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It's only one trial, and we don't even know if the report is correct. But a leaked draft report indicated that remdesivir was ineffective in its first controlled trial. Let's assume that this is true and we see the same from other trials. If so, this will not simply be another experimental drug failing. It will be deeply disturbing. Here's why.

Ah yes, the age-old medical mantra: "The solution to pollution is dilution." Apparently, a few squirts of hypertonic saline in your kid’s nose can cut down cold symptoms and keep you from catching their next snot-filled surprise.

Ever heard of the Hotze Health & Wellness Center in Houston? If not, you're better off. Its founder, Dr. Steven Hotze, has plenty to say about COVID, almost all of it completely wrong.

As the Delta variant becomes THE primary source of COVID-19 infections there’s a growing body of knowledge to explain why this is happening. Let's consider two new studies and a fact we may have forgotten.

All of a sudden we have two (provisionally) FDA-approved COVID antivirals, which will be in pharmacies soon. They are quite different. Which is best for you?

A Superior Court judge ruled that a large nurses union must adhere to the vaccination policy set forth by Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston. If not for this decision forcing the Massachusetts Nurses Association to comply, the nurses avoiding a flu shot would have posed a potential threat to patients they tend to each day. 

A new urine test may detect prostate cancer better than current prostate-specific antigen (PSA) blood tests and rectal exams, according to research presented Tuesday at the American Urological Association in San Francisco.

Emergency Use Authorization (EUA) from the FDA is the exception, not the rule. Except for COVID therapies. Three vaccines and one drug have EUA in the US. Merck is now seeking EUA for its antiviral drug molnupiravir. Should it be granted?

Despite early optimism, recent research suggests that increasing ventilation, in places like schools, might not be the silver bullet we imagined it to be in limiting airborne virus transmission. While mechanical ventilation and open windows became staples of post-COVID safety protocols, a new study shows that even high ventilation rates have little impact on preventing the spread of infections, like influenza.

Let’s not forget that the goal in tamping down the COVID-19 pandemic is to vaccinate the world. But it’s an ambitious project impaired by the concepts of “vaccine nationalism,” fostered by “vaccine diplomacy.” We should consider more than how those words make us feel.

Congestive heart failure refers to the inability of the heart to perform its basic function, which is pumping blood throughout the body. It comes in various forms, causing swelling of the legs and shortness of breath. It is a very debilitating condition that few outside medicine are aware of. A new study offers a unique treatment, but more importantly for our discussion, it sheds light on how “science” advances and looks at an infrequently used term, hormesis.

Canada has approved Medicago's plant-based COVID-19 vaccine. The new shot itself is an impressive development, but the technology it's built on suggests that we may be growing more drugs in greenhouses in the coming years.

The development of new antibiotics is as much about money as it is about science. ACSH advisor Dr. David Shlaes writes about biotechs, IPOs, disappointed investors, market cap, and CEO egos.

A colder temperature slows down a viral-infected cell's ability to commit suicide.

AI (in this case, ChatGPT) is an amazing tool for science and medical writers. But it's not perfect. It sometimes makes pretty awful mistakes. It not only apologizes profoundly but also claims that it will make that correction. And the damn thing appears to have a sense of humor and a bit of an attitude.

We at ACSH have written frequently about an unmitigated disaster that has already begun the progressive failure of available antibiotics to tackle previously treatable bacterial infections.
Yesterday the CDC issued a report about this, and it was more of the same.

Remdesivir, an antiviral drug that many are pinning their hopes on to help solve this pandemic nightmare, is now being tested in hundreds of trials. Results are expected within weeks. But the drug has already been tested in monkeys. And it worked.

A team of German researchers swabbed 400 bathroom door handles from 136 airports in 59 countries. More than 5 percent produced strains of Staphylococcus aureus, a result that underscores the importance of proactive global epidemiological surveillance. There is no such thing as local outbreak anymore. 

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.

For a minute, let’s suspend political views about COVID-19 vaccinations, masking, drugs; let’s put aside beliefs about vaccine acceptance, hesitancy, or refusal. Ethical considerations might help address the conflict between the forces that drive current positions: individualism and autonomy on one side versus solidarity and collectivism on the other. An ethical inquiry may promote a more equitable, practical, and effective approach. Let’s tease out the principles and see.

Politicians fail to understand that "gain of function" research on microorganisms can enhance public health preparedness.

Remember the wisdom of the not-so-distant past? Leaving delivered boxes outside for 24 hours, then donning gloves to wipe them down before carefully opening the cartons? It’s time to shed a bit of scientific light on what we know now. 

There's been a lot of news, some of it fear-mongering, about Pfizer's Covid drug Paxlovid. Some people are having their symptoms return after completing the five-day course. Does that mean there is something wrong with the drug, or it's simply a property of the virus? Drs. Henry Miller and Josh Bloom try to provide an answer in Issues & Insights.

At last, there is a reliable source of information to help us differentiate real health threats from alarmist nonsense. The American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) has researched and published a reliable reference to help the consumer discern the comparative risk of dying from various illnesses, behaviors and exposures. On our new website, Riskometer.org, a simple graphic-illustration diagram of relative threat magnitudes is accompanied by clear text and references to source material.

Yet another potential Covid treatment has fallen by the wayside. This time it's fluvoxamine, an antidepressant, which showed some promise in minimizing serious disease in small trials. But in a large, randomized trial, it flopped completely. The lesson? You need an antiviral drug to treat a viral infection – not a repurposed drug. These have all failed.