Doctors and pharmacists often portray generic drugs as a great deal. They say that you’re getting the same medicine as the brand-name products, but far cheaper.
The FDA is on board, too.
Even though almost all generic drugs are made in India and China, the agency says it holds foreign plants to the same standards as U.S. drug makers.
Katherine Eban says that’s simply not true.… Read More
Some people seem impervious to the flu. They never get it, even if they don’t get the flu shot.
For others, it’s the opposite. They get the flu despite getting the vaccine.
For years, this variability has been blamed on the unreliability of the flu shot. But a new study shows that another factor may be in play.
It found that a common food additive may stop the flu shot from working.… Read More
“Waste not, want not” are wise words…but there are times when you shouldn’t follow them.
If you hang on to certain items for too long, they can harm your health.
Here are seven things that you should toss before they hurt you:
1. Old sneakers. Paul Langer is a podiatrist and a clinical professor at the University of Minnesota. He points out that the cushioning on athletic shoes deteriorates quickly.… Read More
Beards are fashionable these days, but there’s stuff lurking in them that can make you sick, a new study found.
The study was published in the journal European Radiology. Researchers took samples from the beards of men and the fur of dogs. They were looking for any dangerous bacteria. They wanted to see if it was safe for people to use the same MRI scanners that dogs are sometimes scanned in.… Read More
Scientists have known for decades that one of the most common ways to catch an infectious disease is through your hands.
You touch hundreds of things a day. If just one of them has infectious germs, you are in danger of getting sick.
Here are seven of the germiest objects you’re likely to touch in the course of a day. It’s important to wash or sanitize after coming into contact with them…
1.… Read More
Researchers have spent decades studying the brains of autistic children trying to figure out why they have trouble with things like communicating, socializing, and motor function.
Despite extensive research, little progress has been made in finding a cure for autism.
But what if scientists have been looking in the wrong place? What if the problem is not in the heads of autism patients…but in their stomachs?… Read More