Here's my weekly wrap for the American Council on Science and Health. Some articles I published in full so they're not here and one I just didn't like. Please enjoy this week's offerings from the American Council on Science and Health.
Infants Prefer Toys By Gender - Gender may be a social construct, according to modern sociological thinking, but biologically infants prefer toys by sex long before gender identity is demonstrated, according to a paper in the journal of Infant and Child Development. Read more
Z-Pak: Lifesaver or Safety Threat? - Any person who has ever visited a doctor’s office is likely to have taken a course of azithromycin, an antibiotic also commonly known as Zithromax or Z-Pak. The carefree days of prescribing azithromycin came to a screeching halt in 2012 when an observational study found increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Those finding are now being refuted. Read more
Olive Oil Is Better For Frying Fish — Here's The Chemistry Reason Behind It - Some cooks swear by different oils when it comes to cooking fish. Deconstructing common wisdom and finding the science basis for it is a lot of the fun of chemistry and now you can learn about lipids, oils and fish for your weekend science experiments. Read more
A Big Advance in Personalized Medicine: Ovarian Cancer - Personalized medicine is the rage everywhere. But beyond the BRCA genes, estrogen receptor and the genomic promises of 23 and Me and its wannabes, actual personalized medicine has yet to realize much of its potential. That is why a study that was recently reported on “liquid biopsy” for ovarian cancer surveillance was an excellent exposure to personalized medicine’s adjacent possibility. Read more
Significant Pain Significantly Increases Risk of Opioid Addiction - Chronic pain is debilitating; it takes over your life, according to patients. One of the struggles in modern pain mitigation is how to prevent opioid addiction without adding to the suffering of those with chronic pain, such as cancer patients. Read more
What Pee And Poo Colors Say About Your Health - Beetroot, artificial colors, vitamin supplements and medications can change the color of your urine or bowel motions. Knowing which color changes are due to food or medicines can save you worry, or provide an early alert to get to the doctor. Read more
Save Global Warming By Putting a Carbon Tax On.. Meat?- Our ancestors dreamed of a world where science and technology would make it possible for meat to not just be a special occasion for the poor. Why would anyone claiming to be ethical insist we should send poor people back to the past, when we have better parity in every single way today than at any point in world history? Read more (Editor's note: Over the years I've seen these claims by activists promoting vegitarianism regarding cow flatulence causing global warming. No activist worth his salt will fail to jump on the latest left/green philosopical flavor of the day to promote their own personal agenda - no matter how unrelated it may be. My response has been: So you feel wiping out the buffalo was a good thing for the overall health of the planet....is that right?)
New Slippery Surface Prevents Deadly Bacteria Roll Call - Unwanted microorganisms are a fact of life. Bugs grow everywhere we don’t want them, from our showers and sinks to our toilets and toothbrushes. When they form on medical devices, such as catheters and implants, they can be life-threatening. Read more
Organic vs. Conventional Farming: Which Has Less Environmental Impact? - Swedish researchers looked at environmental impacts separated into the subtopics of climate, over-fertilization, acidification, eco- toxicity, energy use, and land use. Read more
A Closer Look at Dementia — Beyond the Memory Loss - In the fight against Alzheimer’s, memory loss has kept its place as the frontrunner of early warning signs, but that may no longer hold true. Experts unveil that sharp changes in behavior and personality could signal warning signs. Read more
Our Nervous System: When It Comes To Behavior, Is It a Democracy or Dictatorship? - How does the architecture of our brain and neurons allow each of us to make individual behavioral choices? Now government is in our metaphors too! Read more
Netflix Linked to Cancer - Using statistics, you can show almost anything is correlated. Last week, alcohol can be beneficial to health. This week, it causes cancer. Which is it? If you are in media, it doesn’t matter; which is why we can just as easily do a study linking Netflix and cancer — in ten easy steps. Read more
The Ancient Chinese Secret For Removing Age Spots May Be Mercury - Using statistics, you can show almost anything is correlated. Last week, alcohol can be beneficial to health. This week, it causes cancer. Which is it? If you are in media, it doesn’t matter; which is why we can just as easily do a study linking Netflix and cancer — in ten easy steps. Read more
The Scarlet E — For Error - Failure is a given in medicine; it is impossible to aspire to the ideal and settle for the possible without failing some of the time. While all doctors ‘strive for perfection’, the hands-on nature of surgery, makes it more evident when failures occur. Read more
Statins Could Help Prevent Some Pregnancy Ills - By now most folks are aware that the class of drugs called statins can lower levels of blood cholesterol by their action on the liver and thus help prevent heart attacks. But they may be able to do more than that. Read more
If ACSH Is a Corporate Shill, We're Really Bad At It - Even though there is an awful lot of money (to the tune of billions of dollars) to be made peddling vitamins, organic food, alternative medicine, brain-training games, motivational speakers, and other nonsense, we reject all of it in favor of evidence-based science and health. Read more
Calico Cats Are a Walking Genetics Lesson - In order to appreciate the power of genetics, you only need to take a good look at a cat. Not just any cat – it has to be a calico, specifically. Read more
Happy World Hepititis Day! -In 2010, the World Health Organization (WHO) declared July 28th World Hepatitis Day (yesterday, we know) — one of only four official days dedicated to specific diseases. This declaration signals a serious health hazard posed by viral hepatitis B and C throughout the world. Read more
The Flavor Enhancing Molecule in Roasted Garlic Powder - Cooking should be thought of as edible organic chemistry. For instance, what toasted bread, grilled steak, and crème brûlée all have in common is the Maillard reaction, a chemical process that combines sugars and amino acids into delectable, brown goodness. Read more
Blood Test For Alzheimer's: Close Or Hype?- Blood tests are relatively inexpensive and reliable. It is therefore not surprising news that a possible blood test for dementia, in particular Alzheimer’s disease, gets much public attention.Read more
USPSTF Advisory on Skin Cancer Screening Provokes Concerns From Docs - Although the Task Force is essentially remaining neutral on the issue of whether screening for skin cancer is useful for detecting, preventing or minimizing mortality due to skin cancer, some caveats must be noted. Read more
Bariatric Surgery May Reverse Obesity Associated Premature Aging - Although the Task Force is essentially remaining neutral on the issue of whether screening for skin cancer is useful for detecting, preventing or minimizing mortality due to skin cancer, some caveats must be noted. Read more
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