Search results

Just when you think you've heard it all -raw water, penis bleaching or placenta eating - something even crazier comes along. How about natural, additive-free cigarettes? Even though they've been around for quite a while, it's still worth taking a look at this madness.  

One of the biggest problems of our hyperpartisan culture is that everything has been turned into a morbid game show.
Gone are the days when politicians and the media acted in the best interest of the American people. Instead, we have manufactured controversy and faux outrage over the most mundane of events. Instead of world news, we get 24/7 coverage of the President's Twitter feed. And instead of serious analysis, we get programming that resembles some horrifying merger of Family Feud, Hunger Games, and Real Housewives of New Jersey.

Now with more than 35 million participants nationwide, yoga's popularity surge has prompted researchers to study whether "hot" yoga, conducted in a 100-degree studio, is more beneficial for healthy, middle-aged adults than sessions held at room temperature. The study, the first of its kind say its authors, produced intriguing results.

Actress Zooey Deschanel has a new startup — The Farm Project. In her latest video episode she urges consumers to stop buying produce from the grocery store — unless it's organic.

An infectious virus or idea plus a susceptible population can cause the flu, a riot or fake news. A study of the 2005 riots in France finds an epidemiologic explanation.  

There are those who believe that Ph.D's are still useful. Others might agree -- but with this gigantic caveat: It's only useful to those who are 100% certain that a life at the research bench is what they want to do.

It is known that the elderly benefit by receiving a high-dose flu vaccine. However, residents of assisted living facilities are not getting it. Why is that? Dr. David Shlaes, American Council advisor and infectious disease expert, tells us how his inquiry began: with his own family.

Switzerland believes the practice of throwing a live lobster in a pot of boiling water is mean-spirited, and most of all, cruel. Lawmakers in that landlocked European country actually passed a law recently, banning that particular crustacean toss – even though science has shown that lobsters cannot feel pain. 

Bariatric surgery is the most effective means of dealing with severe obesity. But there are several types of surgery which involve more, or less, alterations of the gastrointestinal tract. Choosing among them depends on a variety of factors relating to GERD, or gastro-esophageal reflux symptoms.

The MERS virus primarily exists in camels, but has jumped into humans causing about 2000 infections in five years. New research shows that even though the virus continues to spillover from camels to humans, it is unlikely to spread between humans. 

Ever familiar with the puffing of peacock feathers having started my career in neurosurgery before switching fields, watching CNN's Dr. Sanjay Gupta question Trump's White House physician brought back memories.

Why would Canada spend $512 million on blood products from the United States when it has perfectly good sources of their own? The short answer is regulation of market forces, but there's more to it than that.

Some say that energy drinks are the worst thing that you can do to your body, and that they cause everything from nausea to seizures. But the fears are overdone. Way overdone. Here's why.

Why people respond differently to infections of the same bacterial species has been a long-standing question. Work has traditionally focused on the variations in those infected, but new research suggests that the important factors may lay in the bacteria themselves. 

This award needs to go to a media outlet that has credibility (in some people's eyes, anyway), yet consistently gets the science wrong, likely for ideological reasons. Using those criteria, the Times was the runaway winner. There isn't even a close second.

If the poor are really at risk because hospitals will be shut down due to lack of funding, the worst thing that the Empire State can do is add costs to health care. But that's exactly what Gov. Andrew Cuomo recently did with his budget proposal. 

Seeking to contain runaway costs with more than a quarter of Kentucky residents on Medicaid, Gov. Matt Bevin is proposing that able-bodied adults be required to work or volunteer in order to receive benefits. His plan, the first of its kind among the 50 states, has attracted considerable criticism. Yet while it has its flaws, there's also a case to be made that it's worth considering.

Government is transparent. That is, if you can cut your way through the jungle of bureaucracy. Competitive Enterprise Institute discovered that radical environmental groups are paying the salaries and expenses of staffers in the office of Washington State Governor, Jay Inslee.

Flavonoids: a group of phytonutrients mostly responsible for the vivid colors in fruits and veggies. But they're also touted as antioxidants that have some health benefits, most recently in the prevention of glaucoma. Let's take a look at the evidence.

President Donald Trump completed his first periodic medical examination at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center. His White House physician, Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, released a statement of his findings and held a protracted press conference. His conclusions discussed here. 

Adulterated honey, meaning it has been diluted with other substances, has been an issue for as far back as honey has been sold.(1) One of the reasons we know so much about the composition of the sweetener is due to efforts from the 1960s on to fight fraud. Today, it is most likely to be mixed with high fructose corn syrup because, as you probably know, that is about the same in fructose.

A busy week for our health and science journalists, who were picked up by a range of media outlets across the political spectrum. Here's how some of our reporting was referenced.

The news website took issue with a predictive algorithm, which is used in sentencing criminal defendants, charging that it produced racially-biased results. A recent study suggests that particular narrative is wrong.

On average, across natural habitats all over the world, the western honey bee is the most common pollinator, responsible for 13 percent of flower visits. Researchers also found that 5 percent of the plant species they studied were exclusively visited by the western honey bee.

In Japan, there's a good example of natural not equaling safe. Right now officials are dealing with a butt-kicking marine neurotoxin that you want no part of. Although no one's been harmed, they are warning consumers about dangerous fugu – Japanese for blowfish – that did not have its livers removed before packaging.