For every mainstream article advocating masking or vaccination to prevent or minimize COVID-19, a group or individual is attacking it. The science seems crystal clear – to the proponents on either side. Even more, than advocating for “scientific might,” individuals claim the political right to decide which conduct or treatment they favor under the mantra of “liberty.” But when a disease as contagious as COVID affects more than the individual, some independent arbiter needs to make over-arching public health decisions. Supposedly, that would be the state government – entrenched under the law in time-honored state constitutions. But of late, that bastion seems wobbly.

The traditional view of air pollution is that of bad stuff in the air produced by someone else, the ubiquitous “them.” Recent concerns about indoor air quality may have broadened that view to realize that some “others” may be us. A recent article in the journal Nature proclaimed, “Local and national governments must ensure that good indoor air quality is delivered….” posing the question, delivered by whom? Amazon pristine?

A belated Valentine’s day thought
Work vs. labor
Mass killings are not all the same; consider the Lost Boys

Her dishonest advocacy does incalculable damage to the most vulnerable.

America is facing a critical shortage of many medically important drugs. The good news? There's a simple solution if we're willing to implement it. The Biden Administration is poised to invest billions of dollars in America's "bioeconomy." Will this really boost the US biotech sector, or just waste valuable resources that should be spent elsewhere?

Prior authorization of drugs, diagnostic testing, or other medical services “is intended to ensure that health care services are medically necessary by requiring providers to obtain approval before a service or other benefit will be covered by a patient’s insurance.” In reality, it is a cost-control measure by insurance companies. It doesn’t mean you can’t get the care, just that you must jump through several hurdles first.

On February 11, Health Canada proposed guidelines for PFAS in drinking water that are 50,000 – 300,000 times higher than our EPA’s Health Advisories. This article will look at this and another significant issue, the EPA’s classification of PFAS as hazardous substances.  

Long COVID remains a riddle wrapped in a mystery inside an enigma. It wants so hard to be a disease but remains a syndrome, a collection of ill-defined signs and symptoms. Can Big Data help Long COVID and its sufferers separate themselves from other viral infections? A new study tries.

More than 100,000 Americans are waiting for organ transplants, and due to a shortage of hearts, lungs, livers, and kidneys, at least 17 die each day.  There are high-tech and policy interventions that could alleviate the shortages, and we need them now.

With gyms closed during the height of the COVID pandemic, exercising at home became a “thing.” Not everyone had the money for a Peloton, and many of us turned to walking – after all, it was outside, we could socially distance, and it could while away some time as we “got our exercise.” A new study looks at walking and how it may trim our waistlines.