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For those of us interested in nutrition, the topic keeps coming up: What food or foods are essential for human health? For example, do we really need to drink milk? The answers to these and other questions might surprise you.

GNC is just one of many companies that has profited by selling junk to a scientifically-naive public. But, perhaps they haven't profited enough. The company is in financial trouble. And we are not losing sleep over it.

The ongoing battle over whether glyphosate causes cancer seemingly ended April 29, with the online posting of an EPA report stating that the herbicide should be classified as “Not Likely to be Carcinogenic to Humans.” But then, the report was taken down from the website three days later. Here's our summary of the findings, in the context of the 30 year-long disagreement.

Gout was long considered a disease for the nobility, since the wealthy who ate rich foods were most likely to get it. Today, journalists, invariably working for large corporations run by very wealthy people, perhaps can't resist the chance to take indirect jabs at their bosses. In a new paper, gout was found to be the subject of humor in 26.3 percent of articles analyzed.

There are bad studies, and worse studies. This one could be either: Pyrethroid pesticides, which have been used for 50 years, are all of a sudden causing autism? We think not.

Participants in the "Biggest Loser" reality TV contest are able to shed massive amounts of weigh — frequently, 100 pounds or more. But followup studies indicate that maintaining that sizeable loss isn't a piece of cake, because often the body's metabolism fights back.

In mid-2015 Canadian teens (ages 15 to 17) visited more than 4,000 stores to try to purchase e-cigarettes and, on average, they were turned away two thirds of the time. So as in any business, there are bad actors, but not all companies are simply making a buck trying to create a youth market addicted to their product.

Habituation — learning not to fear a harmless substance after being confronted with it on several occasions — exists in all animals, but was never observed in a non-neural organism. This discovery could improve existing understandings of the origins of learning.

Researchers analyzed that babies born to bilingual households tend to develop critical thinking skills before they even speak.

New federal guidelines advise primary care doctors to consider carefully when prescribing of opioid painkillers, and in an editorial a team of surgeons has recommended what the American Council on Science and Health testified to at the FDA in February; cutting back on the number of opioid pills prescribed to patients after surgery.

To retire or not to retire — an important issue for older folks. Some research suggests working folks live longer, but other studies suggest that people make beneficial lifestyle changes when they retire. What a conundrum! Take a look at both sides.

Sepsis occurs when the body’s response to infection goes into overdrive, leading to tissue damage, organ failure, and death. Sepsis has an overall mortality rate of between 20 and 50 percent, and kills more people than do HIV and breast cancer. It afflicts up to 500,000 people a year in the U.S. and millions more worldwide,.

Newsweek journalist loses his mind, Mother Jones coincidentally defends them immediately
A journalist demanding that another journalist not use a science site as a source? Someone not only doesn't want us to talk about science they happen not to accept, they demand that everyone else suppress us also? If it sounds weirdly social authoritarian, yeah, it is, but unsurprising in modern corporate media.

Colonoscopies have been hailed as the hero for the decreasing the incidence and death from colon cancer. An essay, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, claims that other factors, not just colonoscopy screenings, are contributing to the decline.

In the United States it has become so popular for anti-science groups to blame hydraulic fracturing - fracking - for earthquakes that it might seem like little actual research is being done without an agenda.

Medicaid gets hundreds of billions of dollars in funding, and more coming with Obamacare. So why only spend $100 million preventing smoking?

The Asian Flush, also known as the Asian Glow, or Alcohol Flush Reaction, can be pretty debilitating. The condition is usually associated with red faces, and flushing of the neck area. But for some of Asian descent, it also results in symptoms such as heightened heart rate, headache, and nausea -- from consuming as little as one alcoholic drink.

With a reported mortality rate of 30 percent, awareness of susceptibility to Capnocytophaga canimorsus infection is important for immune-suppressed groups. But otherwise it's OK for your dog to lick you.

What happens when a family leads a "plastic-free" life for two months? You may be surprised.

Pokémon Go encourages players to find and 'catch' Pokémons by taking a walk in the real world and getting some exercise to boot.

Medical Ethics via Shutterstock

The news is good; since children rarely discriminate against sticking their fingers in the mouth, even if you try to deter them by coating their nails with Paprika (Sorry, mom!).

A strange recipe for bug repellant is all over the Internet. Is there any science behind it?

A colder temperature slows down a viral-infected cell's ability to commit suicide.

Activist scientists have been forced to retract two papers claiming they showed higher pollution near natural gas wells.