Last year, ACSH reported on progress involving new developments in Golden Rice. Developed by Ingo Potrykus of The International Rice Research Institute (IRRI) about ten years ago, it portends to become the world s first-ever beta-carotene-rich grain.

And while over-zealous activist groups continue to scare parents about the hypothetical risks that certain chemicals (often found in parts per billion) represent, a new German study finds that even newborns exposed to chemotherapy in utero manage to come out pretty well despite exposure to such well-known toxic agents.

In an op-ed in the current issue of JAMA, Dr. Howard K. Koh, assistant secretary for Health for the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and HHS Secretary Kathleen G. Sebelius boast about the efficacy of various interventions in curbing the tobacco epidemic. Their piece specifically highlights the effectiveness of media campaigns, higher prices, and smoke-free policies in helping smokers quit. The news would be quite welcome if only it were true.

Is there a safe, effective vaccine that not only protects young people from the most common sexually transmitted infection (STI) in America, but also protects them from a wide variety of cancers later on? If I were to tell you that such a vaccine exists, but only a small minority of teens receives this protection, would you be shocked, surprised?

You can now learn more about ACSH, courtesy of a video viewable at The Giving Library, a site that informs potential donors about non-profit organizations and allows them to more easily connect. Please watch the short video to learn more about our latest efforts and activities; you just may be convinced to help us in our unique endeavors to promote sound science as the basis of public health policy.

Though it s widely known that smoking cigarettes accelerates the thickening of fatty deposits that clog arteries, a new study has found that the same might also be true of eggs at least for those aged 40 and older who eat them on a regular basis. These dubious results were not only published in the journal Atherosclerosis but, sadly, they were also widely reported by the news media.

Thanks to a new algorithm that uses readings from a highly sensitive blood test, doctors may soon be able to diagnose acute heart attack within just one hour of emergency room arrival.

In March 2011, Japan was shaken by a once-in-a-lifetime earthquake that triggered a massive tsunami, resulting in the destruction and subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant. At the time, officials were concerned that nearby residents may have been harmed by low levels of radiation, but now, a new study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, should help to allay those fears.

Friday the 13th seemed like it would be really bad luck for American women, as the toxic alarm was blared all over the news: scientists at a prestigious hospital had found a link between a chemical present in many cosmetics, and diabetes! And the recent rise in obesity rate has heightened everyone s awareness of the dire consequences of obesity-related diabetes.

Sepsis is a dangerous bloodstream infection, one that can develop from even a minor cut yet lead to organ failure and death. It accounts for about 1.6 million hospitalizations a year (about 4,600 patients every day). Add to that a mortality rate of between 20 and 50 percent, and the FDA s approval of a new device for making more rapid and accurate identification of such bacterial infections seems like very good news indeed.