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Former New York Times columnist Mark Bittman enthusiastically endorses a tax on soda and other sweetened beverages that's now being considered in Philadelphia. While this may seem appealing to people who believe that sugar is a major contributor to America's health problems, when you really examine the logic of such a tax, there isn't much there.

Researchers have found that ketamine, when used as an alternative to haloperidol for sedating combative patients, yielded quicker onset to sedation time, but with more adverse side effects.

The language of science has been hijacked. Those who are looking to make a quick buck (or in the case of the organic industry, 43 billion bucks) have no qualms about twisting the definition of highly precise scientific terminology to suit their own profit-driven agendas. Here's a brief glossary of the some of the most commonly misused scientific terms. (Note: the health food and fad diet industries are among the biggest abusers.)

The immune system of cancer patients fails to recognize aberrant cancer cells as foreign invaders. However, as researchers from the University of Oslo have observed, if grown in the presence of healthy donor cells, donor T cells can recognize cancer cells, which can be used as a potential guide for future cancer treatments.

While new-rule skeptics and baseball purists are already howling that creating a time limit for pitchers will not speed up a Major League Baseball game enough to justify its creation, there's another precinct checking in to voice concern about the controversial proposal: medical science. New research suggests more pitcher injuries could result.

The most important meal of the day is breakfast, right? Not so much, according to a recent review that soundly critiques research on the topic. Breakfast skippers are not more prone to obesity or heart disease, and well-nourished kids will not have lower IQs without breakfast.

In a recent op-ed in USA Today, Senior Fellow in Biomedical Science Dr. Alex Berezow and Council President Hank Campbell discuss what a Donald Trump presidency could mean for America's science and health policy.

In an effort to clamp down on counterfeit food, a research group in Italy has devised a chemical test to help determine the authenticity of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. This is according to a report published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.

There is no disputing the fact that the U.S. is overwhelmed by addiction to opioid narcotic drugs. The number of prescriptions written for the drugs has dropped past three years. This sounds encouraging, but have new laws gone too far? Maybe so.

1. Leave it to the weird health and science group at Consumers Union to declare not only that acrylamide causes cancer, but that they know how to prevent it.

The health insurance company is attempting to support of the federal government in its effort to curb the rampant over-prescribing of opioid drugs. However, large, sweeping changes to physician prescribing is a one-size-fits-all approach to a crisis that desperately needs anything but.

With the nation's exploding opioid epidemic, Eugene Monroe's quest to steer NFL players away from widespread use of painkillers and possible opioid addiction continues to receive attention. And publicly confronting the most popular sports enterprise in America -- from within, as a current player with the Baltimore Ravens -- will surely get you noticed. As will calling the NFL's chief executive a liar. Part 2 of 2.

Reality TV star, "Mob Wife" Angela Riaola died of extensive cancers caused by her long-term smoking addiction. Why can't our scientists find effective ways to prevent or treat this key public health crisis: cigarette smoking addiction?

Some of the top health stories making news over the last 48 hours.

Researchers subjected rats to different exercises and assessed what effect if any they had on brain structure and function. And they learned that a good aerobic workout improves gray matter, a finding that could have healthy implications for humans.

Despite enormous news coverage, there's still very little known about the Zika virus. What we do know is that recently there have been two important studies that strengthen the link between the virus and birth defects, and that there are now 30 countries where it's found.

Your mother might have told you not to chew gum it's bad for your teeth, and it sticks your stomach together, etc. But in some cases, your doctor might actually prescribe a little gum chewing to help you recover from the effects of surgery.

If you suffer from migraines, you know how debilitating the pain can be; and we know you'd do anything to make them go away

Researchers have been able to identify a gene that determines maleness in mosquitoes, and if that were introduced into females it could potentially help wipe out the vector for the Zika virus infection. This method could also be applied to fighting other diseases such as yellow fever, Dengue and Chikungunya.

While Apple wages a legal battle with the FBI, and the debate rages on over whether the privacy of every cell user could eventually be jeopardized if Apple complies and unlocks a terrorist's phone, interestingly there may be some private information on your phone that you might voluntarily want to make available, under certain circumstances.

Despite the global ubiquity of the smartphone, there are still those who would like one of their own, but due to physical limitations involving their hands and fingers they remain out of reach. But with a new invention -- the world's first touch-free smartphone -- that is now changing.

A real-world chronic kidney disease comparison makes an important point about how positive science and health outreach gets done.

"Pop-up" clinics, which serve the uninsured around the country, are helping to bring health care to those who cannot afford even routine services. Services are free mainly because medical practitioners are work voluntarily. Many would-be patients sleep in their cars the night before to help ensure that they will be seen.

Wearable devices, like wrist phones and fitness trackers, have become one of the most popular trends in recent years. But drivers may get in on the action, with Ford training its high beams on wearable health monitors, which it hopes to use in its vehicles with the goal of increasing driver safety.

A large fraction of studies on humans at major academic centers listed on clinicaltrials.gov are never reported. Over one-third never come to light, and many others take far too long. This leads to a distortion of science-based public health.