Search results

Up until last week, CO2 levels have been the concern; now methane is in the mix. But what can we say about CO2 before adding to our worries? An article from The Conversation provides some infographics.

It's the silly season once again when oldsters are asked if they want to change their Medicare coverage. And especially to Medicare Advantage – the plans that are often free and come with lots of extras: like vision, dental, hearing, and even over-the-counter medications. But are they really an advantage?

In our affluent nation, most dogs are no longer working animals who help hunt, guard property, protect children or herd livestock. They’ve been taken from the farms and kennels, welcomed into our homes, and treated as cherished family members. Therefore, it’s not surprising that the food trends for the “pet parents” have spilled over to canine cuisines. Feeding raw diets to dogs is a growing alternative to commercially processed dry, semi-moist or canned pet foods. Here’s what we are seeing as a result.

Big news in the NFL! Superstar Aaron Rodgers, who claimed that he was "immunized" was playing the hidden ball trick with the public. He was nothing of the sort. Rodgers got homeopathic "treatment" instead of a vaccine and caught COVID. Perhaps he has taken too many shots to the head and not enough in the arm.

Several superficially plausible arguments against COVID-19 vaccination continue to pop up across the internet, usually phrased as leading questions. Are they as solid as they seem? A little investigation suggests they are mostly speculation.

A confession, climate change, how to read a book, and it is truly Autumn in New York

A lot has been written about the strengths and weaknesses of using DNA testing to customize individual diets. It's a promising idea, but our knowledge of genetics isn't yet good enough to pinpoint what each of us should eat.

Over the last year, the number of immune individuals necessary to achieve herd immunity has risen from 70% to 90%. Is it even possible to achieve herd immunity? Every other disease has herd immunity; why not COVID-19? And another problem, why is COVID-19 different from its siblings SARS or MERS?

To paraphrase a well-known phrase about government intervention, can there be any words more feared than these: “I’m from Amazon, and I’m here to help.” After a failed endeavor – in conjunction with JPMorgan Chase and Berkshire Hathaway, known as Haven – Amazon is moving into healthcare on its own. What might that mean for physicians and patients?

Few words strike terror into the heart of 50-year-olds more than "colonoscopy." True, it’s a procedure that most of us do not look forward to. But it's very important, and in reality, not really that bad. For you "colonoscopy virgins” here are a few words of encouragement.

Does marijuana use affect mental health? Cato Institute's Dr. Jeffrey Singer and colleagues address just this in a new pre-print of a paper that is undergoing peer review. The preprint can be read on the medRxiv site.

Research has shown that adverse events following COVID-19 vaccination are very rare. Another large study of VAERS reports strengthens this conclusion.

Merck just announced that it granted a royalty-free license for its antiviral drug molnupiravir to Medicines Patent Pool, a United Nations-backed organization dedicated to providing crucial medicines to 105 poorer countries. Will this make a difference in the battle against COVID? I argue that it will.

The FDA recently released the latest results from its Pesticide Residue Monitoring Report. Spoiler alert: America's food supply still isn't tainted with harmful synthetic chemicals.

The media likes to compare COVID-19 outcomes in different states based on carefully selected metrics. A closer look indicates that these match-ups are less compelling than reporters think. This has consequences for the public's trust in science.

An Illinois woman is suing Kellogg's for substituting pear and apple for strawberry in Strawberry Pop-Tarts. I examine the earth-shattering ramifications of this crucial lawsuit.

Antiviral drugs will be a necessary addition to vaccines to tamp down COVID. Both Pfizer and Merck have drugs in the clinic and they both look good. Roche also has a candidate but things are looking pretty grim. How grim? Better read this.

Swearing – defined as speaking “specific, negatively charged, and often emotionally loaded terms” – violates our norms of both the sacred and profane. While polite society often reflects on swearing’s negatives, it turns out that there are some health benefits for the sender (but not the receiver).

With the growing concern – especially in the Northeast – about the air pollution now coming from the Canadian forest fires, we thought it would be worthwhile to address the potential health effects, especially the difference between acute and chronic.
Most of the daily air pollution studies on health have focused on statistical significance to establish the existence of the phenomenon, which has already been shown by the Great London Fog of 1952, during which black smoke levels increased about 10-fold, and thousands died over several days. The scientific community would be better served by addressing epidemiological and physiological questions.

Medice, cura te ipsum. Physician, heal thyself. That is just what the CDC is beginning to do based on a recently published in-house structural review. Leave aside the shame and blame game of amnesty. What does the CDC believe it did wrong and could do better?

The Kaiser Family Foundation recently wrote a summary of what you actually get when you enroll in a Medicare Advantage (Part C) program.

Active immunity means your body’s immune system gets revved up and primed by previous infection or exposure to vaccine antigens, whether it’s the real thing, i.e., getting sick with COVID, or via exposure to a human-made varietal from a vaccine (mRNA or conventional). Yet, somehow there’s this hue and cry that getting the real thing just isn’t as good as getting jabbed. Is it true? 

Banning menthol heats up.
Is it a conspiracy? A ten-point checklist
Debunking pumpkins – say it ain’t so!
The Decline and Fall of Eating together

Just as healthcare systems seek to maintain their tax-exempt status by providing “community services,” health insurers seek to dispense their largesse on the corporate term for those community services – the social determinants of health. A new study suggests that, like those not-for-profit, tax-exempt healthcare systems, the money flowing to social determinants is more for appearances. How surprising.

Illicit fentanyl continues to kill tens of thousands of people annually in the U.S. In fact, this number may very well be increasing as the "fentanyl epidemic" continues unabated. But now a fentanyl vaccine – which could be of some use in mitigating damage – appears to protect mice from the drug. Will it succeed in humans and, if so, how might it be used?