Drugs & Pharmaceuticals

Given their substantial platform, Hollywood celebrities possess a unique ability to do tremendous good. Unfortunately, with that megaphone comes immense responsibility. Let’s take a look back at Tinseltown in 2017, and see what we've learned. The good, the bad and the indifferent.
This year brought about a number of public debates surrounding not only less-mainstream medical conditions, but also others that were emotionally challenging and ethically complex. Check out which ones made this Top-10 list.
In April, American scientists will begin testing a new contraceptive gel — for men. A combination of two synthetic hormones, it's been found to be effective in shutting down sperm production in preliminary testing. So perhaps soon men will have another option besides condoms and vasectomies. Guys, welcome to the world of modern contraception!  
How about companies just telling it like it is – in all its forms? We need to do better than Theranos, and the hubris of 23andMe that warranted FDA intervention and sanctioning of the firm. 
Here are the final four exciting developments in science, health and technology of 2017. And, a prediction for what innovation could be truly disruptive in the future.
The FDA really doesn't want you taking pain meds. How strong is the agency's position on this? Pretty strong – enough to recommend that physicians receive extra education in alternative pain management methods. While that's fine in theory, one of the methods happens to be acupuncture, which is not fine at all.
A single injection of a potential drug makes green lizards turn black in one minute. It's because the drug turns on the production of melanin, a colored pigment that protects us from sunlight. Could this drug reduce our chances of getting melanoma? Maybe.   
A convicted war criminal, appealing his conviction in a courtroom in The Hague, stood up, proclaimed his innocence and swallowed some unknown liquid which killed him soon after. There's no information about what the poison was, or even what his symptoms were. Here's our guess about what went down.  
Bravo and Andy Cohen have a wonderful opportunity to start an overdue conversation on misuse of medications and the dangers of polypharmacy.
“I was sick with the flu” is a refrain heard each winter. But many who say it are actually mistaken. The flu is caused by an influenza virus, which is confirmed by specific testing. So if you weren't specifically tested for it and deemed positive, then it's possible you didn't have it.
What was the co-founder of Rational Vaccines thinking when he injected eight patients with a live herpes virus formulated as a vaccine at the Holiday Inn? What was previously a sordid tale, lurches towards the criminal.    
Jacob Thompson, a 9-year-old suffering from cancer, whose request to help him celebrate his last Christmas went viral – and was met with a global outpouring of love – has died. His death was due to neuroblastoma. What exactly is it?