food and nutrition

Every Picture Tells a Story: Are Medicare Advantage Beneficiaries Getting More Than a Faustian Bargain?

Medicare Advantage (MA) continues to attract more Medicare-eligible beneficiaries. A new survey by the Commonwealth Fund sought to identify the “value-added” services provided by MA over traditional Medicare.

Beneficiaries signing up for MA value these programs for their high-quality care, access to providers, low out-of-pocket costs, and access to supplemental benefits. But is that what they are getting? It is difficult to define quality; often, what a physician considers quality care may differ from that of a patient. However, as you can see from the numbers, despite a statistical difference, both MA and traditional Medicare beneficiaries valued access to providers and high-quality...
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Scientific Fraud in the Age of AI

As discussed by Drs. Miller and Young, a crisis is underway in scientific research. “Paper mills” publish fake or manipulated articles that resemble genuine scientific research; scientific journals are offered money for each paper published in the journal, and there are instances of more common fraud, including plagiarism, omitting negative results, and statistical manipulation of data.

The Alzheimer’s Case

In 2006, a paper published in the distinguished journal Nature reported the discovery of a protein, which forms plaques in human brains, that, when inserted into the brains of...
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Single Dose of LSD Can Treat Generalized Anxiety Disorder for Months: Here’s Why

A new press release from MindMed, a biopharmaceutical company geared toward developing drugs to treat brain health disorders, is intriguing. The company has been running clinical trials on LSD as a potential therapy for generalized anxiety disorder (GAD). It seems to work:

“I’ve conducted clinical research studies in psychiatry for over two decades and have seen studies of many drugs under development for the treatment of anxiety. That MM120 [LSD 100 micrograms] exhibited rapid and robust efficacy, solidly sustained for 12 weeks after...
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A New Drug Offers Hope For A Common, Life-Threatening Liver Disease

Addendum: The FDA granted resmetirom accelerated approval on March 14, 2024.

Nonalcoholic steatohepatitis (NASH) is the most severe form of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD), a condition in which the liver builds up excessive fat deposits. A progressive disease with no current cure, it affects millions worldwide, including about 1.5-6.5% of U.S. adults. With its potential to evolve into cirrhosis and even liver cancer, the disease casts a long shadow over patients' lives and creates a significant burden on healthcare systems. However, a recent Phase 3 clinical trial published in the New...
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Hangover Prevention: Hype or Hope?

Looking to tie one on without the hassle of the nasty morning after?  Well there’s a new product on the market that claims to let you do just that.  But does science hold up to the hope?

There’s a new product on the market for those of us who like a drink or two, or maybe three, called ZBiotics®. From the product website (ZBiotics.com):  “ZBiotics® is a patented, genetically engineered probiotic that helps you land on your feet the day after drinking alcohol. It’s engineered to break down an unwanted byproduct of alcohol called acetaldehyde – the main culprit in those rough mornings after drinking.”

The claim, in so many words, is that the product will do away, or at least reduce those awful “hangover” symptoms...
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Podcast: Fraudulent Research Threatens Scientific Progress

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 66 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the growing problem of scientific fraud:

Far too many scientific papers are being retracted from prestigious scientific journals because scientists fabricated or falsified data. Although no one defends scientific fraud, few recognize its long-lasting impacts on governmental policy and society.

Listen to the Science Dispatch on iTunes...
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Should We Fear the Sun ... or Sun Protection?

Spring break is a chance for many of us to greet the sun, warmth, and the return of spring with its promise of summer. For some, the rush to the sun may raise a tiny voice in the back of our minds, reminiscent of our mothers, warning us about getting too much sun! Is that even possible? In the quest for a healthful glow, do we risk skin cancers or the voice warning to be filed away with not going in the water just after you eat?

UV light and skin cancer

Skin cancers are among the most common cancers, and 80-90% are associated with exposure to sunlight, more specifically ultraviolet (UV) radiation. Cancers of the most...
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Podcast: Listen Up! The Surprising Link Between Zinc and Hearing Loss

Join Cameron English and Dr. Chuck Dinerstein on Episode 65 of the Science Dispatch podcast as they examine the science of preserving hearing:

Hearing loss, frequently due to exposure to loud noises, is a significant health problem. Its biological underpinning may well be due to what we consider a trace mineral: zinc.

Listen to the Science Dispatch on iTunes Spotify,...
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General Tso's Chicken: History, Evolution, Biology, and Chemistry. All on One Plate!

Who is the most widely known military leader in history? Patton? Napoleon? Washington? There are plenty of choices but in my opinion, it has to be General Tso, hands down. As of 2023, there were 24,128 Chinese restaurants in the U.S. and you'll have to look long and hard to find a single menu that doesn't list General Tso's Chicken as an entry, usually with a little pepper icon next to indicating hot. Assuming (wild guess) that 50 people per day open one of these menus, the General has a potential exposure of 440,336,000 views per year. He's a serious influencer! 

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Pandemics Breed Legal Crises

Two cases stand out as a beacon of sound jurisprudence, requiring governmental restraint, even in the face of pandemics. In Jew Ho v. Williamson, the court annulled a quarantine against the Chinese community when the Bubonic Plague struck San Francisco in the Spring of 1900. The legal community touts the decision as a testament to the 14th Amendment and the doctrine of Equal Protection. But in retrospect, this reading overlooks the adverse public health consequences generated by partisan doctors and the impact of economic drivers of policy. It also demonstrates unfamiliarity of the law with public health responses.

The Year of the Rat

On March 7, 1900, paradoxically...
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