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The lead-laden water crisis in Flint, Michigan has been a slow-motion failure of government and public health oversight at multiple levels. Do demonstrate this, here's a timeline, along with commentary, on how it happened. Why it happened is another story entirely.

A recent meta-analysis concluded, counterintuitively, that e-cigarettes might actually increase smoking instead of reducing it. How could that be? Dr. Stan Young, a ACSH Scientific Advisory Panel member, details how a meta-analysis works, and how it is so often misused.

Stuck indoors during the latest Snowmageddon? Grab some cocoa and some crystallography and learn how snowflakes form.

An advancement in online optometry is giving patients in need of a doctor's eye exam another option. Easy, convenient and affordable, this newest approach simplifies the check-up and prescription process. But without overall eye care being addressed, any hoopla over this kind of internet access might be premature.

A new study in JAMA Oncology proves that a type of the human papillomavirus, known to cause cervical and anal cancer, also causes cancers of the throat and head and neck. The proof of this revelation came via a simple, yet elegant method.

Metastatic cancer that is unresponsive to chemotherapy is considered incurable. But those days may be numbered, as scientists at the University of North Carolina may have uncovered the perfect system for delivering chemotherapy directly to the site of the cancer -- using a fraction of the conventional dose.

The health claims made by dietary supplement purveyors do not ring true, according to a "Frontline" exposé recently aired by PBS. Not only are many mislabeled as to content, some are actually dangerous and potentially lethal. Worse yet, the FDA can't get them off store shelves until someone is hurt or killed.

A recent seven-country study in JAMA evaluates approaches to cancer patient care in the last year of life. The findings were that the U.S. does unexpectedly well in several areas, but relies too much on ICU admission and chemotherapy at life's end, and too little on palliative care.

Hate chemicals? Then throw out that organic wine. A new study talks about all of the chemicals in wine -- and the Environmental Working Group will be horrified, because that adult beverage is chock full of cancer causers.

Sometimes bad science can lead to a good solution. Case in point: fixing a problem in 19th century London that miasma theory said should solve disease. A misunderstanding of the disease's nature ultimately proved beneficial when city officials solved the mystery of a real world issue -- nasty microbes.

"Supplements and Safety" an investigative report exposing the dangerous dietary supplement industry for what it really is aired last night on PBS. National coverage from a credible news outlet is welcome scrutiny of this important topic. If you missed it, please check your local listing for its next airing.

It's "Miracle Food" season again, and so the American Council takes a look back at food fads from the past. Because, as they say, if we don't learn from history ... we are doomed to repeat it.

Some claim that vegetarian diets are supposedly better for our health. Thus one might think that adhering to a vegetarian or vegan diet might reduce the risk of death. But that's not what a group of British researchers found when they analyzed the data.

A Phase I clinical trial in France resulted in one death and hospitalization of five other study participants, three of which have irreversible brain damage. Prosecutors there are beginning a manslaughter investigation which will threaten the stability of any future drug trial.

An outbreak of pertussis, otherwise known as whooping cough, in a Florida pre-school affected children who had been vaccinated almost a frequently as those who were not. The reason: our current vaccine's protection wanes. Therefore, a booster shot is needed.

While many couples feel they should hold off somewhat when trying to conceive again after a miscarriage, a new study shows that there's no need to wait. Indeed, those who tried again within three months had a somewhat better success rate than couples who waited longer.

A scathing report by the General Accountability Office, a federal watchdog organization, exposes serious flaws in the needed data collection by the FDA for fast-tracked drugs.

On a recent radio food program, a trade representative for an organic corporation objected to labels showing pesticide use. But if transparency is what's important, why did she protest?

What will cause environmentalists to suddenly accept science? The Zika virus. That and more in this weekend's ACSH update.

A new year and new you. For most of us looking to shed a few pounds this means one thing: time to diet. But this go 'round, instead of thinking about what you cannot eat, focus instead on embracing a better mental approach when you come to the table.

Whether performing in the operating room or on stage, for over 30 years cardiologist and country artist Cleve Francis has touched the hearts of both patients and music lovers. Now, he's trying to raise awareness on behalf of HIV/AIDS patients, who are now eligible for heart transplants.

When it comes to buying clothes or a computer, we know exactly what we're going to pay. So why not for medicine? Competition is supposed to bring prices down, but health care is one of the few areas where the service actually increases costs and no one seems to bother to ask why. That's why we are.

In a surprising show of unity, parents of soccer players stricken with cancer and synthetic turf companies are joining to question whether tiny rubber particles used on thousands of fields across the country are linked to the disease affecting hundreds of young players nationwide.

While consumers across the U.S. have embraced, and are enjoying, the benefits of genetically-modified products, papaya-loving Hawaiians had less of a choice when an agricultural crisis struck the state in the 1990s. But by using a cell-inserting device, plant specialists eradicated a deadly virus and saved a vital industry.

Sometimes it's hard to tell what foods are good, bad or just OK when it comes to health. One might expect labels of the front of packages to help out and they should but sometimes they're more misleading than helpful.