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Given the thoroughly unscientific and litigious milieu in which we live, companies find themselves scrambling to appease the uneducated Twitter mob and apologizing for being in business. That's why it's such a breath of fresh air when a company stands up to the hysteria and gives a full-throated endorsement of science.

The good news: Aromatherapy won't give you cancer. The bad news: It won't do anything else either. But it is full of chemicals, some of which are considered to be carcinogens. Especially in California.

Scott Gottlieb is warning the public not to buy alleged sun-protection supplements from four companies – because they do not work. The FDA Commissioner says that if an effective, ingestible product was legally on the market, it would be considered a drug and would require FDA approval. But the agency has never approved such a product. So what should you stay away from? Here's the info.

Society often pathologizes normal development. When this is done, a medicine must be made for treatment (needed or not). The FDA recently called out a group of over-the-counter drugs for being harmful and without benefit for infant teething.

Many people believe that scientists, who have the most knowledge on a particular topic, are often the least able to provide a straight answer. It happened in the early 1970s, when environmental activists claimed supersonic planes, like the Concorde SST, would punch a hole in the ozone layer. Which led to this famous quote by an exasperated U.S. Senator.

The American food supply is safer and more nutritious today than at any point in history. And this decade the CDC found that 8 out of 10 Americans were not even at risk for nutritional deficiencies. Despite this, millions of Americans still fear the safety of their food. Why?

Three companies involved in kratom supplements have been warned by the Food and Drug Administration for illegally selling unapproved drug products. Meanwhile, these outfits have been making bogus claims saying the supplements help address opioid addiction and withdrawal, while also treating pain.

The ingratitude expressed by the National Science Foundation over a huge funding increase for an important project is inexplicable.

Dupixent, a drug that already works miracles for people with eczema, has been found to be very effective for treatment of severe asthma. Nothing else does this. Keep this in mind the next time you think that the pharmaceutical industry is not innovative. 

We need to control pharmaceutical prices. FDA commissioner Scott Gottlieb has a number of proposals, but we need to make sure that they are both practical and effective.

Throughout its history, ebola has caused humanity to hunker down and hope for the best. But in the Democratic Republic of Congo, the battle has turned. Instead of containment, quarantine and waiting it out, science is attacking.

Despite best efforts, it's very difficult to maintain a 100% gluten-free diet, something that's imperative for the health of people with celiac disease. However, an experimental new drug, designed to be taken after an accidental gluten exposure, may help keep people with celiac disease genuinely gluten-free. 

A new study details the call burden on U.S. Poison Control Centers of both unintentional and intentional exposures to medications used to treat attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Just substitute the substance and read why it's the same story, just a different day.

In Los Angeles, scores of drivers using navigation apps looking for shortcuts around traffic jams are being unwittingly re-routed to one of the steepest streets in the country. And with reports of frightening incidents on this scary series of inclines, city officials announced they're putting new safety measures in place.

We're programmed to live and then die and some aspects of aging are caused by the combined effect of many genes that are beneficial when young. But they have adverse effects at older ages.

There's crazy, and then there is crazy. This is both. Researchers in China are exploring herbs and acupuncture to treat pain and perhaps mitigate the carnage of the opioid fentanyl crisis. Where does the fentanyl come from? China. Go figure. 

Nearly a century ago, Lord Carnavon, who attended the opening of King Tut’s Tomb, died shortly afterwards, in April 1923. At the time, the sensational media linked his death to supernatural causes activated by the curse of the mummy’s tomb. More recently, this tale was rationalized by suggesting that his death was due to ancient disease causing microbes, lurking in the tomb, rather than supernatural influences.

Healthcare has cultural roots. Chicken soup as “Jewish penicillin” exemplifies one culture’s role in signifying quality, remedy and affective connotations like comfort. Meanwhile, many choose traditional Chinese medicine over its Western counterpart, a decision that provides insight but leaves us with some questions. 

A premature infant is born with a form of severe lung injury that carries a 20% chance of survival. Her physician decides to throw a medical “Hail Mary” and try an untested adult technique to bypass the injured lungs. The infant survives, and after a few more tries, the physician realizes that the survival rate may be as high as 80% with this new treatment. Does he know enough that the treatment should become standard practice, or is a randomized clinical trial required?

Few life experiences are crueler than childhood cancer, but this blatant unfairness motivates some of the best, kindest and most heartfelt medical care. In that light, clinicians in adult oncology can learn a great deal from pediatric cancer practices.

EWG warns the public about pesticide residues on produce, and tell people to buy organic instead. What they leave out is all of the organic pesticides, some even sprayed on the day food gets on the truck.

The Environmental Working Group (EWG) loves ratings and listicles. But they must not love delicious baked goods, since they also go after cinnamon rolls, muffins, and donuts — and the supposed culprit isn't new nor surprising.

Drug shortages are being reported more frequently; physicians are asked to postpone elective care. Rather than continue to blame greed or hidden agendas perhaps we might consider the findings of the Government Accountability Office.

The recently published meta-analysis by the American Institute for Cancer Research is a summary of summaries. As you might expect, something is always lost in summation. In this instance, the loss is useful, credible information.

"Follow the money!" activists shout. The money trail, according to this logic, always leads to lies and deception.
This puerile fallacy, argumentum ad aurum, is just a thinly disguised ad hominem attack commonly used against scientists. Instead of criticizing the quality or conclusions of the research, activists instead assault the integrity of the scientist.