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We sometimes think that if you give people true, scientific information they will listen. But then that theory is blown away by a reality check, such as with the case of an Australian man who continued to take supplements derived from apricot kernels – that doctors told him was giving him chronic cyanide poisoning.

Medicare doesn't dispute how much pharmaceutical companies charge for their drugs. This laxity has inevitably led to the program being fleeced by them – to the tune of over a billion dollars. And that's just for a drug that doesn't even need to be in use.

Researchers from Johns Hopkins University report that they've set a new delivery distance record by using medical drones to safely deliver human blood samples 161 miles. The experiment in the Arizona desert ferried contents that "were viable for laboratory analysis after landing," with minimal related problems.

Ever wonder if your cabinet is full of expired medication? If so, what can you keep, and what should you toss?
 

The Biohacker Summit, the largest event of its kind in Europe which promotes DIY bio- and citizen-science, dis-invited David Avocado Wolfe from speaking. In doing so, officials there not only secured a win for the pro-science community, they also rejected the wacky pseudoscience that Wolfe, and his ilk, promotes. 

You can't buy Sudafed OTC anymore. In its place is something called Sudafed PE, which is useless. Why? It's all about crystal meth. A little chemistry lesson.

It is easy to see how the peer review process has flaws. How to fix those flaws is a bit more difficult. However, at the "Peer Review Congress" a group of scientists meets every four years to do just that, when they consider ongoing problems with the quality and credibility of science and discuss potential improvements. 

For nearly two decades the federal government has provided organic food corporations with a key ally. However, Miles McEvoy, the deputy administrator of USDA’s National Organic Program, is stepping down, so the road may get a bit rockier for that industry.

Exercise is good for us, and inactivity isn't. A new study emphasizes that not only is that true, but the pattern of inactivity – as well as the amount of inactive time – can increase the risk of mortality.

From a physical standpoint, life's late stages don't have to be progressively difficult. A new study by researchers from two British institutions found that adults who regularly exercise – not just several times a week, but also year in, year out – can remain healthy and function as if they were much younger than their actual ages. 

Reflections of a recent, unsettling winter event, along with suggestions on how to avoid unintentional injury.

What turns a relatively minor skin injury into the life-threatening horror show? That would be necrotizing soft tissue infection, otherwise known as a flesh-eating bacterial infection. New research suggests that a lack of antibodies against Streptococcus bacteria is a likely risk factor.

A recent report from the CDC shows about half of millennials aren't getting tested for HIV — a virus that was a sure killer in the 90s, but thanks to advancements in science has become a manageable illness. Still, millennials aren't taken it seriously. Why?

Society told PhD students that the world would be theirs one day. In truth, after six (or more) years of grueling work, PhDs find themselves exhausted, indebted and unemployable. Facing this reality, is it really any wonder there's evidence of a serious mental health crisis among graduate students?

The curator of Unseen Oceans, a new exhibit at New York's American Museum of Natural History, explained that one of the primary reasons oceanic discovery is accelerating is because of significant advances in technology – like robotics, satellite monitoring, miniaturization and high-definition imaging.

Welcome to the latest "Hypocrisy Alert." Today, we feature Barbra Streisand, who's an outspoken opponent of biotechnology – at least when it applies to genetic food modification. Yet she fails to see the irony of having two cloned dogs. Let us begin ... Cue the music ... Hit it ... 

Rheumatologists are just one example of the problems society faces regarding the number of physicians we "need" and where they are located. Physicians make choices as we all do, based on what is best for us and our families. 

Comorbidities are the other diseases a patient has, separate from the one of interest. The number of comorbidities for any given patient has increased, and their presence modifies how the "condition of interest" behaves clinically. Personalizing medicine means defining "disease" very differently.

New research into the 1918 and 2009 influenza pandemics reveal a potential warning sign: Mild cases of influenza that occur in the spring or summer may be a harbinger of a devastating pandemic to come in the autumn.

Environmental Working Group, which promotes fear and doubt about the (non-organic) American food supply, tries to pretend it isn't industry-driven. But given the group's cozy relationship with industry, it's no surprise officials have named Shazi Visram, a top organic baby food company founder, to its board.

There's a perennial shortage of donated kidneys, but the U.S. donor pool just got larger. Previously, more than 3 million infected with the hepatitis C virus couldn't be donors. But now, thanks to incredible new drugs, infected kidneys can be successfully transplanted. For this miracle, give the pharmaceutical industry a tip of the hat.

Hoping against hope, cell phone conversations – hands-free or not – continue to distract drivers. No two ways around that. But so does talking to the car's other occupants. 

Pollsters have taken a beating the last few years. Getting Brexit and the 2016 U.S. presidential election wrong were spectacular failures that shook the public's faith in prediction models.

Despite claims that organic furniture is less likely to kill you in a house fire, chemicals have a track record of making your safer.

Wheat is one of our most important crops. Unlike corn and soy, GMO versions are not sold. There are several reasons for that, but one is the complexity of the wheat genome and challenges of altering it. Now, CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing may have created a bigger, better wheat.