Genetic inheritance may sound straightforward: One gene causes one trait or a specific illness. When doctors use genetics, it’s usually to try to identify a disease-causing gene to help guide…
Category: Anthropology
Even small drops in vaccination rates for US children can lead to disease outbreaks
More than three-quarters of U.S. counties and jurisdictions are experiencing declines in childhood vaccination rates, a trend that began in 2019, according to a September 2025 NBC News–Stanford University investigation.…
Health insurance subsidy standoff pits affordable care for millions against federal budget constraints
As the federal government entered a shutdown on Oct. 1, 2025, competing narratives quickly emerged about the cause. Some Republican lawmakers objected to Democrats’ push to include an extension of…
When pharmacists’ and patients’ values collide
Imagine walking into your pharmacy, handing over your prescription and having it denied. Now imagine that the reason is not insufficient insurance coverage or the wrong dose, but a pharmacist…
How the government shutdown is hitting the health care system – and what the battle over ACA subsidies means
Major rifts over key health care issues are at the heart of the federal government shutdown that began at the stroke of midnight on Oct. 1, 2025. This is not…
As an OB-GYN, I see firsthand how misleading statements on acetaminophen leave expectant parents confused, fearful and lacking in options
When President Donald Trump adamantly proclaimed in a press conference on Sept. 22, 2025, that pregnant women should not take Tylenol, I immediately thought about my own experiences during my…
Supreme Court to decide if Colorado’s law banning conversion therapy violates free speech
The constitutionality of a Colorado law that bans so-called “conversion therapy” is scheduled to go before the Supreme Court on Oct. 7, 2025. The question at the center of the…
Breastfeeding is ideal for child and parent health but challenging for most families – a pediatrician explains how to find support
As a pediatrician, I thought my medical background and pediatric training meant I would be well prepared to breastfeed my newborn. I knew all about the research on how an…
Why a study claiming vaccines cause chronic illness is severely flawed – a biostatistician explains the biases and unsupported conclusions
At a Senate hearing on Sept. 9, 2025, on the corruption of science, witnesses presented an unpublished study that made a big assertion. They claimed that the study, soon to…
