Last month Indian generic drug giant Ranbaxy Inc. was hit with a $500 million fine—the largest penalty ever against any generic company— after reaching an agreement with the Department of Justice. The penalty resulted from the sale of several common drugs which Ranbaxy knew were of substandard quality. As part of the agreement, the company [...]
The post Not pretty: Derek Lowe’s interview on the Ranbaxy generic drug scandal appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Routine injuries have been a health risk for athletes in high impact sports such as football and boxing. However, concerns for player safety also extend to all other contact sports, such as hockey, soccer and lacrosse. The biggest concern being blows to the players’ heads which are very common in the competitive world of sports. [...]
The post New technology helps detect head injuries in sports appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

A few weeks ago, ACSH was a co-signer of the Culture of Alarmism letter sponsored by the Independent Women’s Forum (IWF). As you may recall, this letter was intended to counter the efforts of the Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families coalition, an environmental organization that is trying to pressure the top ten retailers into removing a [...]
The post Mind your own business: IWF to enviros — We agree appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS) have been a mainstay of treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and other inflammatory musculoskeletal diseases. Such treatment is not without risk for some sufferers, however, says a new, preliminary study covered by MedPage Today. People with rheumatoid arthritis have an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease, and NSAIDS have been shown to also [...]
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If it hasn t already, the subject of bullying has hit closer to home nay, at home now more than ever.

At first glance, a ‘major peer-reviewed study’ making waves in the mainstream media may sound intriguing, to say the least. The bold claim here: A genetically modified diet fed to pigs caused digestive system problems. But ACSH experts say that in this case, as is in the case with other grossly deficient studies, researchers skewed [...]
The post Friday Funnies: GMOs and pigs study– More junk science, oink oink appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

Dr. Gilbert Ross' op-ed in Canada s Financial Post, "Who's been planting illicit wheat in an Oregon farm?"

A large, U.K. government-supported study, The Pesticide Users’ Health Study, 1987-2005 (PUHS) was released this week. This huge evaluation of various health outcomes focused on mortality and cancer incidence data collected from 59,000 male and 4,000 female certified pesticide commercial users over almost two decades. The results, which are sure to come as a welcome [...]
The post For longer life and less cancer: Pesticides!? appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.

In an attempt to make it safer to stay connected while driving, automakers have developed voice-activated systems that allow drivers to do everything from text to update Facebook pages while driving. Although the argument made by automobile companies is that this system is safer because it is hands-free, a new study suggests otherwise. In fact, [...]
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This morning’s unanimous Supreme Court decision — which overturned a lower Federal court decision allowing Myriad Genetics’ patent of two human genes — is a groundbreaking moment in the history of biotechnology, and a case that will surely rank among the most noteworthy biomedical decisions of our time. The genes in question are called BRCA-1 [...]
The post The Supreme Court nails it (and Myriad)—No, you cannot patent a gene appeared first on Health & Science Dispatch.