The death of Michael Jackson and the ensuing struggle between those that want to deify him and those that — pardon the pun — want to bury him for his alleged crimes, opens the door for a much needed discussion about child molestation.
Full disclosure: not a fan. A visually compelling artist perhaps, with [...]

The remake of The Day the Earth Stood Still (2008) was quite a disappointment to sci-fi fans. Viewers gave it just over 2 stars at Amazon.com. That’s slightly worse than Assignment: Outer Space (1960) and more than a point and a half behind Kronos (1950). If you haven’t heard of either, don’t worry about it. [...]

 
 
 
Health Report:
  
 
 
Air Pollution & the Risk of Deep Venous Thrombosis (DVT)      
 

 
“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”
 
 
 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 
Last Updated: 06/28/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author. Please consult with your [...]

 
Health Report:
 
Bone Marrow Stem Cell Transplant & Congestive Heart Failure (CHF)
      

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”
 

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

Last Updated:  06/14/2009
 

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any [...]

 
 
Health Report:

Diabetes, Glucose Control & Death
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  05/24/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or [...]

 
Health Report:

Hemorrhoids & Surgery
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  05/10/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, or if you [...]

In his article, Where Are They? Why I Hope the Search for Extraterrestrial Life Finds Nothing (PDF here), Oxford University’s Nick Bostrom has raised some very troubling questions.
According to Bostrom, one must wonder what to make of the apparent absence of intelligent civilizations in the universe:  the statistical probabilities suggest the universe ought to be [...]

 
 
Health Report:

Statin Drugs & Blood Clots (Thromboembolism)
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
Updated:  05/3/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication changes, [...]

 
 
Health Report:

Are We Really Losing the War on Cancer?
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  04/26/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle [...]

 
Health Report:

Exercise in Middle Age & Risk of Death
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  04/19/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or [...]

 
Health Report:

Does PSA Testing for Prostate Cancer Save Lives?
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  04/05/2009
The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or [...]

 
 
Health Report:

CABG Surgery vs. PCI in Diabetics with Coronary Artery Disease
 
Sweetened Beverages and Coronary Artery Disease
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Updated:  03/22/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with [...]

Health Report:

?

Depression, Stress, Anger & Heart Disease

“A critical weekly review of?important new research?findings for health-conscious readers…”

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

?
Updated: ?03/15/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author. ?Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or medication [...]

 
 
Health Report:

Coronary Artery Disease: CABG vs. Stents?
 
Swimming Lessons & Drowning Risk in Children
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
  
Updated:  03/8/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before [...]

Health Report:

Aspirin & Colorectal Cancer Prevention
 
Fish Oil & Respiratory Infections in Children

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  03/1/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before [...]

 
Health Report:

Health Differences Between Americans & Europeans
 
Lycopene & Prostate Cancer

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
 
Last Updated:  02/22/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any [...]

 
Health Report:

 
 

Statin Drugs & Death Rates

 
Physical Activity, Breast Cancer & Sex Hormones
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  02/15/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before [...]

I first encountered John Updike through his Roger’s Version, a cosmological and theological treatise disguised as a porno novel.  Updike, as he admitted in Roger’s Version, is really a Marcionite Heretic. This ancient heresy, most recently advanced by the German theologian Karl Barth, holds that God is wholly other, completely unapproachable by reason: theology and [...]

 
 
Health Report:

Hormone Replacement Therapy (HRT) & Breast Cancer
 
Stool DNA Testing & Cancer of the Colon & Rectum
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
Last Updated:  02/08/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  [...]

 
Health Report:

 

 

 

Obesity and the Complications of Diverticulosis (Diverticulitis & Bleeding) 
Obesity, Weight Loss & Urinary Incontinence

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  02/01/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with [...]

 

Health Report:

Prostate Cancer, Fatigue & Exercise

Does your Surgeon “Warm-up” Before Surgery?

 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS

 

 
Last Updated:  01/25/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any [...]

Earth and Environmental Scientist Peter Doran recently surveyed 3,146 scientists in an effort to clarify the “scientific consensus” on global warming. Professor Doran has previously complained that his study revealing cooling in the Antarctic had been misinterpreted, causing confusion in the global warming debate. Here we go again.
Although I have not yet found the actual [...]

Health Report:

 
 
 
 

Cancer and Vitamins
 
Teenagers, MySpace and Risky Behaviors

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
 
Last Updated:  01/18/2009
The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before making any lifestyle or [...]

Health Report:

 

 

 

Exercise Reverses Some Effects of Fatty Meals
 
Vitamin C and Blood Pressure

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  01/11/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please consult with your physician before [...]

As the cold of winter settles in on the northern hemisphere, all of the hysteria of “global warming,” or its less specific alternative “climate change,” rings increasingly hollow to the general public. Weather patterns of the past decade indicate that the planet has been in an undeniable cooling trend since prior to the new millennium. [...]

Is it in the spirit of scientific research to ostracize and to punish anyone who brings new and contradictory evidence to the table?
The Spanish Inquisition was not an effort to discover the truth. It was a means to eliminate any dissent from orthodoxy.
Today’s ferocious reaction by the scientific establishment against any voice [...]

Health Report:

 
 
 

Secondhand Smoke & Heart Attack Risk
 
Poor Physical Fitness During Childhood & Heart Disease Risk During Adulthood
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  01/04/2009

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  [...]

Health Report:

 
 

Stress & Your Risk of Heart Attack
 
Vitamin D & the Prevention of Colon & Rectal Polyps
 

“A critical weekly review of important new research findings for health-conscious readers…”

 
By, Robert A. Wascher, MD, FACS
 
Last Updated:  12/28/2008

The information in this column is intended for informational purposes only, and does not constitute medical advice or recommendations by the author.  Please [...]

US Officials Should Strengthen Their Ability to Respond to TB Incidents
by Jim Kouri, CPP
In spring 2007, the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), and state and local health officials worked together to interdict two individuals with drug-resistant infectious tuberculosis (TB) from crossing U.S. borders and direct them to [...]

Potential terrorist attacks and the possibility of naturally occurring disease outbreaks have raised concerns about the “surge capacity” of the nation’s health care systems to respond to mass casualty events, according to a report obtained by the National Association of Chiefs of Police.
The Government Accountability Office identified four key components of preparing for a medical [...]