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The metaphor of healthcare as a river may open our eyes to why healthcare is hard to deliver and resistant to the broad strokes employed by the government or corporate interests.

Not only can beliefs in cures based on folklore  – such as traditional Chinese medicine – lead one to use ineffective or dangerous nostrums, they can also have a profound effect on the wildlife that's harvested to provide some of them. Here we acquaint readers with a few you may not have heard of.

A number of recent headlines imply that a new case study in the New England Journal of Medicine proves that gene therapy has cured sickle cell disease — a genetic disorder that causes tremendous pain, suffering and diminished life expectancy. Let's unpack the significance of the researchers’ findings.

If you're one of the millions of Americans who is denied a good night's sleep because of multiple trips to the bathroom, you will want to check out this new drug which was just approved by the FDA.

Not only is science journalism susceptible to the same sorts of biases that afflict regular journalism, but it's uniquely vulnerable to outrageous sensationalism – this or that will either cure cancer or kill us all. So to promote good outlets while castigating the bad, we partnered with RealClearScience to create a handy chart. 

We recently discussed the impact of President Trump's address before Congress (and the world) on the rare Pompe disease. Now, we dive into the topic of why these types of “Orphan Diseases” are so important to understand and be aware of, as to help promote and encourage therapeutic and potentially-curative research.

Here's a new study that answered a question for which no answer was needed. Do people pee in pools? How about bears? To find out, you'll have to waste three minutes of your time.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control show that between 2011 and 2014 more than 70,000 U.S. children under age 12 ingested this often-colorful and pleasant-smelling gel. Of those cases, 91 percent involved kids under the age of 5. And because of the alcohol content, some consumed the sanitizer on purpose.

We were all over media last week, including in not-so-flattering ways, thanks to a cabal of anti-science activists.

Soda taxes aren't racist, yet precisely that case was made by a reporter for the newspaper. His position: Blacks and Hispanics consume more sugary beverages than whites and Asians, while whites and Asians drink more diet beverages than blacks and Hispanics. Because the tax does not apply to diet beverages, it is racist. Let's break this down.

Consumption of milk and other dairy products has been variously linked to a host of ills — especially by animal rights groups that want us all to avoid any animal products. Here's an example of the type of questionable data such groups often use to hoodwink unwary consumers.

How long can an image of one's face be used to accurately identify that person? Approximately 6.5 years, according to the results of a new study from Michigan State University. Given the premium being placed on security worldwide, the findings may prove useful to strengthen law enforcement procedures. 

An amazing new technology that uses silk to deliver vaccines just got a nice boost – to the tune of $6M – from Bill and Melinda Gates. Maybe with novel approaches like this, we'll finally see polio eradicated once and for all.

Terms like "autosomal recessive" and "dominant" are frequently tossed around, and you've probably heard them. But what does any of that really mean regarding the traits that children inherit from their parents? 

Who knew that if you looked hard enough, you'd find a supposed sinister side to even the most popular super food? We were surprised to hear fans of Quinoa are now afraid of chemicals in the grain called Saponins. 
 
 
 
 

UV light is dangerous to humans. That's part of the reason why there's widespread interest in discovering light sources that can kill unwanted organisms – while leaving humans unscathed.

Anorexia nervosa prompts physical changes in the brain, and researchers report that even after "successful" treatment it does not revert back to its healthy state. Specifically, the organ continues to have an "elevated reward system" as compared to normal brains.

During his address to Congress this week President Trump shone a spotlight on Megan Crowley, a 20-year-old Notre Dame sophomore with Pompe Disease, which is caused by mutations in the GAA gene.

The former administration's policies sent smoking cessation back to the 1990s, telling smokers to quit or die. We can do a whole lot better than that. Let's start by having the new administration wipe out a lot of suspect decisions made by the last one.

No matter the evidence, some people always will refuse to accept it. Some of those people are university professors, like Joel Moskowitz, who is on a crusade to prove that California is secretly hiding data that shows cell phones are giving people cancer.

Are bees facing extinction as many environmental advocacy groups and some scientists claim. And are neonicotinoid pesticides the key reason behind their health problems, as many activists, and some news reports suggest?

The 'Open Science Prize' is a collaboration between three of the biggest sources of science funding around. The intent is to inspire novel ways of making science accessible to aid in public health. The winner - an online tool that will change the course of how viral outbreaks are tracked - was announced this week. 

More defense spending is great, but if we really want to protect Americans, let's get vaccines where they need to be.

The Maryland State Children’s Environmental Health and Protection Advisory Council wants WiFi restricted in state schools because of cancer concerns. Just two problems with that: (1) Officials have no idea what they're talking about, and (2) officials have no idea what they're talking about.

The World Health Organization released its first-ever report on the antibiotic resistant bacteria that are of the greatest concern: the global priority pathogens. With roughly two million cases of antibiotic resistant infections each year in the United States – and 23,000 deaths – we need to pay attention to this.