Search results

Dr. Robert Redfield, the new director of the Centers for Disease Control, voluntarily agreed to take a pay cut Monday after unjustified political forces surfaced. And he's doing so despite four decades of experience in infectious disease research, as well as a government provision enacted specifically to permit his present compensation to be offered in the first place. It's simply wrong.

The study, CLARITY-BPA, represents a collaboration between two camps that have long been at odds over the safety of BPA: scientists and regulatory experts at the FDA, on one hand, and academic scientists on the other.

Assembly Bill 3087 wants to put a cap on health care costs. If you ignore the yelling from proponents and opponents, you'll see it creates the same marketplace that we have for drugs, whose prices continue to rise with little benefit to the real purchasers. (That would be you and me.) 

Want to know what the American Council on Science and Health does and why we do it? If you have a minute, that's all you'll need to learn about our mission as pro-science consumer advocates who separate health scares from health threats.
We've been making it safe to go into the refrigerator again, and outside, since 1978. And thanks to your support, we'll be able to do it for the next 40 years also.

Norovirus, otherwise known as the "stomach flu," hit the campus of Western Connecticut State University hard last week. The number of students who were walloped by the illness was so high the campus shut down for an entire day. So instead of the more-routine cancellation for a snow day, the campus had a stomach flu day. 

Regulations regarding the use of buprenorphine to help with opioid addiction do not hinder care - they are designed to protect patients and train physicians who did not have formal education in addiction management. 

Births rates for mothers aged 10 to 14, as well as those 15 to 19, dropped to an all-time low, according to new data released by the Centers for Disease Control. As a result, births for the pre-teen demographic group have declined 67 percent over the last 16 years.

Nature is amazing. When potatoes go bad they sometimes turn green and produce a potent neurotoxin. But the chemical that's responsible for the green is chlorophyll, which is anything but toxic. How does the green color indicate that the potato is bad? 

Given widely-varying belief systems about medicine and health, it shouldn't be surprising that these also exist when it comes to what causes cancer. But surprisingly, cancer belief systems don't significantly impact lifestyle behavior. 

We strive to make a difference, and when we do other organizations often take note. Here's a look at some of our recent pick-up. Take a look. 

States and councils around Australia have been struggling since the imposition of import restrictions that exclude 99% of the recyclables that the country previously sold to China. Hopes are high that the federal government will step in and take a clear role.

Sepsis, sometimes inaccurately referred to as blood poisoning, is sparked by the body’s reaction to infection. Between 12 and 25 percent of patients with sepsis will die during hospitalization. Sepsis contributes to one-third to one-half of all in-hospital deaths.

Awarding an honorary doctorate to an anti-GMO activist could only happen in an Orwellian universe. That's where up is down, right is wrong, and the truth is just a matter of opinion. But that's the state of academia in 2018.

Despite the reality of measles, rotavirus, and a plethora of other infectious diseases, there's yet another anti-vaccine movement afoot in California. And its aim is to turn the clock back to the 10th Century.

Our culture is in crisis, ignoring that is malpractice.

A study demonstrates that confidence in one's cooking skills translates into cooking more often, and perhaps more nutritiously. Have we overlooked how Home Econ is the applied techniques of science, technology, engineering, and math? 

Instead of treating our energy policy like salad toppings at a buffet, let's just go full steam ahead on the one thing that could meet all of the world's energy needs right now: Nuclear power.

Whether you drink or not, alcohol has many effects on your health. One of those that's underappreciated has been revealed: It's the first comparison of bacteria found in the mouths of drinkers versus teetotalers. So if you're a frequent drinker, you may want to pour yourself a tall one before reading these results. 

A recent meta-analysis of the impact of prenatal acetaminophen on Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder and Autism vacillates between the academic need to publish a positive finding, and the clinical need to put findings into context for patients.

Is being overweight in childhood linked to mom's prenatal caffeine intake? If it is, it's not terribly well supported by this new study published in BMJ.

It's dangerous being livestock. If you aren't being fattened up to be turned into a Happy Meal, you're wandering the fields, gobbling up plants that appear tasty and innocent – but are actually toxic. Plant poisonings cost the livestock industry more than $500 million every year.

The quality of your sleep is directly related to how you feel and function the next day, and in general. However, a recent study found that sleep-deprived adults know what they should be doing to get essential rest time – but they simply pay little attention to do what's necessary to achieve it.

As part of a new Youth Tobacco Prevention Plan, earlier this month agency officials launched a large-scale, nationwide, undercover blitz to crack down on the sale of e-cigarettes to minors at both brick-and-mortar and online retailers.

Policymakers argue about whether sin taxes – on tobacco, alcohol etc. – are regressive, affecting the poor more than the wealthy. But no one argues the health benefits; they are assumed. Wouldn't a bit of evidence about the benefit of sin taxes, to some entity other than the government, been helpful?

Here's some of what we've been up to in the past few days, in the media and around Washington, DC.