Everything today comes with ratings, from 5-star hospitals to hotels, films, and screwdrivers. Like grade inflation, the problem is that nearly everyone is “best.” For marketing, it may be that the truth lies not in our stars … but in our accompanying words.

Tinnitus (aka ringing in the ears) is a problem that affects tens of millions of Americans. It's a strange affliction in several ways. First, many people have it but don't notice it. When they do, it can become deeply disturbing. Second, the ringing or whistling you hear is coming from your brain. Dr. Craig Kasper, a New York audiologist, tells us about this condition. See if it rings true.

The anti-vaccine group Children's Health Defense is mis-using preliminary research to fuel doubt about the efficacy of COVID-19 shots. Let's break down one of its latest attempts to distort the facts.

Where does the Earth’s magnetic field come from, why do we think it’s going to reverse itself (and what in the world does that mean, anyway?), and what’s any of that got to do with me or cosmic radiation?

It was another busy month for us, as we dove into topics ranging from COVID-19 vaccines and their relative effectiveness (as compared to viral infection), to pain medication, to questions related to toxicology. Here are some of the media outlets in the U.S., on Wall Street, and even in Europe that recently featured, interviewed or referenced ACSH during the month of March.

Dr. Jeffrey Singer, a senior fellow at the Cato Institute and ACSH advisor, was asked to submit a statement to the Subcommittee on Health of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, which was holding hearings on substance use (and misuse) in the US. Dr. Singer emphasized that illicit fentanyl, not prescription opioids, is responsible for the surge in overdose deaths.

We are all beginning to venture out. Some of us look around, and in addition to seeing Spring’s arrival, we see pandemic pounds – 10 or more. Everyone seems to be on a diet. Is there a best?

Another steroid has been found to prevent serious COVID, but this one is different. Unlike dexamethasone, which is a systemic steroid, budesonide, a drug commonly used for asthma, is dosed directly to the lungs, which makes it much safer. And it seems to work rather well.

Data has suggested for a while that millennials have some mental health concerns. The pandemic didn’t help. But not to worry, increasingly, there’s an app for that.

Once we leave the atmosphere and travel beyond the cocoon of Earth’s magnetic field, the radiation environment changes dramatically. With talk increasingly turned towards a return to the Moon and manned trips to Mars, what radiation problems will our astronauts encounter?