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While the ongoing issue for many world-class athletes -- specifically, whether to participate in the upcoming Olympics -- comes into sharper focus, we keep hearing from those who are unsettled by the idea of heading into Brazil's Zika hot zone. And with the news that a major league pitcher has recently contracted the virus, the drumbeat for athletes to potentially skip the Summer Games is getting louder. But if they take precautions, should they?

AIDS has killed 34 million people around the world. Of the critical sequential steps that are necessary for HIV to replicate, one of them requires a single molecule of water. In the absence this one molecule, HIV would not exist.

Processed foods get a bad rap these days from many supposed nutrition experts. But not all processing is bad — canned fruits and vegetables, for example, can be part of a healthy diet for both children and adults.

Treating breast cancer with a very high dose of chemotherapy doesn’t improve survival any more than if a standard dose is used. And as guest writer Nicholas Wilcken writes, a recent paper has now capped decades of research debunking the idea that, if only we could give a high enough dose of chemotherapy, we could cure breast cancer.

Fireflies, or lightning bugs, are undoubtedly one of the many joys of summer. Assisting the bugs in this romantic calling are their luminous rear ends, which flash brilliant yellow.

California is ranked 47th in the U.S. in science education. So, it is not terribly surprising that the Golden State is making some rather poor choices in wine (whine) country, and looking mighty foolish in the process.

A recent study, published in the Annals of Internal Medicine, revealed that although expensive, the UNAIDS "90-90-90" program is well worth the price. The program's overall goal is to be able to achieve a 73 percent reduction in the viral load to undetectable levels worldwide by 2020.

Economics aside, if longer hours don't necessarily produce more work, and fewer hours (or one less workday) help boost employee health and morale and generate more engagement and productivity, we ought to at least consider the possibility.

The rate and number of higher order births (triplets and up) in the United States declined between 1998 and 2014. This is a positive trend that should result in better infant survival and health, as well as a reduction in health care costs.

Ever since the first cells evolved about 3.8 billion years ago, they have had to contend with other life forms intent on killing them. Today, wherever cells exist, viruses exist. It is likely this relationship goes back to time immemorial. Meet the eukaryotes that suck.

With the recent discovery of polymyxin-resistant infection here in the U.S., there's a renewed pledge among drug developers and the government to incentivize research for developing new antibiotics, previously a seemingly abandoned effort.

New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio really hates salt. But, we suspect it goes deeper than this. He may be a "condiment bigot." Possibly even a mustard hater, or an anti-mustite.

Ketamine is an anesthetic that can prevent persistent post-surgical pain in patients who have undergone major surgery. That's a welcome alternative, given the significant opiate addiction crisis plaguing our nation.

It didn't take long to guess what might be going on: We're educating a whole lot of people about the differences between health scares and health threats -- and doing it well.

Naturopaths have been and continue to push for federal reimbursements for their treatments and they often consider themselves as professional equivalents of actual physicians who have studied actual medicine. The "profession" should be considered what it is - a hobby.

Poo offers a wide spectrum of opportunities for assessing animal health, according to guest writer Katherine Whitehouse-Tedd, who is a visiting fellow for Animal & Equine Science at Nottingham Trent University.

Urine tests that can signal dehydration in young adults or children may not be so accurate in the over-65 group. The possible reasons are numerous — ranging from impaired kidney function to medications that affect urine color.

In hopes of tackling Thailand's obesity problem (Thai food is especially yummy and greasy), some creative minds have designed a plate that literally sucks the excess fat and calories from a meal.

The Department of Defense has revealed that a woman in Pennsylvania was detected carrying a strain of E. coli with 15 different genes conferring antibiotic resistance.

The Food and Drug Administration has announced that it has approved Probuphine, an implant for treatment of opioid dependence. It's designed to provide a constant, low-level dose of buprenorphine to patients for six months.

The tobacco industry just got buzzed with a high-and-tight fastball, a knockdown pitch if you will. And if it chooses to stand up and go to court to fight the legal charges being hurled by the family of Tony Gwynn, the late Hall-of-Fame major leaguer, don't be surprised if one tobacco maker goes down swinging -- even if it has science on its side.

Yale researchers have discovered a virus that attacks bacteria, also known as bacteriophage (or "phage"), which is capable of infecting Pseudomonas aeruginosa, a highly-feared bacterial pathogen.

The FDA is finally advising the food industry to stop using the euphemism "evaporated cane juice" for sugar on food labels. Ingredients on food labels should be couched in terms that the average person is familiar with. It's just too bad the advisory isn't binding.

The TV show "The Biggest Loser" may provide entertainment, but it does so at the expense of the contestants. ACSH advisor Dr. David Seres explains why, while delivering this message: Stop telling the obese to lose weight.

Microbiologists don't use microscopes very often. The reason is because a substantial proportion of modern microbiology research uses the tools of molecular biology, for which microscopes are not needed.