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In the 60-and-older category, 50 percent of men and 38 percent of women are on cholesterol-lowering drugs. Is that really necessary?

While a new study highlighted the detrimental effects of isolation in an older Chinese population, it also noted that being connected to one's community and being more socially active were mitigating factors. The study also took a closer look at Asian-Americans, in general, being considered the U.S.'s so-called "model minority."

Asbestos is used in many building construction materials and vehicle products, due to its strength and ability to resist heat, fire and chemical and biological degradation. But as thousands of New York City residents are now aware, those who live near last week's steam-pipe explosion that sent a geyser of asbestos particles airborne, there's so much more to know about it.

Scribes inputting data into electronic medical records are supposed to free-up time for physicians, letting them care for their patients. But surprisingly, it may actually make care worse. Is this another example of unintended consequences? 

Funding science through the National Institute of Health is a highly competitive process. It is also highly skewed towards those who have been "successful" in the past. But does past performance predict future performance?

When business models drive medical systems, low-value care ensues. The concern is compounded by the tremendous growth in urgent-care and retail clinics. These facilities are now contributing to 40 percent of outpatient antibiotic prescriptions.

This law firm shows no concern for the truth. It fits comfortably and profitably into our postmodern world, in which truth and lies are no longer distinguishable. Unscrupulous people can make a lot of money by exploiting the public's confusion over vaccines, chemicals and pharmaceutical products.

Rather than be critical of a study that produced unsurprising results, they can instead be leveraged to help address the problem. That can be done by family members using the findings to engage hospital personnel, in order to get their assistance in making sleep more of a priority for loved-ones under their care.

Bundled payments, paying one fee for hospitalization and the next 90 days of care, reduces the cost of surgical care. But for a medical hospitalization there's no evidence of cost savings. Why?

Sometimes when we dismiss a study it is not that the data is "false," but how they are fashioned into a narrative that raises eyebrows. Data may seem absolute, it is the interpretation that provides context. 

Infectious disease remains a national and global security threat. With the ease in which people can travel around the world, we should expect other exotic diseases to arrive in America. Ebola, Lassa, and Zika have already done so, and yet-to-be-identified microbes are also likely to be imported.

Disgust is an emotional cue, and it helps us avoid situations fraught with disease. Are we responding to how infectious diseases are transmitted, or how they appear?

Germany serves as a wonderful example of how to do everything – everything wrong, that is – when it comes to energy policy.

The strategy that our government is employing is ridiculous; we are fighting the wrong enemy. Pain medications, like Percocet and Vicodin, on their own, kill few relatively few people while illicit fentanyl and its monster analogs like carfentanil are responsible for the carnage we see daily on the news.

In a world where we can no longer distinguish truth from lies and science itself has been redefined, non-scientists can claim to be scientists. And our writer is the Queen of England.

Lake Okeechobee, in South Florida, is being plagued by an enormous algae bloom. But what's causing the problem is not algae: it's a plant-like pathogen called cyanobacteria. Blooms from this type of bacteria are dangerous because they release a variety of deadly neurotoxins, which can kill humans and animals. 

Given that Andrew Zimmern, host of Bizarre Foods on the Travel Channel, has crisscrossed the world and then some, eating some of the craziest things you can imagine for more than a decade, the main question is: Has he ever gotten terribly ill? "No, I’ve had no 'digestive issues,' he said while laughing. "And I keep waiting for it to happen!"

Risks change in healthcare when imminent life or death are your alternatives.

Ethologists, videographers and economists have all studied the behavior of surgeons in the operating room. Their revelations will not surprise surgeons, and they do not require the trappings of p-values and statistics. 

Antibacterial surfaces are one way that we are fighting back against antibiotic-resistant bacteria. In one type of surface – naturally found on dragonfly wings – tiny pillars physically rip bacteria apart.

Inclusivity for those with chronic disease or differing abilities is gaining momentum as a fashion trend. These targeted solutions to quality-of-life issues are a refreshing way to achieve the larger goal of a healthier society.

For fair-skinned folks, the results of a new study can be taken as some worthy advice: applying sunscreen alone doesn't provide enough protection from sunburn.
Instead, multiple protection methods are needed for those with pale skin to keep the threat of skin cancer at bay.

There is finally a workable plan to address the frightening (and growing) problem of antibiotic resistance. It's called REVAMP, or re-valuing antimicrobial products. ACSH advisor Dr. David Shlaes explains. 

Three pigs tested positive for antibodies to the Ebola virus, suggesting that these farm animals could serve as a host for the disease. Virus hunters should take note.

The gender-classification case of Olympic sprinter Caster Semenya is fascinating and layered in controversy. And because global track and field exists only in a two-gender world, the bottom line is that it must have a way of separating the men's division from the women's. It will do so using one metric: testosterone. It's a reasonable approach that's fair to all other women track athletes.