Medicine
An amusing “very special issue” of Medical Acupuncture
Posted by Orac on April 29, 2013 Every so often, our “friends” on the other side of the science aisle (i.e., the supporters of “complementary and alternative medicine”—otherwise known as CAM or “integrative medicine”) give me a present when I’m looking for a topic for my weekly bit of brain droppings about medicine, science, and/or why CAM is neither. It’s also been…
‘Scientists on brink of HIV cure’. Ugh. UUUUUUUGH. *sigh*
Posted by ERV on April 29, 2013 *sigh* *heaviersigh* One of the many problems we have when treating HIV patients is that HIV can hide (latent). So a cell can be infected with HIV, but not show any signs of being infected. The HIV provirus is just chillin in the host cell DNA, not making any viral proteins/babby viruses, so the individuals…
Student guest post: Seasonal Flu Vaccine: Why we need it
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 27, 2013 It’s time for this year’s second installment of student guest posts for my class on infectious causes of chronic disease. Fifth one this year is by Nai-Chung Chang. Of the many health problems that everyone is bound to have at some point, influenza, or just “the flu,” is one of the most prominent. In fact, we call…
Study: Banning smoking in subsidized housing could save millions in health care costs
Posted by The Pump Handle on April 26, 2013 Another day, another study that shows investing in public health interventions can make a serious dent in health care spending. A new study has found that banning smoking in all U.S. subsidized housing could yield cost savings of about $521 million every year.
Student guest post: Cholesterol, a bacterium, and gallbladder cancer
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 26, 2013 It’s time for this year’s second installment of student guest posts for my class on infectious causes of chronic disease. Fourth one this round is by Kristen Coleman. If you are anything like me, you have been told countless reasons over the years why we must watch what we eat, keep our cholesterol intake down, and try…
Student guest post: Challenges and Progresses in HIV Vaccine Research
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 26, 2013 It’s time for this year’s second installment of student guest posts for my class on infectious causes of chronic disease. Third one this round is by Jack Walsh. The Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) infection is one of the most significant global health challenges of this 21st century. Since the isolation of the virus in 1983, it has…
“All truth comes from public debate”: A corollary to crank magnetism
Posted by Orac on April 26, 2013 A long, long time ago in a ScienceBlogs far, far away (well, it seems that way anyway, given the halcyon times back then before Pepsigate), Mark Hoofnagle coined the term “crank magnetism.” It was a fantastic term used to describe how susceptibility to one form of quackery, pseudoscience, or just plain crankery tended to be…
Genital Warts Will Be History
Posted by Wesley Dodson on April 25, 2013 
On ERV, Abbie Smith reports on the phenomenal success of the HPV vaccine in Australia. The vaccine, designed to protect against several types of sexually-transmitted papillomavirus, was first administered to Aussie girls in 2007. Since then, total prevalence of the virus among young women has dropped from 11.5% to less than 1%—and to 0% among…
Student Guest Post: Arsenic, Benzene, and Now Clostridium? Smokers are Inhaling More Than Just Chemicals in Their Cigarettes
Posted by Tara C. Smith on April 24, 2013 It’s time for this year’s second installment of student guest posts for my class on infectious causes of chronic disease. Second one this round is by Jonathan Yuska. If you happen to be one of the 46 million individuals who have not been swayed to quit smoking by the countless anti-cigarette ads in print and on television,…
Sometimes antivaccinationists reveal more than they intend about why they blame vaccines for autism
Posted by Orac on April 24, 2013 I had a long day in the operating room yesterday; so I was tired last night. As a consequence, I thought that today might end up being one of those rare weekdays free of new Insolence. Then, in the morning as I was doing my usual brief perusal of e-mail and blogs before heading to…
