Mara Altman wrote in the NYT that people of shorter stature are better for the planet. Mara claims that the natural resources needed to support a shorter person are less than for a taller person, even though the author acknowledges that shorter people live longer (which may negate the benefits of short stature). Since both genetics and environment determine a person’s height, it was not clear whether the author was advocating that: we manipulate the human genome to breed shorter people, we pair couples to include at least one short partner, or we restrict protein intake with a vegan lifestyle to reduce human stature.
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Cops are taking their own fentanyl “copaganda” too seriously. It’s one thing when it causes panic attacks among first responders, but another thing when it causes unjust charges to be piled on drug offenders who will likely be forced to take plea deals.
The Occupational Health and Safety Act (OSHA) was “born” in 1971. Its “mother,” the pioneer of occupational medicine in America, Alice Hamilton, was born over 100 years earlier, dying three months before the Act was signed into law. It took more than fifty years after she was named the first woman (assistant) professor at Harvard Medical School, launching their industrial medicine department, for the country to recognize the need for such legislation. So, why did it take so long?
Long COVID – the persistence of symptoms long past COVID’s normal recovery – remains in uncharted diagnostic waters. It’s a syndrome of symptoms rather than a specific disease. A new study from China sheds some light on who is at risk, and what symptoms they might have.
A series of class action cases claim that Zantac can cause cancer. It is not Zantac per se, but a degradation-produced, N-nitrosodimethylamine (NDMA), which may cause cancer at high doses. What do we know about NDMA?
If vaping is a gateway to smoking, where are all the new smokers?
Heroes aren't always cops, soldiers or scientists. Sometimes they are the wives of scientists. Here's one worth remembering.
It's time to recognize and champion the invaluable, grueling work of neonatal nurses.
Making smart choices requires correct information. But it's not so easy telling facts from fiction, especially since there's a whole lot of money being made by those spreading misinformation. What's more dangerous, sun or sunscreen? Pot. or the plastic container it's stored in? Want to know how to tell? Read this.
With Americans living longer than ever, more and more attention is being paid to how adults manage potentially-fatal diseases and end-of-life issues. Here are two cases in point, both focusing on the mental – not medicinal – aspects of this topic: a recent book about embracing mortality, and the growing prominence of so-called "cancer coaches."
Surviving and thriving after penetrating traumas depends on two key factors.
The European Union has decided to burn more wood to offset the increases in emissions that will be caused by closing nuclear plants. It's doing so because wood is renewable. While that sounds great, the problem is that burning wood is still combustion, which in this case is more harmful than CO2 emissions from coal.
FDA has been far more supportive of smoking cessation and harm reduction than in the past. So it's right to crack down on retailers who the agency found illegally sold e-cigarette products to minors.
It's normal for a baby to be difficult to get to sleep, which is clearly exhausting for new parents. Bu, expensive "sleep consultants" aren't the answer.
It turns out that tiny phytoplankton, which can cause massive "blooms," may actually affect our weather. As we will see, there's more to climate than just warming.
1. If you don't have HBO, and if you have HBO but you don't watch John Oliver's "Last Week Tonight", and if you do ordinarily watch but missed the August 13th episode...well, you didn't miss much.
Poorer people often live in areas with more pollution and crime, that is no surprise, but pollution is relative in 2018. American air is incredibly clean, (1) so clean epidemiologists and activists have tried to define harmful smog all the way down to 2.5 μm (microns) in diameter in hopes of showing air quality is still a worry. And they have begun to consider noise the same as smog for harm, along with lots of other things.
Oregon, the progressive state, is about to take a giant regressive step into our shameful past. Their plan to stop all opioids for chronic pain patients on Medicaid is reminiscent of the "Tuskegee Study of Untreated Syphilis in the Negro Male."
The EPA must evaluate the risk of existing chemicals and has selected the first 10 for review. As part of our role, the American Council on Science and Health is producing risk-based evaluations of each. Up today - Cyclic aliphatic bromides used primarily as flame retardants.
What's the most cost-effective way to reduce drinking? As with other sins, taxes are best. And education? It doesn't even make the list.
Organic food gets by on marketing and labels. The difficulty seems to be that labels like organic have no legal meaning, FDA Comissioner Gottlieb is setting his sights on the problem.
The Frank R. Lautenberg Chemical Safety for the 21st Century Act amends the Toxic Substances Control Act (TSCA) and was signed into law June 22, 2016. It created a mandatory requirement for EPA to evaluate existing chemicals with clear and enforceable deadlines, to do so in a transparent fashion, and to do so using risk-based chemical assessments rather than rely on simple epidemiological correlations.
Our bodies break down carbohydrates and starches you eat into a simple sugar called glucose, which is transported from the bloodstream into our cells by the hormone insulin where it can be used for energy. Insulin also signals the liver to stop producing sugar.
Due to the daily coarsening of civil discourse on social media, routine conflict resolution has gone out the window. If that is all kids see, then that is all they learn for their future.
Women who have been lucky enough to survive breast cancer may face increased risk of lung cancers, according to a new study in Radiotherapy and Oncology. The study shows how this can be prevented — limiting the radiation dose to a lung, using a treatment which targets only a small part of the breast.
Breast cancer is the most frequently diagnosed cancer in women, with more than 266,000 new cases diagnosed in 2018 in the United States.
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