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Indian activist Vandana Shiva opposes the tools and practices of modern agriculture and science and advocates regressive policies that cause widespread malnourishment, famine, and death to the very people she claims to champion. And she's no friend of the environment, either. She should never be given a podium.

In late 2019 Betelgeuse, a star within the Orion constellation, grew dim, leading to speculation that its life might be at an end and it would become a supernova. The dimming, now felt due to “dust” and stellar activity obscuring our view, has resolved. Not so the concerns over Betelgeuse.

“…body mass index, BMI, then, is a continuation of white supremacist embodiment norms, racializing fat phobia under the guise of clinical authority.” Quite an opening from an article in the AMA’s new Journal of Ethics. Stripped of its rhetoric, could it be true?

While some extol the psychological benefits of psychedelics and bemoan their unavailability, at least one FDA-approved agent with psychedelic properties, Ketamine, does exist. The problem is that it is being abused- and oversight is wanting.

You might make it through the day without learning about the science of "Meat Sweats." But you'd be missing something special in your otherwise-dreary and pointless life. Don't risk it. Read this idiotic article.

For decades, excessive, unscientific regulation has slowed innovation using molecular genetic engineering. Policymakers must awaken to the realization that regulations based on pseudoscience or nescience are destructive and regressive. Tremendous innovations await, if only we have the wisdom to permit them to be developed.

Currently on appeal before the 11th Circuit is the question of whether a federal Administrative Agency (here, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) has the power to mandate masking on public transportation.

Long COVID remains chimeric, more a litany of symptoms than a clearcut “disease.” Perhaps a clustering of symptoms might reveal the underlying picture. Researchers using lots of data and statistical analysis identify some patterns.

Add the government to the Food-Industrial Complex
Vape Shops
Illegal guns
IARC and the WHO find another ingredient to jettison

Conflict between Japan and China is not new. As the release of contaminated water from Fukushima into the Pacific Ocean has now been approved by the UN's International Atomic Energy Agency, China has issued warnings that this approval is insufficient. ACSH covered the underlying science last year; here is a reprise.

For the most part, our genetic heritage is a “crap shoot” mixture of mom and dad. But the DNA of the engines powering our bodies, mitochondria, are inherited only from mom, which makes for some biological differences, including the Mother’s Curse.

There are dozens of fentanyl analogs – mostly illegal – that are being found in street drug samples. But one – para-fluorofentanyl, a drug is now being found left, right, and center.

Medical schools have been admitting unqualified or barely qualified applicants and dumbing down class content and graduation standards.

Clean air has long been recognized as a requisite for mammalian survival. In fact, the National Library of Medicine lists over 8,000 publications citing this, including the terms “air pollution” and “mortality.” How have U.S. mortality rates and life expectancies changed during recent decades of improving ambient air quality?

It is that time of year when my poor dog cowers under the bed as the rocket's red glare of fireworks is seen and heard across the country. Perhaps I am stealing from my fellow writer and chemist, Dr. Bloom, but I just wanted to share what I had learned about the chemistry underlying all that color filling our skies.

The use of cigarettes has declined in the U.S. over the past decades. A hypothesis has emerged suggesting that those remaining smokers are “nicotine hardened,” that they are the "intractables" with significant nicotine dependence. A new JAMA Network Open study tests that theory.

Recently, Newsday's David Olson wrote about opioids in an honest way not often seen in mainstream media. He emphasized the harm caused by the “overcorrection of the pendulum” – the shortage of medically legitimate opioids caused by ill-advised restrictions on prescribing. He gives personal accounts of practitioners, pharmacists, and patients struggling to navigate the unforgiving terrain of new laws and policies. Thumbs up to Mr. Olson for this important article.

When negative reviews of their then-major product appeared in the Journal of the American Society of Anesthesiologists (ASA), the manufacturer claimed trade libel and sued. And lost. The basis for the Court’s decision revolved around the constitutional right of free speech of the researchers and editor. The Court got the decision right – but for the wrong reason. Does it matter?

Clinical researchers have recognized the therapeutic potential of psychedelics for decades. In recent years, veterans groups and some lawmakers have also begun to appreciate this. But none of that matters if law enforcement disagrees.

A clinical trial of various schedules for administering the two vaccines found that when they were administered together, "the quantitative and functional antibody responses were marginally lower compared to [COVID-19] booster vaccination alone. Lower protection against COVID-19 with concurrent administration of COVID-19 and influenza vaccination cannot be excluded." Thus, the data are somewhat equivocal, but I'll opt to get the two shots at different times.

The value of limitation
The cost of speeding
What’s to eat?
How the media portrays us

In the last few weeks, there have been two articles on the benefit of supplements, specifically multivitamins and flavonols (extracted from cocoa), on improving memory. The media mentioned the multivitamins; the flavanols garnered no attention. What did the studies report?

Two decades after the advent of date rape drugs we now have something conceptually similar but worse. Gangs in New York are using fentanyl to incapacitate bar patrons and then robbing them. This is worse than it sounds. Deaths from incapacitation by date rape drugs were rare; those from fentanyl are not.

There are many shorthand rules and heuristics used in medicine. One of the classics: “When you hear hoofbeats, you don’t think of zebras.” It is a way of saying that, given a specific clinical presentation, you first look for the most common causes. A new paper in JAMA is concerned about those hoofbeats.

In March 2023, the EPA proposed controversial drinking water regulations for two “forever chemicals,” PFOA and PFOS - setting extremely low allowable levels for both. On May 30, the public comment period ended. How EPA responds to public comments could significantly shape the final rule. This article examines the Administrative Procedures Act (APA) requiring agencies to consider public comment and a few of the significant comments received on the proposed rule.