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Some new, alarming information from the World Health Organization shows that we need a better understanding of how to correct the problem of antibiotic-resistant infections in humans. A large, multi-country survey revealed widespread confusion of how antibiotics should be used.

The U.S. Department of Justice is now finally doing what the FDA has been prevented from attempting in the past -- it's taking down makers and sellers of supplements, pursuing criminal and civil charges stemming, in part, from unlawful advertising practices.

On the Today show, actor Charlie Sheen told the world that he is HIV-positive. This was once considered a death sentence. However, it is now possible to manage this chronic disease, and nearly eliminate the risk of transmission by suppressing the viral load. Here's an explanation on how that's done.

Some bacteria have become resistant to many antibiotics, leading many health officials to express concerns that soon we may not be able to cure diseases that used to be susceptible to such drugs. Another possible reason for this resistance is the non-therapeutic use of antibiotics in food animals.

In another case of science versus politics, it's Dr. David Seres squaring off with Utah Sen. Orrin Hatch on the topic of supplements. Who should we believe, an ethical physician focused on improving public health or a career politician whose state has become a hotbed for sleazy supplement companies hawking dangerous products?

We're pleased to report that over the twelve-month period ending in October 2007, ACSH's paper "Low-Calorie Sweeteners and Other Sugar Substitutes: A Review of the Safety Issues" by Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D., Manfred Kroger, Ph.D., and Kathleen Meister was the twelfth most popular download on the influential online journal Comprehensive Reviews in Food Science and Food Safety.

An October 2, 2007 post at Portfolio.com criticizing editor Neal Boulton notes his magazine's poor ranking in ACSH's survey of nutrition reporting:

In their Journal of the American Medical Association article (1), Lang et al. conclude that their findings of an association between urinary bisphenol A (BPA) and medical disorders are consistent with studies in laboratory animals -- and that their results support the contention that exposures to low doses of BPA have adverse effects in humans. Although the study deploys sophisticated statistical analyses in exploring this association, a careful examination of the research methodology raises questions about the validity of their conclusions.

MORNING DISPATCH 10/10/08: Tobacco, Infections, HIV, and Rights for Plants

In the years since the 1999 Koop report on DEHP and DINP -- and the NTP-CERHR evaluations of seven phthalate esters conducted from 1998-2000 -- there have been a large number of new studies on possible toxic effects of phthalates. Many of these have been incorporated into the deliberations of expert panels, including those representing a variety of European Commission scientific agencies. The latest of these, focused on DEHP, appeared in early 2008.

After ten years of prominently posting nutritional information in its dining halls, Harvard University recently decided to remove the displays of each dish's calorie count.

The summer of 2008 has not been very good for the organic food industry. Below is a compendium of this summer's news items, followed by my remarks.

MORNING DISPATCH 9/12/08: McDonald's, FDA, Botox, Helmets, Drinking Water, and Religious Diets

MORNING DISPATCH 9/5/08: McCain vs. Pharma, Science vs. Cancer Claim, plus Smoking, Shots, and Obesity

Over the past four days, I have described the world food crisis -- and both obstacles to and hopes for coping with it through existing institutions -- and I mentioned that misplaced romanticism often affects these important decisions.

As I suggested in my previous three blog entries this week, as the need for global agricultural expansion continues, Africa is going to be the obvious place where others will seek for food security or that donors will see the obvious potential for food production expansion.

Over the past two days, I reviewed reasons for optimism and pessimism about food production. Today, let's take a closer look at how promising technological solutions to the current crisis must be tailored to the geographic regions that might benefit.

Asthma is a chronic condition in which a person s airways occasionally become inflamed, which causes swelling that obstructs airflow to the lungs.

For coffee and tea drinkers, choosing a sweetener pink, blue, or yellow packet? became more complicated with the introduction this month of TruvÃa, billed as "Nature's Calorie-Free Sweetener" and that has made a splashy debut at Rockefeller Center in Manhattan.
New York Sun came to ACSH for some evidence-based insight, cutting through hyped sweetness.

Killer hot dogs, the air conditioning in your car, cellphones, you will never leave the house if fear merchants like Natural Resources Defense Council have their way with your science education - and your wallet.
Fortunately, John Tierney at the New York Times is here to help and he asked American Council on Science and Health for help in itemizing the things that $200 million behemoths like NRDC want you to be worried about - but needn't be.

This article first appeared on July 22, 2008 in the New York Post:
City Health Commissioner Thomas Frieden apparently didn't notice the scandalous revelations about City Council "member items" earlier this year -- at least, it hasn't stopped him from jumping feet first into his own no-accountability giveaway.

This letter first appeared in the Los Angeles Times on July 28, 2008:
Re: "Panel OKs fast-food curbs," July 23

This piece first appeared in the Washington Times.

This piece originally appeared in the Washington Times.
Soy reduces sperm count! Or at least, that's what all the papers would be saying today if soy were an industrial chemical (like one of the three phthalates just banned by Congress).