Pregnant women may need to keep their hands off of Mr. Peanut if they don’t want to predispose their infants to an increased risk of peanut allergy. In a new study of 503 infants aged 3 to 15 months with suspected egg or milk allergies or with eczema and positive milk or egg allergy tests, blood tests revealed that 140 infants had a strong sensitivity to peanuts.

When it comes to allaying junk science chemical fears, ACSH does it best. On August 2, we defended the EPA’s decision to use the surface oil dispersant Corexit in the Gulf of Mexico in order to ameliorate the adverse effects of BP’s Deepwater Horizon oil spill, despite outrage from various environmental activist groups.

In our October 15 Dispatch, we reported on an early breakthrough antiviral drug combination developed for oral treatment of patients infected with the hepatitis C virus (HCV). The experimental drug RG7128 was predicted to clear HCV infection in 8-12 weeks with minimal signs of the relatively (very) unpleasant side effects of current treatments, or drug resistance.

The NFL, NHL, NCAA and MLB are all taking concussions seriously and the American Academy of Neurology is following suit with a new set of guidelines announced yesterday that call for athletes of all ages suspected of suffering a concussion to be evaluated by a specialist before returning to play.

Some people may get the impression that it’s safer to kick back with a little crack cocaine or heroin rather than imbibing a few cocktails after they read recent headlines reporting on a new study in the Lancet medical journal.

Physicians may eventually use DNA tests instead of colonoscopies to regularly screen for colon cancer, The New York Times reports. One of the tests developed by Exact Sciences would use stool samples to detect four mutated genes specific to colon cancer.

Electronic cigarette manufacturer Smoking Everywhere has agreed to numerous advertising restrictions in a settlement with the state of California, state Attorney General Jerry Brown announced Friday. Under the settlement, Smoking Everywhere is not allowed to market their products to minors and cannot make claims that e-cigarettes are a safer alternative to traditional cigarettes until they receive FDA approval as smoking cessation devices.

A court in Brazil has awarded a former McDonald s franchise manager $17,500 in damages after the manager sued the fast food chain for allegedly making him fat. The 32-year-old says that his employer caused him to gain 65 pounds in 12 years by pressuring him to taste-test the food and offering him free lunches. A similar lawsuit from 2002 tried to accuse the fast food industry of creating addicting foods that ultimately lead to obesity and other health complications.