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In the 1970s, there was the Ford Pinto and Nehru jackets. In the 80s, pet rocks and the mullet. Since then we've been treated to house flipping, speed dating, Honey Boo Boo, and gluten-free everything. Pretty dumb, no? Not when compared to making your own prescription drugs at home. That's *really* dumb. And real. Sort of. 

The latest outbreak of the plague is alarming. Over the last two months, the World Health Organization reports 501 cases of plague – known as the Black Death to history buffs – on the island nation. Even more concerning: of those case, there's an 11 percent mortality rate. 

Marathon Day in New York City is almost here. After months of training, the light is at the end of the tunnel. Here, in our last article in this series, we look to our friends (who know much, much more about running marathons than we do) for their sound advice.

When you feel a cold coming on start popping zinc lozenges. That will do much more for you than vitamin C or Echinacea.

Frustrated in his attempts to repeal and replace Obamacare, the president recently turned to two measures to force Obamacare to “implode.”

Umbilical cord blood banking has gained notoriety ever since it was discovered that those cords are a rich supply of hematopoietic stem cells. Operating on the premise that cord blood samples are a form of "biological insurance" against potential future illness, cord blood banks are really selling a false promise.

With the New York City Marathon quickly approaching on Nov. 5, we've been wondering about these grueling races, in general. How many people run one each year? What's the average finish time, or the average runner's age? The answers, culled from last year's race data, may surprise you.  

When it comes to alcohol, the United States is incredibly puritanical. Our society has promoted the view that even a single drop of alcohol is harmful to developing babies. However, the totality of evidence does not support that belief at all.

Doctors, like any other human being, are capable of snapping. In a viral video, a Florida physician is seen unleashing his fury on a patient in his waiting room. But before casting judgment, here are a few points to consider.

In searching for a silver lining from the rock legend's passing, perhaps it's that we pay needed attention to automated external defibrillators – specifically, what they are and how easy they are to use. How simple? Sixth graders with no previous training performed the life-saving technique as well as EMTs. And so can you.

A One Direction concert-goer, whose difficulty breathing after “intense screaming” yielded a published case report in the Journal of Emergency Medicine, is not alone. Learn why this happens and who's at greatest risk.

It's time for an update on the sugary beverage tax war, and the Department of Justice's suit against United Healthcare for inflating patient risk and enhancing their payments. 

It's now apparent that two ideals of Hollywood culture – sexual liberty and feminism – are at odds with each other. Powerful people are still exploiting those they claim to care about.

An official representing retired Olympians told a gathering of anti-doping officials in London that to rid banned substances from future Olympics, microchips should be implanted in the athletes to constantly monitor for the presence of drugs. "We’re prepared to chip our dogs," he said, "so why aren’t we prepared to chip ourselves?”

A recent report by the Center for Disease Control's Morbidity and Mortality Weekly reveals grim statistics on suicide, with the highest rates linked to rural America.

Many science articles pushed into the media convey information about potential danger, even when these dangers are very unlikely. Why? A study of our behavior suggests it's our primitive lizard brain seeking to protect us from harm.

Believe it or not, researchers have shown that lethal levels of morphine and codeine could be extracted using poppy seeds purchased online, where recipes for home-brewed poppy seed tea could also be found.

Researchers at Harvard's Belfer Center scoured the globe for whatever was publicly available on North Korea's biological weapons program. Referencing news articles, journal papers, expert interviews and government reports, the team assembled a comprehensive study of the knowns and unknowns. Here are the main findings.

Ophthalmologists claim they use few opioids, especially compared to other physicians. No surprise there, since they don't treat conditions requiring those types of pain medicines. This "we are not to blame" mantra is gaining traction in medical journals. Apparently, no one wants to wear the scarlet "O."

Many of our readers have asked about the status of Dr. Friedman's trivalent sub-unit herpes vaccine. That's especially so after the failure of Genocea's GEN-003 vaccine candidate. Dr. Friedman, from the University of Pennsylvania, kindly agreed to an interview and his answers should address many of our reader's questions.

Some bad apples are apparently ruining it for the bunch for some Northeasterners. A New York State town unanimously passed a law that recently went into effect, holding parents accountable for their minor child’s violations. And some of the penalties could include prison time.

A visit to the chiropractor may include an unnecessary X-ray. One chiropractic association vehemently defends this practice and considers any questioning of it by medical personnel a "needless affront to the profession." We suggest that patients should question whether non-essential X-rays at the chiropractor are wise to have done.

When an issue arises over a scientific paper, there's a somewhat standard course of action that's used to handle disputes. However, when controversy recently erupted over a paper in the journal Nature, it was handled a different way – and some are wondering why. 

If you ask yourself: "What segment of the population is most increasing its drug intake?" then the best-sellers come into better focus. From there, think ... cholesterol ... heart ... thyroid.

Dr. Andrew Kolodny, the executive director of Physicians for Responsible Opioid Prescribing, has been waging war on prescription pain medications for years. His recently-published piece, "The Opioid Epidemic in 6 Charts," is full of inaccuracies – intentional or otherwise.