Executive Summary

In the "better late than never" category: A British activist who helped create the movement against genetic engineering technology and genetically modified foods in the 1990s has "discovered science" and realized he was very, very wrong.
Mark Lynas delivered a bombshell address at the Oxford Farming Conference last week, apologizing for how he assisted in demonizing an important technological option which can be used to benefit the environment.

As we look back on 2012, we are reminded once again of the importance of getting vaccinated, be it against the flu, whooping cough or a multitude of other illnesses which can be prevented. According to preliminary government figures, 2012 was the worst year for pertussis (whooping cough) in six decades, with over 40,000 cases reported. According to Dr. Tom Clark of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there is the possibility of reaching even higher numbers in the coming years.

This past Friday, the Food and Drug Administration released two proposed rules designed to boost the safety of the nation's food supply a move coming after a series of high-profile recalls including cantaloupes in 2011 that killed 33 people, salmonella in peanut products, and a string of E. coli-related recalls involving beef.

ACSH s Dr. Gilbert Ross was on CBS New York on Friday, talking about how ridiculous a new Suffolk County law is that requires business owners to use BPA-free thermal receipts.
There is no evidence that BPA in consumer products of any type, including cash register receipts, are harmful to the health of anybody, Ross said. It s not making anything safer for anybody. It s a waste of energy, time and financial resources.

You may want to be careful the next time you go for a drive make sure you re up for it. A new study conducted by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 1 in 24 U.S. adults say they recently fell asleep while driving. And study authors think that number could be even higher.

Here s a bit more evidence that our health care system is fraught with waste and inefficiency: Women who have had a hysterectomy only rarely need a Pap test, but new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show most get the test anyway.

Sometimes the latest junk-science news makes us want to bang our heads against the wall. New York's Suffolk County has just passed the "Safer Sales Slip Act," banning the use of bisphenol A (BPA) in thermal cash register slips.

As we reported last month, a recent federal appeals court decision may have a dramatic impact on the Food and Drug Administration's complex drug approval process. The Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in Manhattan ruled (by a 2-to-1 vote) that pharmaceutical companies have a free-speech right to promote approved drugs for uses that are "off-label," such as using an anti-epilepsy drug to control appetite and weight.

Rheumatoid arthritis (RA) an autoimmune disease in which the body s immune system attacks healthy tissue, mainly in and surrounding joints but in other regions as well affects an estimated 1.5 million Americans, with an estimated 30 to 40 percent of them beyond the help of available drugs.