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In the no good deed goes unpunished department, California s Gilead Sciences has come under attack by Congressman Henry Waxman a perennial critic of the drug industry. In this case, the issue is the price of Gilead s Sovaldi one of the most revolutionary new drugs to come along in some time.

Bariatric surgery (weight-loss surgery) is widely acknowledged as an effective treatment for obesity, especially for individuals

This week's wrap highlights the latest findings on the relationship between saturated fat and cardiovascular health, our shout-out to ACSH friend Michael Shaw for his knowledge and writings on the infamous Andrew Wakefield scandal, and why an astounding number of Americans believe medical conspiracy theories!

A couple of months ago, a scary op-ed in the NYTimes warned about the cancer epidemic being fed by excessive CT scans. We debunked it then, and now Medscape s dialogue provides more perspective, featuring an ACSH advisor.

The Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA), a joint project of the Department for Health and Human Services and the USDA, must be re-evaluated and updated every five years. The last set of DGAs was produced in 2010, and thus the next set is due in 2015. While the DGA is simply advisory for most Americans, it sets the agenda for the military, school food programs, prisons and federal workplaces.

We re pretty sure that by now you re at least somewhat familiar with the fraudulent (and supremely damaging) research done (made up, really) by Andrew Wakefield the former physician whose

CALIFORNIA DROUGHT REINFORCES URGENCY FOR GENETICALLY MODIFIED FARMING
NEW YORK, March 21, 2014 -- National Agriculture Day (March 25) arrives as legions of

More fearmongering hype about e-cigarettes: Minnesota Dept. of Health trumpets alarming increase in children s poisoning from e-cigarettes. Let s look at the data: nothing actually happened, but let s be very afraid anyway.

About 7 million Americans have Alzheimer s disease today, burdening families with not only the added role of providing care

Statins, drugs that lower LDL (bad) cholesterol levels, are perhaps the most widely prescribed pharmaceuticals in the United States. Currently nearly 43 million US adults 38 percent of Americans

Teenage American girls are more likely to get pregnant than teens living in any other developed country. Although teenage

When trying to restore brain circulation to a stroke victim, minutes even seconds count. One minute faster led to 2 days more of health.

Measles has been much in the news of late, especially with respect to the outbreak in New York City. Currently, there have been 20 confirmed cases of measles, nine children and eleven adults. And now,

As a group that deals with medical misinformation virtually every day, we at ACSH (falsely) believed that we were inured from the worst scientific and medical garbage out there.
We are sorry to say that even we miscalculated the capacity of the American public to fall victim to the most idiotic conspiracy theories.

Could it be: saturated fat unproven as heart risk? What s next: drugs and alcohol also OK? Not what momma told us!

David P. Ropeik, Director of Communications for Harvard s Center for Risk Analysis, has produced a hard-hitting essay in Scientific American that skewers anti-GMO activists such as Greenpeace and the Sierra Club for their stance.

Vitamin D plays an important role in maintaining strong bones. Observational studies have also suggested that vitamin D plays an important role in heart health. And now, a new study published in the

We at ACSH are sure that you have heard us comment repeatedly that nothing surprises us anymore, because we ve already heard it all.

The National Cancer Institute Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER) program, the North American Association of

Opinion piece by Richard Tren calls out the activists posing as public health scientists on key issues. His the emperor has no clothes essay should be required reading for environmentalists.

A recent report in the journal The Lancet Respiratory Medicine provides some surprising information about who might spread influenza.

Medical wrap for Friday, March 14: Dr. Josh Bloom's latest piece on Science 2.0 regarding yet another harmless chemical scare, Dr. Gilbert Ross testifies in Philadelphia against e-cig regulation, measles outbreak in NY, and you're in luck- we're sharing the world's best Key Lime Pie recipe in honor of Pi Day.

Last week, the New York City Department of Health announced that it is investigating an outbreak of measles in northern Manhattan and the Bronx. By March 7, the NYC DOH had identified 16 cases seven adults and nine pediatric cases.

If you pay attention to health news, it seems like every day, something new is blamed for causing cancer. And how fitting that on the 30th anniversary of the first handheld cell phone, cell

would like to nominate Arvind Mahankali to be the next head of the USDA. Why? He is obviously very smart, has an outstanding work ethic, and a superb vocabulary. He may...[Read more].