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The opioid crisis is at an all time high, with no sign of slowing down. What we are currently doing to stop the crisis is not working. One company has designed a product to help. It's an app that is easy to use, cheap, can be accessed by anyone with a phone, has been shown to help people during their recovery and just might make a difference. 

Hollywood will make no sequel to Erin Brockovich, nor will Pacific Gas & Electric be reimbursed $333 million. However, after nearly 20 years the truth about hexavalent chromium has finally been revealed by California regulators.

Dicamba is big news in 2017. It's easy to blame agriculture companies but what about farmers who used dicamba with their resistant plants knowing it drifts?

"Fake news" has become a meme — and it's all over the Internet. For example, take a look at a site that claims to provide real evidence that aspartame is carcinogenic in humans. Not only does it cite old data, it has picked a study whose authors don't agree with them. Can you get much more fake than that?

Proton pump inhibitors have some mild, treatable side effects. Other reported side effects, such as heart attacks, kidney disease, and dementia are sensationalist and based on weak evidence.

Over 1.5 million people have been infected with the Zika virus in the past two years and more than 2,200 babies born with Zika-related microcephaly. Numbers like that call for a clear understanding of how Zika virus is spread from person to person - something that we are still not totally sure about. 

The Environmental Working Group wants your money. And they're very good a getting it by scaring people about nothing. It should be no surprise that the group's latest fundraising letter is big on fears – but super small on science. Here's what we found.

Microbiologists have long known that the kitchen is an incredibly fertile field for bacterial growth — and a prime source is the kitchen sponge. A recent study of sponges found that even those that are "cleaned" by their users provide a soup of bacteria — some of which are pathogenic.

Given modern medical advances extending survival rates for chronic diseases, while at the same time overall life expectancy continues to lengthen, companies are diving into niche markets. Take, for example, Hormel — makers of Dinty Moore stews and Spam – which has come up with a meal line specifically targeted to cancer patients.

The New York Times smeared a company at the request of an organic food lobby. Instead of behaving like responsible, skeptical journalists they chose to act like a PR firm. Such is the state of affairs at America's self-appointed "Paper of Record."

The FDA announced new regulations on tobacco products — some good, some not so great. We'd like to see the data supporting the idea that lowering the nicotine level in cigarettes would be less addictive. But we applaud the move to give tobacco manufacturers more guidance and time to apply for approval of their products.

People trying to quit smoking won a major battle last week when the FDA announced it would delay implementation of regulations that would have deemed a number of e-cigarette products illegal. So why are some anti-nicotine advocates calling foul?

Apricot seeds are all over the internet - marketed as cancer fighters. But the seeds contain a chemical compound that, when ingested in high quantities (and by high we mean several seeds), can cause cyanide poisoning. 

Telling the difference between a viral and bacterial infection isn't always easy. Physicians end up guessing, which results in prescriptions being given for unnecessary antibiotics. A group is working on a new tool that could take the guesswork out of this important issue. 

In response to soaring opioid addiction and deaths, the U.S. is cracking down hard on the prescription of these painkillers. Aric Hausknecht, M.D., a neurologist and pain management specialist, speaks about pain control at a time when opioids, and the people who depend upon them, are being ostracized. 

A new kind of genetically engineered wheat is more efficient at absorbing phosphorus from the soil and, hence, should require less fertilizer.

John Urschel, 26, an offensive lineman for the Baltimore Ravens, abruptly retired from the NFL. The decision by the soft-spoken genius pursuing a math doctorate at MIT, came just two days after the release of a a weighted CTE study, which stated that of the late NFL players' brains 99% tested positive for the disease's irreversible, degenerative brain damage.

Here's some advice for you ambitious urban cowboys out there: Wash your hands after you touch your chickens. Cook your eggs thoroughly. And be on the lookout for predators.

There's been a lot of back-and-forth about the value of electronic cigarettes for helping smokers quit. Some have said they're just gateways to smoking for youth, while others – us included – see them as valuable harm reduction tools for recalcitrant smokers. A new study supports the latter view.

As millions of uninspired, would-be exercisers know all too well, the reasons to avoid working out are endless.
"I can't fit it into my schedule" ... "it takes too long" ... "I don't go enough to make a gym membership worthwhile" ... and "I don't see enough results from going" are just a few of the tried-and-true, go-to excuses. 
If this is beginning to sound a little like your way of thinking, here are two words to strongly consider: jumping rope.

A pesky parasite lurks warm freshwater lakes and ponds in the dog days of summer.. It's not serious, but it's certainly itchy!

An interesting finding, that a sunscreen chemical may be useful in treating multiple sclerosis, gave us an unexpected treat: an opportunity to pound the chemical-scares industry. The sunscreen ingredient, homosalate, like just about every other chemical in the world, has been called an "endocrine disruptor" by groups like EWG. Too bad the paper that's cited as proof shows that it's not one at all. 

Once again, the meme that "natural" is good is disproven by the recent news that some Mexican papayas are contaminated with (natural) Salmonella. One person has died from the bacterial illness and people are being warned to avoid one particular brand.

Sometimes health advice is just too good to be true, like these beauties: "Eat pomegranates to prevent cancer" ... and "Organic food will make your kids smarter." But as for "Use sunscreen to treat an autoimmune disease" ... what? That's not possible, right? Well, the truth is that last one, as crazy as it sounds, just might be real. 

There are not a lot of firsts left here in New York; we've basically seen it all. However, a squirrel that's attacking park-goers in Prospect Park, Brooklyn may be just that. The city's Department of Health thinks that this squirrel might have rabies. If true, it would be the first rabid squirrel NYC has ever known.