American Council on Science and Health

With Narcotics Abuse, Don’t Just Blame Doctors
It is no secret that the U.S. has an enormous narcotic addiction problem, and that much of this can be traced to overprescription beginning in the 1990s. In a recent NY Times op-ed, Dr. Richard Friedman blames most of this on physicians. But it's just not that simple.

Hillary Corrected on Culprit for Drug Shortages
In a Wall St. Journal Op-Ed, former FDA associate commissioner Dr. Scott Gottlieb explains how the several-year-duration shortages of common generic drugs came about. That would be through excessive regulation, and not because of Big Pharma greed, which Hillary Clinton wants you to believe.

The Quandary of Competency Testing for Senior Doctors

At the American Medical Association’s annual meeting, officials said they are developing mandatory competency guidelines for aging physicians. With more than a quarter of doctors over the age of 65, this could have a considerable impact on a profession faced with a looming physician shortage.

Blood Test Seeks to Eliminate Need for Tumor Biopsies

An often-unpleasant means of assessing the status of a cancer is the biopsy — in which a tumor sample is removed for analysis, often via surgery of some type. Now a recent study suggests that a new type of blood test might suffice to let doctors know the status of the cancer without an invasive procedure.

My Take - I find this next article more than just a little interesting - and not because it plays on the unending analysis over the fact that men and women just don't understand each other, and generally don’t have a clue what each other wants or needs - but because it plays out the story I’ve touted for years – academic studies and reality often have little to do with one another.  So why is this "research" unendingly being conducted?  Grant money!  I’ve often called much of this grant money as intellectual welfare.  I’ve seen nothing to change that view. 

Intelligence Is Sexy, Except To Men

Women can be smart -- but if you want to date one, not too smart. A recently published study revealed that, in theory, men like women who are smarter than they are. But the reality is that when it comes to feminine companionship, men prefer to dumb it down.....
Though previous research has suggested that men value intelligence as a favorable trait in a prospective partner, and the psychologists suggest otherwise, these limitations make the work too unreliable to overturn the existing findings.  One expert on the matter, Dr. Christine B. Whelan, author of “Why Smart Men Marry Smart Women“, provided perspective: “Ladies, do you usually take dating advice from a handful of 18-year-old boys? No? Then ignore the so-called “research” that men don’t want to date smart women. Instead, look at what actually happens: National marriage rates show that the more education you have, the more likely you are to marry.”