The Winter 2018 issue of Priorities magazine is now available from the American Council on Science and Health, since 1978 America's premier pro-science consumer advocacy non-profit,. You can't subscribe and you can't buy it on newsstands.

The media persist in conflating health care and its finances. However, the breathlessly-announced new collaboration among these three business giants is solely about reducing health care costs, for business. 

Although it's easy to become blase about liftoffs, and orbits, and missions, and spacewalks and the intermittent hubbub emanating from the International Space Station, maybe a moment of reflection is warranted to recognize NASA's first satellite launch and "America’s very first space science discovery" on January 31, 1958.

Foodborne illness happens; it's one of the hazards of eating. But when a company makes a concerted effort to claim its food is holy and righteous – while everybody else serves poison – management shouldn't be surprised when public backlash is severe. It's entirely predictable, self-inflicted and deserved.
 

State officials across the country are extremely worried about the flu. They tell us that we have to do "everything in our power to fight this virus" and stay safe. But after a staggering 37 childhood deaths so far, are we? Shouldn't "everything" include adding the flu shot to the list of vaccinations needed for kids to attend school?

It sounds like something right out of a horror movie, but it's real life. Parents in the United Kingdom — desperate to cure their children of autism — fall prey to snake oil, and to the con men that sell it. But this type of snake oil — doing away with autism by drinking bleach, is deadly. 

We've been seeing news reports about runs on Imodium. The FDA has the anti-diarrheal medicine in its sights because it is being abused and is also really dangerous. How dangerous? You have a 4.6 times greater chance of dying from a coconut hitting you on the head. 

A Florida orthopedic surgeon charged with possession and distribution of an analog of fentanyl called furanylfentanyl, which resulted in the death of a young woman, has had his trial postponed until April. 

For many major league baseball players, the placebo effect is alive and well. This is indisputable, especially following a bizarre, public display of one of the most extreme cases of "cupping" – the dubious practice of applying suction to the skin to supposedly enhance muscle relief. Really, who'd do this? The answer is right here.
 

Stopping the transmission of Zika and dengue viruses is a top priority in the fields of infectious disease and global health. A novel strategy, one that infects the mosquitoes with bacteria, may just be the key to stopping these viruses in their tracks.