Search results

The FDA’s assault on vaping has yielded devastating consequences. Not only have millions of adults been denied legal access to low-risk vaping products they rely on to stay smoke-free, federal regulations are rapidly destroying thousands of jobs and billions of dollars worth of income, depriving ordinary Americans of their livelihoods. 

Roundabouts vs. traffic lights
Françoise Gilot and Jonas Salk
Where will all the gas stations go?
Those dangerous lithium batteries

As the COVID pandemic moves further into our rearview mirrors, questions have been raised about a more prolonged manifestation of COVID, Long COVID. Now, there seems to be a concern about more prolonged symptoms from the COVID vaccines; we can call it Long Vax. What do we know and don’t know?

A new health scare is brewing as reporters speculate about the cancer risk of consuming the sweetener sucralose. Is there any evidence behind the panic? No. A team of scientists recently argued that it's time for oil companies to pay reparations for causing climate change. Let's take a critical look at their claims.

In criminal law, intent is necessary before guilt can be proven. Even civil actions, like intentional torts, pivot on intentionality.  Until now, intention was determined based on circumstantial evidence, with some jury guesswork. But what if it were possible to demonstrate someone’s state of mind objectively? What if there were no hiding behind a baby face or angry denial?

I’m at an age where I see doctors frequently enough that I noticed that the masks are gone. Will a surge in influenza or COVID this fall and winter bring masks back for all, or has COVID given us something other than a one-size-fits-all approach?

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.