Public Health

An Award for William Ruckelshaus, the Man Who Banned DDT? Say It's Not So!

Well, don't this beat all! An article in The Guardian   announcing the 17 newly-honored Presidential Medal of Freedom awardees was entitled, "First EPA chief accuses Republicans of ignoring science for political gain." ...

Blog Post - Gil Ross - Nov 27 2015 - 7:00am

Europe's Folic Acid Policy Linked To Spina Bifida, Other Neural Tube Defects

Neural tube defects in Europe remain too high for the past 20 years, despite a long-standing medical recommendation that would prevent them, according to a paper in The BMJ today.  Each year, around 5,000 pregnancies in Europe are affected by neural tube ...

Article - News Staff - Nov 25 2015 - 8:41am

Dear Coke: Choose Me!

Today, the NYT reported that Coca-Cola's Chief Scientist is stepping down in the midst of a controversy regarding Coke's support of researchers who emphasize exercise for weight control. Dr. ...

Blog Post - Ignatius Brady - Dec 14 2015 - 11:43pm

Ancient People Got Heart Disease Too

There are claims by some that many diseases we now get more frequently are "lifestyle" diseases, caused by decadent Western  problems like plentiful food and too much science. Instead, it has also been posited, we simply are not killed by lots o ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 2 2015 - 7:31am

PFRs: Flame Retardant Exposure Higher In Infants Than Adults

Since some research suggests flame retardants could cause developmental problems- one type of organophosphate flame retardant (PFR) is listed as a probable human carcinogen by the  International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC)- companies have been of ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 2 2015 - 12:35pm

Nick Kristof's distorted attack on "toxic chemicals" could not have come at a worse time

When the NYTimes' columnist, Nicholas Kristof, writes based upon his experiences and observations among the impoverished and exploited women and children of the third world, he is resonant and inspirational. ...

Blog Post - Gil Ross - Dec 4 2015 - 3:57pm

Food Deserts Are Not The Cause Of Poor Dietary Quality

It used to be that poor people did not have enough food, and sometimes we are still told that they don't, but instead it is the case that poor people are far more likely to belief, and then the claim was that poor people had plenty of food, but it wa ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 13 2015 - 8:30am

Where Gender Bias Is Real

More women than men suffer from chronic pain, described as pain that persists for more than six months. In addition, much of this pain remains undiagnosed or untreated. As well as the pain associated with menstruation or the bearing of children, waiting r ...

Article - The Conversation - Dec 10 2015 - 8:00am

Weight Watchers Changes Program...Again

The largest commercial weight loss program (with >40% of market share) in the world has adopted a strange new strategy: Switch the focus AWAY from weight! I'm not, like, a branding expert, or anything, but, didn't they kind of invent worrying ...

Article - Ignatius Brady - Dec 16 2015 - 6:14am

Contraceptive Implants, Injections And Repeat Abortions

Women who used contraceptive implants or injections after an abortion are a lot more likely to have another one, finds a large United Kingdom study. Long-acting reversible contraception (LARC) such as implants and Depo-Provera are often promoted as contra ...

Article - News Staff - Dec 11 2015 - 7:00am