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The national newspaper recently published a guest essay that finally got the opioid story straight – something it previously has been unwilling, or unable, to do. The chilling essay was written by a pain management specialist who was unable to get pain meds for her dying mother-in-law, because of the takeover of medicine by the runaway DEA. The Times may have finally gotten it right (but it's worth noting that here at ACSH, we've been doing so for more than a decade).

While rare, babies have been switched at birth. Typically, discovery happens when the children are adults, with little room to accommodate the error. But given the “wild west” of an unregulated fertility industry and the prevalence of switched gametes, it should come as no surprise to find that embryos, too, have been switched. Those discoveries happen when the child is an infant, with biological and birth mothers both claiming the child is “theirs.” Splitting the baby is, obviously, not an option.

It's equal parts wardrobe malfunction and psychological assault, and it somehow manages to make even the healthiest among us feel fragile and exposed. But guess what? Researchers have dug deeper into the gown's flaws, suggesting these backless wonders mess with our heads.

There have been some mighty strange choices to lead the U.S. healthcare system starting in 2025. Instead of complaining, let's sing about them!

Jay Bhattacharya's recent history is a cautionary tale of how ideology and misinformation can undermine public health. His flawed views led to unnecessary suffering and eroded trust in science, making him a wholly unacceptable choice to head the nation's premier research institution.

Voluntary COVID vaccination mandates for staff in nursing homes during the pandemic were important. There was no evidence that the marginally increased staff turnover at vaccine-mandated facilities compromised patient care while there were positive effects of employer-imposed vaccination mandates. Nursing home residents experienced a significant reduction in both COVID infections and mortality.

Imagine unelected bureaucrats wielding unchecked power to interpret laws with minimal oversight. Now, picture courts reclaiming authority to ensure Congress's intent prevails. Though controversial, the Supreme Court's Loper Bright decision is a vital reaffirmation of constitutional balance between the executive and legislative branches.

As global life expectancy rises, so too does the number of years people spend burdened by chronic disease. Modern medicine has turned death sentences into "manageable conditions," but manage is the key word here. Should we measure population health solely on how long people live, or shift our attention to the years they are healthy and active?

Just when you thought the opioid crisis may have peaked, Dr. Andrew Kolodny, arguably the world’s foremost anti-opioid zealot, has found a shiny new way to inflate the numbers. In the HHS’s redefining of opioid use disorder (OUD) to include patients responsibly taking their prescribed meds, he’s managed to conjure millions of “new” cases out of thin air. But don’t worry, it’s all in the name of “progress.” That's because nothing says compassionate care like labeling chronic pain patients as addicts and patting yourself on the back for the chaos you helped create.

Does fructose, one of today's boogeymen, cause cancer? According to a fascinating
paper in Nature, it does so in cultured cells, zebrafish, and mice by creating a specific
class of lipids that are convincingly shown to promote tumor growth. Should we worry?

Milk has long been hailed as a cornerstone of a healthy diet, yet modern debates paint a muddled picture of its actual value. Critics point to raw milk outbreaks, saturated fat concerns, and A1 vs. A2 protein controversies, leaving consumers wondering where science truly stands. Let’s explore what the research says about milk’s risks, benefits, and place in a balanced diet.

Treating addiction first requires that we understand it. As it turns out most people know little about what addiction actually is, and even less about what causes it. An expert breaks down the issue, so we can better understand what we're seeing unfold around the country.

Using made up numbers, The Lancet reports that surgery is the third greatest burden of global disease, right after cardiovascular disease and stroke. In order to save lives should surgeons actually "put down the knife"?

With women opting for "free birth" or "unassisted birth" the stakes are only getting higher. Dismissing medical advice is also taking the form of a misguided practice of prolonging delivery well beyond due dates.

The media hits keep coming ... and coming ... and coming. Here's where our dedicated experts appeared in recent days, promoting evidence-based science.

Perfluorooctanoic acid, or PFOA, is a chemical commonly found in household products. Its purpose is to resist stains, grease, and other assaults. And it's been in the news for several years. In many workplaces and communities, PFOA has become a household name while triggering fears of adverse health effects and expensive, never-ending environmental cleanups. What’s going on? Let's take a look.

The United Kingdom released a five-year and a 20-year plan for combatting antimicrobial resistance. Both are worth a careful read – especially if you're interested in efforts on stewardship and research support. But there's something buried in the five-year version that's less than straightforward. Let's take a look.

As frigid temperatures are sweeping a large portion of the country, government officials from severely impacted regions are issuing "Code Blue" alerts. Use of them is spreading some confusion, so let's clarify what the term actually means.

Vaccine resistance is one of the top 10 threats to global health. New York City is currently experiencing its worst outbreak of measles in decades, sickening scores of children in ultra-Orthodox Jewish neighborhoods. Prominent health organizations and advocacy groups have called on state legislatures to eliminate religious and philosophical exemptions.

In 2017, Amazon bought Whole Foods. Amazon's CEO, Jeff Bezos, built his billion-dollar empire on technology. Therefore, you might expect that Whole Foods would become a little friendlier to biotech. But if you did that, you would be wrong.

Step therapy generally refers to trying one medicine after another, in order to get the best response for your patient. Most insurance companies believe that the lowest cost is the "best" approach. But an often-overlooked issue for both physicians and their patients is stepping down treatments, or eliminating unnecessary meds that are no longer necessary or "align with patient interests."

Telemedicine is a first step towards digitizing the world of medicine, while improving and increasing access to care and reducing out-of-pocket costs.

Question: How do you know when a "study" isn't really a study? Answer: When those who performed it also write up a brochure, hyping its results before actually bothering to publish a scientific paper.

Íris Erlingsdóttir, a journalist and chronic pain patient, has experienced first-hand the war against pain patients, which has been dressed up as a war against opioid addiction. She points out some of the problems with flawed opioid strategies.

In the rush to show the ill effects of Brexit, the British Medical Journal published a piece saying that reduced consumption of fruits and vegetables will be responsible for thousands of UK citizens dying unnecessarily. If it were true -- and it is not -- perhaps mentioning it before the vote would have been helpful.