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What does Facebook's algorithm say about me?

Our founder, Elizabeth Whelan, liked to remind us that "mice are not little men," and that we ought to stop banning chemicals "at the drop of a rat." Apparently, the head of the NIAID, Dr. Anthony Fauci, agrees.

Obesity and excess body fat — especially the type around the middle — can lead to excess fat within the liver. When this occurs, it can diminish the liver's ability to function, and if continued long enough can lead to liver failure. But exercise (and it doesn't have to be extreme) can turn this problem around, at least in Chinese adults.

NEW YORK - Aug. 23, 2016 - PRLog -- Standing with Giants is a collection of essays written to honor Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan, who co-founded the American Council on Science and Health (ACSH) in 1978, and acknowledge both the broad spectrum of issues she tackled and her important imprint on public health.

From 1986 to the present, the CDC has monitored pregnancy-related deaths. Surveillance data show a steadily increasing number of reported pregnancy related deaths up to 2012. The increase on its own may not turn heads, but in a global context, it depicts a slowly growing problem when compared to figures across other developed countries. And even more worrisome, experts have been unable to clearly identify the overall cause for the increase.

In 1966, Dr. Donald Henderson, M.D., M.P.H spearheaded the World Health Organization’s war on smallpox virus and by 1977 science had won. Thanks to him and fellow ACSH scientific advisor Dr. William H. Foege, the smallpox vaccine was added to the measles program in West Africa during the 1970s and the disease was eradicated.

Food fraud is outrageously common. In the UK, horse meat was sold as beef, and in China, rat meat was sold as lamb. Now, Malaysian researchers have detected buffalo meat in "beef" frankfurters.

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Two generations ago, tattoos were relatively scarce, and primarily only among a few types of people, but their presence has increased from 5% in 2003 to 12% in 2016, and half of those with tattoos have more than one, all without really knowing the safety and regulation of the inks used for tattoos and permanent makeup.

Do more of those calories need to be in protein? Bodybuilders swear by it, but is it real or a myth?

Lower back pain is the greatest source of global disability, ahead of nearly 300 other conditions, leading to huge levels of healthcare costs and suffering. And the effects go far beyond pain, weakness and stiffness – they also have a huge impact the social and family lives of sufferers.

Plastic food wraps are pretty much ubiquitous in today's markets. But they have drawbacks — they aren't biodegradable, and don't keep foods as fresh as they might. Scientist from the USDA have come up with a new type of wrap — it's biodegradable, keeps foods fresher, and it's edible to boot.

With the heartbreaking photo of a Syrian child rescued from a bombed house making its way around the internet -- as well as our nonstop election circus -- it's time for some good news for a change. The CDC reports that pregnancy in teens aged 15-19 has fallen by 46 percent from 2007 to 2015.

When, exactly, was the Age of Stupid? Was it when people practiced human sacrifice to placate the brutal gods they worshiped? Was it when people believed the Earth was flat and everything else in the universe revolved around them? But one thing's for certain: If we behave like sheep we're going to get fleeced.

1. There's no question some parts of American culture, including academic and private sector science, have been hijacked by 'virtue signaling' - subject to condemnation or praise by groups to show how virtuous and superior they are to those they self-identify with.

Severe droughts can wreak havoc on coastal marshes, which typically provide habitats for many species, like mammals, amphibians and birds. But researchers from the University of Florida suggest one factor that can help these areas recover more quickly is the presence of mussels clumped on the roots of marsh grasses.

Why would someone want to expose themself to serious injury or death just for a few thrill-inducing minutes jumping off a bridge and bouncing around uncontrollably? Yes, we've all heard the catch-all justification: "It's exhilarating -- and it makes me feel alive." Here's a closer look at the health consequences of this edge-of the-envelope activity. On its face it seems quite risky, but how risky is it? Maybe not as much as you think.

An analysis of 70 papers shows that most scientific research does not advance by "falsification," as philosopher Karl Popper made famous. Ironically, falsification has itself been falsified.

Since women have a higher incidence of dementia than men, the effects of estrogen replacement on cognitive function is a topic of ongoing research. A recent study tried to find out if taking hormone therapy at different stages of menopause would improve metabolic risk factors of Alzheimer’s Dementia and prevent cognitive decline.

A recent study led to an obvious question: Why have greater utilization of a hospital's Intensive Care Unit and invasive procedures if it doesn't improve mortality?

When biologists think of evolution, we tend to be biased toward those instances in which an organism gains some new ability, such as when a bacterium acquires a new antibiotic resistance gene. But a new paper warns that this is far too narrow a view. The authors contend that gene loss, and the loss-of-function that generally accompanies it, may play a large and overlooked role in evolution.

It's often the case that we don’t have time to carefully evaluate everything in life. We often take shortcuts. If a reputable authority takes a position, it is convenient and usually safe to just accept their reasoning. It's not so simple in the case of air pollution, more regulations, and saving lives.

There's some encouraging health news from the CDC about teenage behavior that should make parents breathe a bit easier. It's a report that shows that today's teens are basically making better health choices then previous teenage groups. And they are also making much better decisions than teens did a generation ago.

Apparently, according to a Cleveland Clinic survey, guys don't talk to other guys about health issues. And they are not really up on when they should start getting tested to screen out health problems — such as high blood pressure. But discussion can lead to action, which could save lives.

A recent study claims Medicare is discriminating against female doctors in payments. Here is what's really going on.

An emerging infectious disease that has killed several elderly people in the U.S. Midwest is caused by the bacterium Elizabethkingia anophelis. A genomic analysis of strains isolated from hospitalized babies in Africa show that they are related to strains in Asia and from mosquitoes. This ubiquitous environmental bacterium is resistant to multiple antibiotics and appears to survive in hospitals.