When the advocates of complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) push back against critics, they often point to the big CAM “successes.” The argument usually goes as follows: the heartless science-informed cynics have long said acupuncture …
Read MorePeyton Manning has done it. So has baseball pitcher Bartolo Colon. Ditto Argentine soccer star Angel Di Maria. And just last month, tennis great Rafael Nadal had it done too. Sports stars from all over the …
Read MoreWhen I give public lectures I often ask the crowd to name the most important things we can do for our health. The point is to highlight the simple, obvious, evidence-based truths. Don't smoke. Exercise. …
Read MoreSince coming to power in 2009, President Barack Obama has frequently urged the American research community to kick it up a notch, get innovating and help pull the US economy out of its postrecession funk. …
Read MoreWhat if parents could access the genetic makeup of a fetus in the first trimester of a pregnancy? And what if they could gather this information through a procedure that was largely risk free and …
Read MoreThere are a lot of health and fitness myths out there. And there are a lot of bogus health products and practices being sold on the basis of those myths. In fact, a strong argument …
Read MoreA 2015 survey found that 88 percent of American scientists believe genetically modified foods are safe, but only 37 percent of the general public feel the same way. The PEW Research Centre, the institution that …
Read MoreYears ago I met— sort of — the actor Ethan Hawke. It was late at night and we were both checking into a Toronto hotel. We were the only ones in the lobby and there was an …
Read MoreYears ago I met— sort of — the actor Ethan Hawke. It was late at night and we were both checking into a Toronto hotel. We were the only ones in the lobby and there was an …
Read MoreWith the growth of integrative health at Canadian universities ”” a trend that has been called quackademics ”” it seems likely that we will see more and more clinical trials exploring the efficacy of questionable …
Read MoreOver the past year, “truth” has taken a serious beating — and so have “facts,” “evidence” and “science.” We seem to be swimming in a sea of relativity where everything is true and nothing is, …
Read MoreIntegrative health clinics and programs seem to be popping up everywhere. An approach to patient care billed as offering a mix of mainstream medical therapy with alternative approaches, integrative health has emerged in a climate …
Read MoreAfter what feels like a decade of hype and underwhelming sales, direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing seems to be taking off, for better or worse. In the hope of discovering more about themselves, millions of people …
Read MoreWe have been subjected to years of obesity-related headlines, and the news almost always seems to be discouraging. Obesity has become a public health crisis that gets worse all the time, seemingly immune to public …
Read MoreA leading ethicist on issues arising from the scientific revolution in health care, Timothy Caulfield warns that the high expectations surrounding new technologies in genome and stem cell research have unleashed troubling social side effects. …
Read MoreUne entreprise effectue des tests génétiques destinés directement aux consommateurs (DDC) afin d’offrir aux parents la possibilité de découvrir les talents « cachés » de leurs enfants. Vous pouvez (prétendument) découvrir si votre enfant a une tendance …
Read MoreI am obsessed with sleep. Mostly because I'm so darn bad at it. I've got world-class skills in a variety of closely related activities such as silently reading in bed, quietly turning on my bedside …
Read MoreNothing highlights the absurdity and potential harm of alternative medicine like a global public health crisis. There has been an incredible amount of misinformation about the coronavirus. Indeed, one analysis from Thailand suggests that 75 percent …
Read MoreEven if you have no interest in watching overtrained, prepubescent teenage athletes perform ridiculously difficult routines they’ve rehearsed 27,000 times, you likely have a vague memory of the gymnast Kerry Strug. She was a member …
Read MoreEvery Saturday morning, my wife heads to the local farmers' market to buy our weekly supply of fruit. She enjoys both the market's friendly vibe and the interactions with the vendors. And the whole Caulfield …
Read MoreObesity has emerged as the defining public health issue of our time. Worldwide, over two billion people are overweight or obese. And things are likely to get worse. As noted in a 2015 report in the …
Read MoreThere is a direct-to-consumer (DTC) genetic testing company that gives parents the opportunity to uncover their kids’ “hidden” talents. You can (allegedly) find out if your child has the genetic propensity for things like dancing, …
Read MoreScience and popular culture have long mixed in unique and productive ways. Cutting-edge science has inspired great novels, movies, music and art. But as science becomes a larger part of our cultural landscape, we are …
Read MoreWe have become obsessed with personalization. There are companies selling personalized fitness routines, diets, skin care products, shampoos and supplements. You can get a genetic test to personalize your selection of wine, sexual partner and …
Read MoreDebating the value of integrative health and complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) can be a frustrating endeavour. Proponents are often passionate. For many, it is like a religion and, as a result, they usually don’t …
Read MoreThe world is flat! If the Earth was round, the entire population of Australia would simply fall off. Right? And we would be able to see the curve of the Earth, for goodness sake. Believe …
Read MoreWhen it comes to organ donation rates, Canada does not perform particularly well, falling significantly behind countries like Spain, the UK, the US, France and Austria. This is a shortage with life-and-death implications given the …
Read MoreA Lethbridge jury found David and Collet Stephan guilty of not providing the necessities of life to their young child, Ezekiel. Instead of taking him to a physician for science-based treatment, they provided their child …
Read MorePopular culture is filled with science-free noise about vaccines. And much of the noise is aimed directly at parents. From Donald Trump’s nasty anti-vax Twitter activity to celebrities raising questions about vaccination schedules to health …
Read MoreThe New Year brings an inevitable flood of fitness and diet fads, a great slosh of suggestions on how to do things — lose weight and get fit v that we already know how to do. What …
Read MoreI’m a Patriots fan. I was born outside Boston and lived in New England as a child. If the dreamy Tom Brady needs a kidney, I’m there for him. Seriously. But he regularly tests my …
Read MoreIf you write about controversial stuff, you are bound to get a bit of hate mail. I get hate mail. Some of it is comprehensive (“I have yet to agree with any argument you have …
Read MoreIncreasingly, money is being raised by crowdfunding campaigns for health services of questionable value. Recent studies have found that crowdfunding is attracting millions for unproven and potentially dangerous treatments. We believe this is a terrible …
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