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Nutritional epidemiology is notorious for producing sensational, conflicting results that confuse us all. We’re stuck with observational studies that can be twisted in countless ways to get different outcomes. Enter a new tool aiming to cut through this mess by testing all possible analytical choices and showing how flexible and unreliable these studies can be.

Will Cole, an alternative healthcare provider with a massive social media following, sells wellness and scary-sounding pseudo-diseases. His empire, like other functional medicine hucksters, sells supplements and aligns with celebrities for promotion and legitimacy. Let’s tease apart the hype from the hyperbole.

The concept of a “leaky” brain is an enigma, the fortress of our brain, seemingly protected by the blood-brain barrier now disrupted. However, to understand whether a breach has altered our cognitive function we need to better understand our protector.

Glaucoma stands as a preventable purveyor of blindness, particularly among Black and Hispanic communities. Genetic predispositions, socioeconomic disparities, and systemic barriers make glaucoma's impact disproportionately skewed. Here's a look why.

An excellent new tool that uses a technology called microindentation can measure the health of bone tissue directly and safely.

For woodworkers, the table saw stands as both a revered tool and a potential danger. One saw, SawStop, uses an innovative technology to prevent the saw from cutting more than wood. The feds are now considering mandating this technology, provoking a web of industry interests and regulatory hurdles.

Among the most creative and original mathematical thinkers (explanations of her work are virtually incomprehensible to us mortals who communicate in words rather than symbols), Amalie “Emmy” Noether’s name is associated with countless theorems, mathematical constructs, and key advances in abstract algebra, many of which are essential to modern physics.

As long as we don't run out of chemicals, we will never run out of chemical scares. Most are unfounded, especially the current one – that the use of methylene chloride to decaffeinate coffee will somehow harm you. The numbers say otherwise. There is nothing to worry about here.

It's easy to lose sight of the visceral fear and uncertainty that pervaded the early days of the pandemic.
With each iteration, AI becomes both student and teacher, trapped in an echo chamber of its own creation.
From Wendy's ill-fated foray into dynamic pricing to the prices of Ticketmaster and Live Nation, the line between innovation and exploitation grows increasingly blurred.

Artificial Intelligence plays an increasingly prominent role in modern life, medicine included. While the technology promises to improve health care in many ways, it also carries potentially serious risks. That raises a critical question: when AI harms patients, who's responsible?

What is it about humans that enables us to enjoy watching harm being inflicted on others? With the football season a few months away, perhaps a greater understanding of neurological harm associated with the game’s repetitive brain trauma is warranted.  And maybe we should do something rather than just sit by and watch?

Are we overlooking a critical factor in surgical site infections (SSIs)? In the quest for sterile operating rooms and antibiotic prophylaxis, a groundbreaking study suggests we've missed a vital piece of the puzzle: the patient's microbiome, a finding that challenges the wisdom of Semmelweis and may revolutionize infection prevention strategies.

Medical schools are incorporating critical social justice theory into the way they teach students to diagnose and treat health conditions. Cato scholars Jeffrey A. Singer and Erec Smith explain that this can be hazardous to the health of individuals – and to society.

Americans seem to have quite a positive view of dietary supplements. According to a 2023 survey, 74% of U.S. adults take vitamins, prebiotics and the like.
The business of supplements is booming, and with all the hype around them, it’s easy to forget what they actually are: substances that can powerfully affect the body and your health, yet aren’t regulated like drugs are. They’re regulated more like food.

The battle over formaldehyde has shifted. In a recent risk evaluation, the EPA significantly recognized that formaldehyde does not pose an “unreasonable” risk for cancer. But it does pose health risks for effects such as eye irritation, allergies, and asthma.

As High Pathogenicity Avian Influenza cases emerge in dairy cattle, transmission routes and the source of infection remain unclear. Before jumping to conclusions, what can science tell us?

Tinnitus – a vexing ringing in one or both of your ears not caused by external sound – impacts some 740 million adults globally. A recently FDA-approved treatment appears poised to help many of these patients reduce the severity of their symptoms and thereby boost their quality of life. Let's take a closer look at this therapy to find out how it works.

Introducing CBD (cannabidiol), the latest fad in the ever-expanding universe of pseudo-medicine! It's the "miracle" cure that's as easy to buy as a candy bar – and about as effective as wishing on a shooting star. Americans, denied effective pain medicine and desperate for relief from their aches and pains, are jumping on the CBD bandwagon faster than you can say "snake oil." But the truth about this so-called remedy is about to hit harder than a reality check at a fantasy convention.

In a recent New York Times essay, a professor of anesthesia and pain management recently protested the Drug Enforcement Administration's opioid manufacturing quotas and micromanagement of doctors treating their patients' pain. At a time when DEA S.W.A.T. teams frequently raid doctors' offices for "inappropriate" prescribing, the professor's essay demonstrated boldness. Unfortunately, the professor's reform proposals were much less bold.

The sleazy world of dietary supplements is hardly confined to the United States. In Japan, more than 100 people were sickened – and at least five died – after consuming a ridiculous product called Benikoji Choleste, aka red rice yeast. How can such a dangerous supplement be sold? The following should sound quite familiar.

The standard argument for restricting patient access to pain medications is that these drugs frequently lead to addiction. A large body of research contradicts that claim, though it's doubly absurd when directed at people afflicted by terminal (and often very painful) illnesses. They sometimes have only weeks or months to live, yet they're denied pain medicine in the name of fighting opioid dependence. Such absurdity has to stop.

Welcome to "What I Am Reading" - a quick mention of intriguing articles, from the safety of decaf coffee to historical echoes of the opioid crisis, an argument for plagiarism, and something data brokers know.

Xolair, an antibody asthma drug, was recently approved for severe food allergic reactions. It is not the first biological drug to treat multiple conditions. But it is the first to treat severe food allergies - a growing problem.

Harm reduction strategies have been used for decades in many developed countries to reduce diseases and overdoses from using drugs obtained on the black market. It's a major reason why those countries have lower drug-related illness and fatality rates than the U.S. In recent years, many state and local jurisdictions have begun adopting these strategies. Idaho, however, recently decided to go in an ill-advised direction.

Picture this: a digital watchdog, prowling through heaps of patient data, poised to raise the alarm at the slightest sign of trouble. Enter a guardian angel, in the guise of algorithms designed to forewarn medical staff of impending crises. But is it truly a beacon of salvation or a mirage in the desert of clinical uncertainty?