Throughout history explorers have ventured into uncharted territories in search of waters that could cure sickness and restore youth. One manifestation of this quest was driven by a belief that such “waters” might reside in the young. The idea of transfusing the essence of youth from young to old is…

Most articles that find themselves under such a headline are not based in good science. Products promising long life and physical transformation usually generate profit and disappointment in equal parts. …

The risk of death from complications of pregnancy decreased by 99% during the twentieth century. In 1900, 850 maternal deaths per 100,000 live births were reported. Most of these deaths were caused by infection, bleeding and pregnancy-induced hypertension. Today, pregnant women in the United States die by homicide more than twice as often as all the leading causes of maternal mortality. Pregnancy-related mortality is defined as the death of a woman while pregnant or within one year of the end of pregnancy from any cause related to or aggravated by the pregnancy. Not until 2003 did the US begin requiring that death certificates indicate if a person had died while pregnant…

The human race has a paradoxical energy crisis. We are drowning in stored energy (fat), something evolution did not prepare us for. More than 40 percent of adult Americans are obese. …

Vaccination and opposition to it is nothing new. Variolation, infecting someone with material from smallpox pustules to create natural immunity, was practiced in Asia and Africa in the 16th century. Cotton Mather, a Christian minister in Boston promoted the practice in the 1700’s having learnt the technique from his African…

Despite its relative neglect in the field of medicine, nutrition is recognized as an essential component of health. Adequate nutrient supply is necessary for reproduction, growth and maintenance, the fundamentals of any species’ survival. Paradoxically, the most powerful method for increasing lifespan is caloric restriction just short of starvation. Why? …

As the country begins to lift restrictions, here is a guide to minimize the risk of infection with COVID-19. Health care workers have provided a natural experiment that is instructive. They have had greater exposure to people infected with COVID-19 than any other population. …

How to reduce susceptibility — Pandemics breed fear and false hope in equal parts. Undocumented treatments flood the media. A Google search for “covid 19 cure” generates over 2 billion hits, a remarkable number for a disease without a cure. The solution often takes the form of a supplement. …

Will antibody testing identify who is immune? — As governments grow increasingly anxious to restart economies and people yearn to return to an unfettered life, the race to develop a test to assess COVID-19 immunity is heating up. Medical diagnostic companies are scrambling, and governments are looking to order these antibody tests by the millions. In this context…