microRNA – 2024 Nobel in Physiology or Medicine
The 2024 Nobel prize in physiology or medicine goes to two researchers, Victor Ambros and Gary Ruvkun, for their work on microRNA. They began their research in the same lab in the late 1980s as postdoctoral fellow, and then continued to collaborate after they each started their own labs. Their research involves a key question about multicellular life. Every cell in the...
Myopia Epidemic
Myopia, or near-sightedness, has been steadily on the rise over the last half-century. A recent systematic review updates the literature on the extent and nature of this epidemic. Let’s get straight to the findings and then discuss what this means. The reviews includes: “276 studies, involving a total of 5,410,945 participants from 50 countries across all six continents.” The researchers find a...
Why Is ADHD On The Rise
Attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is one of the most commonly diagnosed neurodevelopment disorders and seems to be on the rise, in both children and adults. The diagnosis in children requires having various symptoms of attention deficit or hyperactivity which is functionally impairing with onset by age 12. Recognition of the disorder actually goes back farther than you might think – the observation that...
Update on AI in the Clinic
It seems there is an endless stream of artificial intelligence (AI) news coming out, and this includes the field of medicine. There also continues to be a debate about the true impact of AI – how much is hype, and how much is a genuine advance that can transform our technology? As with many technological advances, it’s both. New tech, perhaps especially...
WHO Systematic Review of RF and Cancer
In our increasingly technological world, we are constantly exposed to radio frequency electromagnetic waves (RF-EMF). It would certainly be inconvenient, to say the least, if this ubiquitous and essential technology had negative health effects. But of course we would need to know if this were the case so that steps could be taken to fix it. Fortunately, a recent systematic review conducted...
Are We Ready for Mpox
Are we ready for the next potential pandemic? It seems like we are just get over COVID and already we have to worry about the next one. We first covered the monkey pox (now mpox) in 2022. Since then it has continued to be a concern. Where do our efforts to contain this infection stand? To recap, the disease mpox is the...
More on Long COVID
It’s interesting to follow the scientific exploration of a new clinical entity in real time. It reveals a lot about how medical science works, and how scientists nibble away at complex problems. This is partly why I have been closely following the story of long COVID as it has unfolded over the last few years. I also see patients with long COVID...
Vaccines for Children Program Works
We have often stated here on SBM that vaccine programs are the most effective, and most cost-effective, public health measures in human history. They save lives, prevent disease, and save money. These benefits are all well researched and copiously documented. A recent CDC study adds to the literature on the benefits of vaccines and vaccine programs, focusing on the effects of the...
Acupuncture and Evidence Based Medicine
Over the last few decades there has been a steady infiltration of acupuncture into Western mainstream medicine. It is not unreasonable to conclude that acupuncture’s journey from an exotic Eastern practice to a fringe treatment to mainstream acceptance has been complete. Knowledgeable proponents of science based medicine (SBM) who remain skeptical of acupuncture now find themselves on the fringe. How did this...
Conspiracy Thinking And Alternative Medicine
Just recently, in casual conversation, someone commented to me that “they” already have a cure for cancer but are hiding it. This is a claim I frequently encounter. One survey, from 2005, found that 27.3% of those surveyed endorsed this belief. Another survey from 2014 found that 37% of people believe the FDA is suppressing natural cancer cures on behalf of “Big...