Roadside drug tests are unreliable, so why are they so widely used in the U.S.? Meanwhile, researchers who make "health disparities" the focus of their work sometimes misrepresent their results. Here's a textbook example from a study that used pulse oximetry to measure disparities in COVID-19 treatment.
public health
On May 25, 2023, merely six weeks before the Wuhan Biosafety lab lost its NIH funding amid the controversy of possible lab leaks and connection with COVID-19, the U.S. proudly opened the doors of the National Bio and Agro-Defense Facility (NBAF), the 14th biosafety level-4 lab in the nation. It was also the first here capable of handling large animals. What is going on?
Last week, the FDA and CDC presented their recommendations for the newest round of COVID-19 vaccines. As with everything COVID, there are proponents and detractors, or, putting it another way, both knowledgeable experts and disinformation-spreading attention-seekers. The reality is that a group of experts made a judgment based on actual data. We discuss the evidence here so you can make your own informed decision.
The CDC recently issued guidance related to breastfeeding for "transgender and nonbinary-gendered individuals." It may be the most absurd set of recommendations the agency has ever released.
Social justice advocates continue to demand that professions like medicine become more "diverse." Critics contend this development could bring unqualified physicians into the profession and jeopardize public health. Should we be worried? The FDA wants to label certain foods in the grocery store "healthy." It's an awful idea.
The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) has drawn fire for issuing new recommendations designed to reduce childhood obesity. The AAP's critics are deeply confused.
Now that the political drama around gas stoves has waned, it's time to discuss the science. Here's what all the talking heads got wrong. Does secondhand weed smoke cause asthma? Maybe, though the most recent study cited as evidence isn't all that rigorous.
Dreary, despondent headlines about pollution and climate change are the norm. But they are not painting an accurate picture. Many countries are making serious efforts to protect the environment. Human ingenuity is the ultimate resource. My latest over at BigThink.
"Vapes DON'T help people quit smoking normal cigarettes," the headlines blared this week, based on the results of another awful study. Let's examine the critical details most reporters overlooked.
In what may be the dumbest anti-vaping story ever published, The Guardian just highlighted a parent who gave his teenage son cigarettes to help him quit vaping. There's so much wrong here.
"It can disappear in a moment," Dr. Chuck Dinerstein said after his near-fatal battle with a pulmonary embolism. How should our mortality influence our worldviews? Unregulated medical devices may put patients in harm's way. Why is the Cleveland Clinic parroting anti-vaping talking points from the Truth Initiative?
The Cleveland Clinic, one of the world's foremost academic medical centers, has jumped on the anti-vaping bandwagon, perpetuating unfiltered nonsense about the health effects of nicotine.