Disease X -- a yet unseen deadly infectious disease with an epidemic potential for which no countermeasures exist --  has recently been added to WHO's Blueprint list of priority diseases of concern to public health. While we don’t know what Disease X might be, it reflects the fact that a future pandemic threat may be unexpected.

Should we think of obesity as a disease or lifestyle choice? While it seems it's a matter of splitting hairs, it really is another skirmish in an age-old debate: fate versus free will.

In the human body, there are roughly two trillion cell divisions every day. Molecular mechanisms to ensure that DNA is replicated properly are very accurate, but mistakes are inevitable. Most of the mistakes don't change anything but some cut the brake lines that control cell division -- and these can lead to the development of cancer cells. Dr. Chris Gerry explains, in Part 2 of his series on the complexities of cancer.

Various forms of calorie-restricted diets are all the rage. A study in The Lancet takes a detailed look at one version. It changes our biomarkers, but does it alter our health?

I must be getting old because I don't know who some of these young whippersnappers are anymore. Apparently, a Canadian singer named Grimes (who happens to be dating Elon Musk) is somebody I need to pay attention to. And as is often the case with celebrities, it's not for a good reason. 

We all make mistakes, but errors by physicians can lead to significant harm to patients. Can we learn from our mistakes? A new study looks for common threads in one area: misdiagnosis.

Given the uncertainty and risk of wrong interpretation, should you have your telomeres measured? Maybe, if the results motivate healthy lifestyle changes. For now, a surer bet for healthy aging would be to spend the money on exercise programs and nutritious foods instead.

Biomedical scientists today stand in a position not dissimilar to that of our ancient ancestors. A thousand years from now, we will be viewed as naïve and of limited means. Yet, it's quite possible that historians of science will look back at the 20th and 21st centuries as periods in which great marvels were accomplished. If there's ever a list called The Seven Wonders of the Biotech World this is what should be on it.

U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams celebrated Independence Day by trumpeting a study which concluded that Tylenol worked as well as morphine for controlling the pain from a broken rib. But the study was complete nonsense. ACSH caught him and now he's backpedaling like the woman in the bicycle scene from The Wizard of Oz (played backward of course).

Nudges are a no-cost way of influencing peoples' decisions, and policymakers love 'em. Some nudges work better than others. Is it an appeal to our intellect, our feelings, or where a product sits on the supermarket shelf that most effectively alters our food choices? Let's find out.