Hydroxychloroquine. Remdesivir. Ivermectin. Several medications have been touted as miracle drugs for COVID-19 throughout the pandemic, often without solid medical evidence supporting their use. Almost like fad diets, arguments for these controversial treatments have come and gone, with ivermectin most recently taking the stage. As a physician and COVID-19 genetics researcher, I am concerned. No substance we consume, […]

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Over 150 people in Illinois started bleeding uncontrollably after using synthetic cannabis-based products – including fake marijuana, Spice and K2 – that contained the rat poison brodifacoum in March and April 2018. By the end of July 2021, these banned products were still being sold in 10 states and the District of Columbia, resulting in hundreds of severe bleeds and […]

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Colder weather has long been associated with coughs, colds and other respiratory illnesses. Seasonal influenza and common colds peak throughout the winter months in both hemispheres – usually around August in Australia. Given many common colds are caused by coronaviruses, it seems logical that cases of SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19, would be driven upward as […]

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Plant-based diets have become increasingly popular in recent years, both for health and ethical reasons. One extreme form of plant-based diet is “fruitarianism”, a diet based largely on consumption of raw fruit. At first glance, this may sound healthy, but what effect will this type of restrictive diet have on the body? And is it a […]

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One reason dietary supplements are so popular is the perception they’re harmless. But like all drugs, there are many potential dangers from taking vitamins and minerals. The problem is that, unlike conventional medicines, dietary supplements aren’t required to provide warnings to consumers of their potential risks. Nor are they required to submit extensive documentation of […]

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Treatment with Lactobacillus reuteri, a species of gut bacteria found in yogurt and breast milk, enhances social interactions in three mouse models of autism, a new study suggests1. The findings lend support to the idea that the gut microbiome — the population of microbes in the body — holds clues to autism therapies. The results jibe […]

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Being anemic while pregnant may increase a woman’s chance of having a child with intellectual disability, autism or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Two previous smaller studies hinted at a link between maternal anemia and intellectual disability, but the new work is the first to show a link to autism or ADHD. The results, based on […]

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Children born with low blood levels of vitamin D have 33 percent increased odds of autism compared with those born with high levels. Researchers presented the unpublished results today at the 2018 International Society for Autism Research annual meeting in Rotterdam, the Netherlands. The results come from the largest study yet to explore a link between vitamin […]

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Many of the children with autism known to have outgrown their diagnosis received intense behavioral therapy for long periods of time during childhood, reports a study published in May in the Journal of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics. This doesn’t mean that early intervention can predict outcome, the researchers say. Some children who received little intervention outgrew autism, whereas others who […]

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Late one October night in 2016, a group of friends set up recording equipment in a hotel lobby and settled in for three hours of wine-fueled banter about a so-called ‘elixir of life.’ The group comprised the molecular biologist David Sabatini, biologist Navdeep Chandel, a physician named Peter Attia, and the well-known podcaster and self-help guru Tim Ferriss. Their […]

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