Here's this week's offerings: Why we emotionally attach to Alexa and Siri ... the Pontiff joins the debate on AI ... India can go to Mars (but bathrooms still seem to be a challenge) ... and how do those restaurant buffets turn a profit?

The answer to that question: They both purport to improve health outcomes by harnessing the state’s regulatory authority for taxation or prescribing behavior. However, neither has shown to produce any health benefit. A new study shows that Florida physicians follow the rules, but not whether the rules help patients.

For epidemiologists, the most important unanswered question about the Wuhan coronavirus, or COVID-19, is the case-fatality rate. But for the general public, the question is much more personal: "Might I – or anyone I love – get sick and die?"

Womens' differences from men are often seen in the ultimate health outcome: aging and death. While women on average live longer, is it because they choose healthier lifestyles? Or do their genes give them an advantage? Let's explore.

The job of a pharmacist is as tough as ever, and the term "pharmacist burnout" is now become common. ACSH advisor Dr. Jeff Singer has an intriguing solution: Using vending machines to dispense certain prescription drugs. What do you think? Check this out.

As the coronavirus continues to terrorize the world, people are pinning their hopes on companies that are doing vaccine and drug research to -- maybe -- get us out of this mess. Yet, many of the companies doing the work, especially Gilead Science, are "the bad guys." Except when we need them. Gilead's drug, remdesivir, is now in clinical trials in China so they're OK for now. Hypocrisy at its finest.

All told, there are probably a couple of hundred different causes of the common cold. Amazon's attempt to create a common cold vaccine is, therefore, a foolish waste of money. Instead, the asset-rich company should spend it on antiviral research.

How do you measure the number of lives lost from air pollutants? As is often the case, it depends. In the United States, by and large, these studies have been designed to support regulatory interests under the Clean Air Act rather than scientific inquiry. The EPA selects the pollutants of concern, the outdoor locations to be monitored and the timeframes of interest. But what, if anything, is really being measured?

At one point, nuclear power provided 25% of Germany's electricity. But the fallout from Chernobyl, both political and real, led to a moratorium on construction and an initial planned phaseout of all nuclear reactors by 2022. That deadline subsequently was extended to 2032, but after the events at Fukushima in Japan, the phaseout policy deadline reverted back to two years from now. Today, Germany gets 11% of its electricity from nuclear sources. A study from the National Bureau of Economic Research measures the fallout.

All chemicals are toxic at some level. Some can cause harm at very small concentrations, while others need a large amount before there's a danger to human health. Even water can be deadly if consumed in large enough amounts. Let's take a closer look at various levels of safety and harm.