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Diet sodas increase your risk of stroke and who knows what else, according to a new, off-based study. But before you you pour all your soda stock down the sink, hear this: That new study has nothing to say about a causal connection between diet drinks and cardiovascular ailments. And here are the reasons why.

The weekly report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention on the dead and dying is morbidly fascinating. In both men and women, heart disease and cancer are #1 and #2 killers, respectively. However, everything changes after that. 

A new University of Iowa study shows that before their teen years, children do not have the perceptual judgment to safely cross a road with traffic. This affirms common wisdom. It's also why we have school crossing guards for small children.

The IARC monograph program on Evaluation of Carcinogenic Risks must be reformed and brought into the 21st century – or it should be abolished

If you have a long commute that consists of sitting on a bus, train or car, it may be time to think differently. A new study found that biking to work reduces the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and all causes of mortality. So, if you want an easy way to make a big improvement in your health, jump on your bike the next time you head to work.  

Bacteria were conquered, at least temporarily, when modern antibiotics arrived on the scene. But the scene has changed. The bugs are fighting back and winning, which is putting us in a dangerous mess. In this chapter of his multi-part series, "What Will the Next Plague Be?" Dr. Steve Schow examines what can happen if we don't come up with better weapons against resistant bacteria.

One way to learn about how antibiotics work is to visualize their accumulation within bacterial cells. But this is no easy feat. So, a team of researchers from Penn State University and the pharmaceutical and biotechnology giant Novartis set about inventing a new technique.

English researchers have "found a new group of cells in the retina that directly affect the biological clock." It's a finding that could lead to eye medication to improve sleep patterns, providing solutions for jet-lag sufferers and drowsy, night-shift workers alike.

Recent research has forged a new reason to take B vitamin supplements — protection from the deleterious cardiovascular effects of air pollution. But the data are far from conclusive and much more work will have to support these results before their utility is proven. In the meantime, don't hold your breath.

It's one year after Berkeley, CA instituted a tax on sugar-sweetened beverages, and the results are in. Among them: there was no significant  drop in caloric intake, even using self-reports and their known limitations. So consumers paid a bit more and saw no benefit. 

Like a headache, pneumonia is a symptom or condition. Specifically, it's lung inflammation and it can be lethal. Lacking further information, simply having pneumonia provides no clue as to its underlying cause. Pneumonia can be the result of infection with bacteria, viruses or fungi. Which means there's no such thing as a "pneumonia vaccine."

A history professor at the University of Michigan claimed that carbon dioxide is deadlier than Sarin gas. Although it seemed implausible to the Council's chief chemist, the prof's claim was even more false than we imagined. The things you learn.

Pancreatic cancer is the most aggressive, least treatable form of the disease, and in a large majority of cases it reduces the victim's life expectancy to a matter of months. German researchers say they've discovered why it's so ravenous, and they've traced the cancer's aggressiveness to a key factor in its earliest growth and composition.

It is not fake science, it is not science at all to claim pollution makes us feel as bad as the death of a spouse. 
Media outlets like Newsweek thoughtlessly repeated the claim that air pollution will make someone just as unhappy as the death of a spouse, without doing any critical thinking. Luckily, you have us for that. Here we'll put that distorted comparison in proper context.
 

Spring is here. And with it comes pollen and mold spores, and close on their heels, hay fever. There are several means to treat this immune system dysfunction that can provide relief from the oft life-disrupting symptoms.

Another agenda-driven group is at it again, this time using our kids' school lunches for its own purposes. The vegetarian-centric Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine is suing California schools. The group wants to have processed meats removed from students' lunches – a move that's less about health and more about pushing its agenda. 

Spring is just around the corner, and with it comes another growing season. Eating a diet rich in fruits and vegetables can help lower calorie intake; reduce risks for heart disease, obesity and Type 2 diabetes; and protect against certain cancers.
With all these benefits, why do some consumers choose to avoid produce? Approximately three-quarters of people in the U.S. don’t eat enough fruits and vegetables, according to the 2015 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

The public is becoming increasingly skeptical of science. It's the natural outcome of a society that's hyper-partisan, and one that's told to be ever-more distrustful of expertise and authority. It's not surprising, therefore, that research perceived as even mildly controversial is immediately met with the charge "Follow the Money!" 

Oscar Wilde believed “Life imitates art far more than art imitates life.” After viewing the accompanying video animation of the anatomical relationships of Pectoralis Major and Minor created by Dr. Raf Ratinam, we became truly inspired. 

It's very common for people who eat right, watch their weight and don't smoke to ignore a smart sleeping regimen. The proper amount of nightly sleep is essential to ward off illness and maintain overall good health. And sustained lack of sleep is linked to a myriad of significant health problems.

Are there roles for others – those creatively or empathetically inclined to contribute to the field of medicine – that don't involve participating in the arduous, traditional medical school track? The answer: An emphatic yes!

April is autism awareness month and the FDA isn't missing a beat, warning about fraudulent autism treatments – like chelation therapies and detoxifying clay baths. Not only are they expensive, they're completely ineffective. It's time to smoke out these snake oil salesmen who are preying on parents who just want to help their kids. 

The U.S. Prevention Services Task Force released its 2017 draft recommendations for prostate cancer screening. Here we extensively address the new guidelines, clarify the role of the PSA test, and delve deeper into the topic with Dr. David Samadi, Chairman of Urology and Chief of Robotic Surgery at New York's Lenox Hill Hospital.

The Standard Homeopathic Co. issued a voluntary recall of its teething products, sold under the name Hyland, after the FDA repeatedly cited concerns over inconsistent – and excessive – levels of Belladonna, a toxic chemical. 

As if coral reefs worldwide aren't in bad enough shape, the last thing we need is something that intentionally kills them. But "cyanide fishing" – an illegal method to stun and catch tropical fish for aquariums – persists, especially in Southeast Asia. However, using some analytical chemistry we're one step closer to stopping this practice.