Psychological research on morality shows that we hold an overly optimistic view of our capacity to adhere to ethical standards. We believe that we are intrinsically more moral than others, that we will behave more ethically than others in the future and that transgressions committed by others are morally worse than our own. But that's not necessarily the case.

A recent paper published in the journal Pediatrics reveals how musician celebrities often endorse foods and beverages which are of poor nutritional quality, which only adds to the burden of the childhood obesity crisis.

Perhaps the worst laboratory accident in recent memory occurred in 1996, when Karen Wetterhahn, a chemistry professor at Dartmouth, spilled a couple of drops of dimethylmercury on her glove. Thinking nothing of it, she simply changed gloves. Ten months later she died from mercury poisoning.

Prostate cancer can be indolent, not posing a risk to life — or aggressive, leading to an increased risk of death. A new analysis from the large EPIC study suggests that increases in BMI and waist circumference are associated with an increased risk of the aggressive form, and thus to an increased mortality risk.

For political websites, no conspiracy theory is too outrageous - including claims that I might be a shill for a corporation.

A growing number of parents are refusing to vaccinate their children, and one reason often given is that they don't trust that doctors and government agencies sufficiently research the potential harms of vaccines. Given that, we wanted to find out whether telling people about the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, which is monitored by the CDC and the FDA, and the information it gathers could influence their belief about vaccine safety.

No, not by us, we are instead separating real health threats from manufactured health scares.

All cancer is heartbreaking, but pediatric cancers are my emotional soft spot. A friend's 10-month-old baby just got diagnosed with leukemia. As a result I decided to register myself as a potential bone marrow donor. It's quick and easy. Here's what's involved.

Strong, young, healthy, athletic -- all the attributes that seemingly would protect someone from the small risks inherent in any leisure activity. And yet, sad, terrible events still take place that claim lives of such people when simple precautions and common sense are overlooked or ignored. Take the drowning of 19-year-old college pitcher Donny Everett as a tragic example.

While we often pooh-pooh the claims of marketers for the efficacy of dietary supplements, we're not blind to the possibilities. One supplement that has been studied in transgenic growth hormone (or TGM) mice may hold promise for treating or staving off neuro-degenerative diseases such as Alzheimer's. More work is needed, of course.