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Of all the organs that fail – among them the heart, lungs, and liver – treating kidney failure has produced the best results. This is due to the use of medications and dietary restrictions, but more importantly by taking over declining kidney function with dialysis and transplantation. A new study looks at the kidney availability imbalance that hinders more transplants from taking place.

Public health, in much of this country, is in crisis. Hospitals are overwhelmed and understaffed, vaccination is widely resisted, state governments present mixed messages -- and COVID-19 is out of control and headed for a 4th wave. The more-contagious Delta variant has been spreading rapidly and may challenge the efficacy of our vaccines. We address this situation with population-based statistics in two modes: progression over time and geographic variation.

Earlier this year, Sri Lanka banned imports of synthetic pesticides and fertilizers, part of its effort to embrace organic-only farming. The project has left farmers without access to vital tools and sent food prices soaring.

Although dermatology may not automatically command the respect of other disciplines such as oncology, Drs. Henry Miller and Renata H. Mullen explain why dermatology is one of modern medicine’s most complex and fascinating specialties.

For regulatory science, from Covid-19 to environmental regulations, today’s mantra is to “follow the science.” If only we had more and better science, they exclaim, we would know the correct answers and better protect public health. But “more” and “better science” often result in the opposite effect – i.e., less protection of public health. By trying to do “perfect science,” we often get in the way of good results in the protection of public health.

"... the public in these areas are not being exposed to excessive levels of asbestos or other harmful substances … Given the scope of the tragedy from last week, I am glad to reassure the people of New York and Washington, D.C., that their air is safe to breathe, and their water is safe to drink."
Christine Todd Whitman, EPA Administrator, Sept. 2001

How many of us have had COVID-19 or received vaccinations? The numbers of those inoculated are a bit easier to come by, but to count all those infected we’d have to test everybody. (That hasn’t happened – and won’t be happening.) Knowing the number of asymptomatic transmitters is helpful in both understanding who’s most impacted by COVID-19 and achieving the nirvana of herd immunity. A new study looks at a different population among us: blood donors.

Storytelling in science, finding the narrative. The simultaneous rise of literacy and misogyny, heavy metal harp, the mushroom mind, and a Twitter Ivermectin thread and media bias

Where a product can be found in a supermarket has an impact on its sales. Markets get “stocking fees” for products placed at eye level versus the floor and on “end caps” at the end of the aisles, especially near the registers. What happens if you put more nutritional food at those locations? A new study sheds some disappointing light.

Natural immunity comes from being exposed to a microbe that causes a disease. Vaccination-mediated immunity comes from being exposed to a vaccine that is similar to but not the same as the microbe. If we understand a bit more about our immune system and its memory, it will help us navigate the information and misinformation about COVID-19 vaccines, the COVID variants, and the length of our immunologic memory.

The last time I looked, Russia was still an importer of grains, part of the prolonged hangover from the good old days of the Soviet Union. But things have changed quite a bit.

Yet another study has found that the authorized COVID-19 vaccines greatly reduce infection. Let's take a look at this latest paper in the context provided by previously published research on vaccine efficacy.

I get it. People are sick and tired of COVID and endlessly cranky about having to deal with the changing facts and rules. Some of this discontent is expressed as dissatisfaction with the vaccines. While this frustration may be understandable it is not warranted. The vaccines are nothing short of a medical miracle. Don't shoot the messenger RNA. Blame the virus.

The evidence is in: genetic engineering promotes sustainable farming, vaccines save lives, and nuclear energy is our best hope of powering society in a changing climate. But the question remains, how do you convince a generally skittish public to embrace the science behind these technologies? Our answer: make a movie.

 It has been sixty years since the Concert for Bangladesh; It is doubtful that this low-income country, with half the population and 1/66th the size of the US, has had as much coverage in the media as now, with a report on the efficacy of masks in fighting COVID-19. It is a well-thought-out, performed, and reported study and deserves better than the superficial reporting of the media and 280 character Tweets. Let me provide a deeper look.

A new clinical trial examining the efficacy of masking on COVID-19 transmission has garnered a lot of media coverage. What the study shows and what people have been told the study shows are very different.

Mechanical ventilation is an imperfect method of supplying oxygen to patients who are hypoxic, but there aren't satisfactory alternatives. A recent study by a Japanese group has shown that a "butt breathing tube," probably not as delightful as it sounds, can supply oxygen to mice, rats, and pigs that were exposed to hypoxic conditions. Can this work in people?

The family farmer in the age of industrial farming, the yoga of sex, cyberhacking and biometrics, and the future of robotic farming.

As our lives become increasingly digitized, there has been a corresponding rise in concerns about the loss of privacy. That’s despite rules and laws in place meant to safeguard it. But according to a recent study, what we want to share for the public good is at odds with our privacy laws.

Dr. Schwarcz, the Director of McGill University's Office for Science and Society, and a long-time friend of ACSH has devoted one of his famous YouTube videos to ivermectin, including its history and evidence of efficacy (or the lack of) against COVID-19.

Medical imaging requires patients to be injected with or drink a radionuclide that can be “imaged” to show various organs and dysfunction. For the time that the radionuclide remains in your system (it is urinated out within a day or so), you are radioactive. According to the Health Physics Society, “our bodies are naturally radioactive, because we eat, drink, and breathe radioactive substances that are naturally present in the environment.”

Remember when we all had to turn our cellphones off when planes took off and landed? How about turning them off around medical equipment? It turns out that when we look for something radiating out of cellphones that might harm us, we might consider magnetism.

Why is so much attention being given to those who refused to get vaccinated? Why would someone trade the safe harbor of vaccination for the risk of death from COVID-19 and its variants in the tradeoff calculus?

California just paused its plans for a statewide COVID-19 vaccine mandate. There wasn't an ounce of scientific evidence to support this proposal and enough opposition to halt the legislation, at least until after the upcoming elections. There's an important lesson here for policymakers.

Skin keeps all of our parts inside; add in sunlight’s UV rays, and it makes Vitamin D an essential nutrient. Oh yes, skin and those same UV rays enhance romantic passions in men and women – what’s up with that?