vaping was banned and bogus medical marijuana laws passed.