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There hasn't been a material advance in the pharmacological treatment of pain since the 1890s, when heroin and aspirin were invented. That may change if an experimental drug being developed by a Toronto-based drug company keeps performing in advanced clinical trials. This could be huge.

An especially malignant fallacy is now circulating in the news, that the spike in COVID deaths can be explained by financial gain to physicians. That is totally untrue, and it's an unprecedented slap in the face to doctors and other healthcare workers. In a lesser-noticed moment, HHS moves towards more transparent healthcare costs.

Can you use a Dreaded Chemistry Lesson from Hell (TM) to take your mind off your woes? If so, dive right in.

There are about 2,000 drugs and vaccines (mostly the former) now in clinical trials. ACSH advisor Dr. Henry Miller argues that to get COVID-19 under control we will need therapeutics no matter how effective vaccines are. Here's why.

Well, not a picture so much as a block of text. Operation Warp Speed moves closer to results. The discussion of who is first in line, who may skip the line altogether, or who will wait until there is no longer a line is heating up. Health and Human Services has a plan. 

For your consideration this time 'round: An American woodworker ... the neurology of being in "the flow" ... a guide to reading in the tsunami of information and misinformation ... and a consideration of whether cells "think."

As the possibility of an effective COVID-19 vaccine grows, there are questions of distribution. The first-come, first-served approach seems (and is) too random to save lives or the economy. We need some form of prioritization, and here we are in uncharted territory; there are no facts, only computer models. Let's consider one optimized to save the most lives. 

The first known death from a cyberattack raises the prospect that malware could be more than just a financial crime.

We don't have an unlimited supply of diagnostic tests for COVID. So, researchers have developed nine simple questions that can predict whether someone is likely to have the disease.

Europe is in worse shape than the U.S. when it comes to new infections, at least for the time being. Without a change in strategy -- and hoping for a vaccine is not a strategy -- going back into lockdown is pointless, as a third (or fourth) wave will emerge when society reopens.

There's growing concern about plastics' ultimate fate, as that kind of waste continues to fill our oceans, landfills, and ourselves. It seems logical that banning single-use plastics would help stem the tide. But a new review finds that to be not quite as true, as advocates argue.

This week, the CDC modified its definition of direct contact for COVID-19 from 15 continuous minutes to 15 accumulated minutes within a distance of six feet or less. Should we consider this change in definition as flip-flopping, "moving the goalposts,” or something else?

We know that in the 1970s the Soviets used microwave weapons against American diplomats. Maybe with the cooperation of other countries, Putin's Russia is doing it again.

Herd immunity as a way to fight COVID-19 is a hot topic these days -- but for all the wrong reasons. In an opinion column published in the Baltimore Sun, Dr. Katherine Seley-Radtke, and ACSH's Dr. Josh Bloom argue that it's dangerous and simply won't work.

Purdue Pharma will pay an $8 billion fine and shut down. Finally, justice has been served, though far too late for the thousands of addicted or dead Americans whose problems began with OxyContin.

If Pfizer's coronavirus vaccine is successful, it will be the first-ever mRNA vaccine on the market. How is the vaccine made and how does it work?

Americans -- so desperate to end the need for masks, social distancing, and limited access to restaurants, salons, concerts, and schools -- will surely be clamoring for a vaccine as soon as it’s available. Or will they?  Recent polls suggest that only about 40% of Americans would take the vaccine. It is vital that this number be increased. But how? Let's explore this issue.

Our friendly neighbors to the north are fibbing about the coronavirus in their country, justifying a border closure with the United States that no longer makes sense.

How's your stomach lately? If it's not so good, you have plenty of company. New York gastroenterologist Dr. Michael Glick explains how the stress and anxiety caused by the COVID pandemic is screwing up America's collective stomachs. And lungs, too.

What do the firebombing of Dresden and the fires on the West Coast have in common? Embedded science, the Fall as a tonic, and a different history of packing the Supreme Court

Here are some of the most relevant COVID-19 developments in recent days: Europe's infections are out of control; COVID reinfection is rare; all treatments probably have serious but rare side effects; the WHO offers a misguided policy; and America's northern neighbor isn't telling the truth.

A new study in JAMA Ophthalmology considers whether eyeglasses confer protection from COVID-19. What it really demonstrates is how a variable -- in this case, eyeglasses -- can point in so many directions as to be useless. (But it will get you published in a peer-reviewed journal.)

I have long been a fan of Danny Meyer's restaurants, including Shake Shack and the Union Square Café. He's a man who understands food, organization, and hospitality. One of the great lessons the restauranteur teaches involves “service recovery” – fixing mistakes with food and food service. The take-away message remains that a customer's bad experience is often corrected and rewarded by how things conclude; in other words, the end counts more than the blip in the middle. And, turns out, that Meyer's observations reflect the way our brain is wired.

Of course, COVID-19 has been disruptive to our lives, both at home and at work. The effect across industry varies. For instance, the fortunes of Amazon and Jeff Bezos soar, while the deaths of mom and pop retail stores have accelerated.

The short answer is "no," but how that lab value is interpreted appears to have been based upon unintentional bias and may have resulted in harm. It is time to unpack a critical, overlooked discussion in medicine.