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Consumers really want to eat more algae, says an advocate at the Solazyme corporation, which makes, you guessed it, products from algae, like cooking oil and...meat.

In 2013, a combined panel of cardiology and lipid experts under the aegis of the American College of Cardiology and the American Heart Association (ACC/AHA) published revised recommendations for candidates for statin therapy to reduce the risk of cardiovascular events (heart attack, stroke or sudden death due to coronary artery disease: CVD). Rather than focusing, as always before (e.g. the ATP-III published in 2003) on lipid levels, LDL especially, the new report emphasized overall heart risk using other parameters including age, weight, blood pressure, and diabete

We ve written before on scientific fraud and the problem of how easy it is to get papers with fake or manipulated data published. These studies that somehow make it through the publishing process can range from relatively harmless, such as the deliberately faked chocolate is good for weight loss study,

A new study from the researchers at British American Tobacco, working with MatTek Corp., found that up to six hours of cellular exposure to e-cigarette vapor left the lung tissue unaffected. Cigarette smoke damaged the same tissue with a dose-response effect: at 6 hours of exposure, only 12 percent of the cells remained alive.

Few industries evoke an emotional response greater than the pharmaceutical industry. This cannot be surprising, since drug companies are typically viewed by the public as either providing miraculous life-altering therapies, or greedy instruments of Satan. There is little middle ground.
So, it is rather surprising that a new law, called the 21st Century Cures Act, has been overwhelmingly approved by the House, 344-77 on July 10th.
The new law, also known as H.R. 6, gives more latitude to the FDA in tailoring its safety and efficacy requirements for the approval of breakthrough medicines. Such drugs (as well as breakthrough medical devices) that are given this designation will no

This week s U.S. News & World Report features an article by Health and Science Writer K. Aleisha Fetters entitled, Are Health Foods Making You Fat?--experts share how healthy foods can derail your diet.
The intentionally misleading title attracts attention, but of course her intent is to warn her readers not to be bamboozled by health claims prominently displayed on food labels, which upon closer inspection turn out not to be so conducive to a healthy diet as it seemed.

Here s a hot investment tip: buy shares in Blockbuster. As many as you can afford. Put in all of Johnny s and Jill s college funds. A wave of nostalgia is bringing VHS back.
Are you going to do it? Do you trust me?

Despite the success created by natural gas and science and the free market, the Obama administration has created new arbitrary rules that set national limits on carbon dioxide coming from existing power plants. That's a big mistake if the environment is important.

One of the main images most Americans have of farming is of a plow being pulled by a tractor (or in more antiquated images livestock) turning the land. Technically speaking this act is referred to as tillage: the preparation of soil for planting by mechanically turning it over. Today, most global farmland is prepared in this way and has been for several millennia.

It must be nice to have a job with so much free time on your hands that you can do just about anything, regardless of merit, and not only get away with it, but, rather, be rewarded for it.

In April 2014, the FDA proposed rules that would require e-cigarettes, including liquid nicotine and devices, to be approved by the agency. That would be a challenge, e-cigarette manufacturers say, because the FDA has never approved a new tobacco product.
Companies would have six months after the FDA completes its rules to register products and ingredients with the agency, and two years to complete the process of seeking approval which they may or may not get.

In a piece dripping with sardonic disgust, Toronto Globe and Mail columnist Tabatha Southey took on the new curriculum at the august University of Toronto recently. Entitled Anti-vaccine course brings U of T one step closer to offering a masters of pseudoscience, Ms. Southey takes note of the recently-released official report of the approval of a course called Alternative Health: Practice and Theory, to be taught (so to speak) by the well-known homeopath Beth Landau-Halpern.

It has long been recognized that there is a link between various psychiatric illnesses, especially schizophrenia, and heavy cigarette smoking. However, the reasons why such a link may

The American Council on Science Health is sad to announce the passing of internationally renowned environmental scientist Dr. Paul Lioy, 68, professor of environmental and occupational health at the Rutgers University School of Public Health.
In 1999-2000, along with Dr. C. Everett Koop and fifteen other luminaries, Dr. Lioy was o

The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) is a giant among anti-science groups, a $100 million per year juggernaut that is able to bully companies into writing checks in return for calling off the invective among the many satellite organizations in its orbit.
Republicans in the Senate seem to have finally had enough.
The NRDC is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit prohibited from political activity but they refuse to disclose their donors so there has long been a belief that their dislike for one political party is not based on genuine concern about the public. Due to their giant coffers, they are able to wield an outsized level of mindshare amo

Remember when the Kennedy name used to mean something?
Well toda

Every time we as a society face an emerging pathogen (think H1N1 in 2009 and Ebola right now), scientists race to create a vaccine so we can start mass immunizations to protect the public. But why do we do this only for human diseases?

The association between maternal use of antidepressants, especially selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) during pregnancy, and birth defects in newborns and infants, has been the topic of much discussion in recent years. A new study, published in the BMJ, finds a small increased risk of two SSRIs (Paxil/paroxetine and Prozac/fluoxetine) with some birth defects, but not others (including the most commonly used SSRI,

Ever since the Vioxx withdrawal in 2004, studies have linked nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) to elevated risk of cardiovascular events (CVD). A boxed warning by the FDA on these common painkillers is now going to be augmented with stronger warnings.

Environmentalists want you to worry that plastic is causing the uterus of pregnant women to change. Here is the actual science.

Medicare announced that the program the federal insurance coverage for over-65s will reimburse caregivers for end-of-life planning discussions. Can we just discuss this without falling prey to that old death panel hysteria c. 2009?

In a way, science achieved a win in the battle over GMO crops in Europe.
However, since it's Europe the result ends up being more of the same for this increasingly anti-science continent.
The EU faces a vote on a proposal to loosen restrictions on growing GE crops and as the vote looms, countries like Ireland are trying to determine whic

California gets a lot of criticism from us for often not being on the side of science. But in the past few months, they ve done some serious good for the public health.

In an opinion column in today s New York Times, Drs. Dariush Mozaffarian of Tufts University and David S. Ludwig of Boston Children s Hospital describe the historical trajectory of official nutrition advice that has led to the demonization of dietary fat. Beginning with the 1980 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, an official goal has been to get Am

Each year since 2005, The Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI) has awarded the Balles Prize in Critical Thinking, a prize that recognizes excellence in the promotion of science and reason, to individuals (sometimes more than one) who have taken on any number of controversial topics.