/oss/taxonomy/term/6296/all en /oss/article/student-contributors/should-you-get-full-body-mri-check-cancer <p>Cancer screening guidelines can be confusing on their own, with different recommendations for different groups. Add on a contentious political climate around healthcare and emerging private services, and the whole process can feel overwhelming. In the United States, controversy surrounding healthcare coverage includes preventive screenings. According to an <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/newyork/news/breast-ultrasound-cancer-screening-charge-medicare/">article in CBS</a>, Medicare is adding restrictions to coverage of breast ultrasound screening.</p> Fri, 07 Mar 2025 17:19:56 +0000 Paige Boklaschuk BSc 10441 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-general-science/ive-been-wearing-sunscreen-wrong <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://skepticalinquirer.org/exclusive/ive-been-wearing-sunscreen-wrong/">The Skeptical Inquirer.</a></em></p> Fri, 07 Mar 2025 03:54:38 +0000 Ada McVean M.Sc. 10440 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/why-us-assault-science-making-me-sick-my-stomach <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article773808.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>“It makes me sick to my stomach.”</p> <p>That’s the line I blurted out when asked by a reporter about the U.S. government’s assault on science. I hadn’t thought about the expression, it just came out automatically. Why? I hadn’t actually been sick to my stomach. Surely, I thought, there must be some foundation for this common utterance that links the mind and the gut. That needed delving into.</p> Fri, 28 Feb 2025 19:59:02 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10373 at /oss /oss/article/medical-technology-did-you-know/harm-noise-cancelling-headphones-more-questions-answers <p>Are noise-cancelling headphones making it harder for teenagers and young adults to understand speech in a noisy environment?</p> Fri, 28 Feb 2025 18:50:51 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10371 at /oss /oss/article/covid-19-medical-critical-thinking/how-we-know-vaccines-are-safe <p>“Senator, I support vaccines. I support the childhood schedule. The only thing I want is good science, and that’s it.” These words were spoken by Robert F.</p> Fri, 21 Feb 2025 17:34:58 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10331 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/are-sex-and-pickleball-keys-longevity <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article745632.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> <hr /> <p>Want to lead a long life? Play pickleball and have sex. Who says so? Dan Buettner, a guy who knows something about longevity. After all, he is responsible for popularizing the concept of “blue zones,” regions of the world where people apparently have exceptionally long lives. And therein lies an interesting and somewhat controversial story.</p> Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:44:36 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10262 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/mitochondrial-dysfunction-bit-fad <p>There is a shell game at the heart of Robert F. Kennedy Jr’s <u><a href="/oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/kennedys-coalition-quacks-wants-feed-america-diet-lies" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank" title="/oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition-pseudoscience/kennedys-coalition-quacks-wants-feed-america-diet-lies">Make America Healthy Again campaign</a></u>, and it has to do with the mitochondrion.</p> Fri, 14 Feb 2025 22:06:49 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10260 at /oss /oss/article/medical-health-and-nutrition/confronting-bulimia <p>Bulimia nervosa, or more commonly known as bulimia, is an eating and psychiatric disorder characterized by binge eating followed by intentional purging. The latter is usually done in order to compensate for the excessive intake of food and to prevent weight gain. Purging can take the form of vomiting, inappropriate use of laxatives, enemas, diuretics or other medication; or excessive physical exercise. This disease was first described by Dr. Gerald Russel in 1977 when he was working at the Royal Free Hospital in London.</p> Wed, 29 Jan 2025 19:02:54 +0000 Melody Ko MD 10240 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-student-contributors/oil-pulling-just-clutching-straws <p>Maintaining good oral hygiene is critical in order to maintain overall health. Many people only realize the impact that dental health has on the rest of the body when they are reading the posters in the dentist’s waiting room. Typically, we are all very concerned with the whiteness of our smile and the smell of our breath and will strive to achieve oral perfection.</p> Fri, 24 Jan 2025 21:50:41 +0000 Angelina Lapalme 10237 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/case-drug-mule-who-went-undetected-abdominal-x-ray <p>Human drug couriers, colloquially known as “drug mules,” are people who smuggle drugs across a national border by hiding the drugs in the lining of their luggage, in clothes, by strapping the goods onto their bodies, or even by using their bodies as containers. The latter category of drug mules have been the focus of much media attention, and have been the subjects of numerous movies and television shows.</p> Thu, 16 Jan 2025 19:47:29 +0000 Melody Ko MD 10231 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/can-glass-milk-day-reduce-risk-colon-cancer <p>The dairy industry is smiling because a study published in the prestigious journal, Nature, concluded that “dairy products help protect against colorectal cancer, and that this is driven largely or wholly by the calcium they contain.” The study triggered headlines about how drinking a glass of milk a day can reduce the risk of colon cancer by 17%. That isn’t quite correct. It may be true for women who consume less than the recommended 1000 mg of calcium a day, but may not apply to those who already consume the recommended amount.</p> Wed, 15 Jan 2025 17:08:49 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10230 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking/we-can-survive-without-food-about-70-days-only-5-days-without-water <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article657433.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 10 Jan 2025 20:26:58 +0000 Joe Schwarcz PhD 10227 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-pseudoscience/quantum-university-misuses-physics-train-fake-doctors <p>The current member of the Legislative Assembly for the British Columbia electoral district of Langley-Willowbrook is Ms. Jody Toor. I’m not veering off into political punditry; I’m writing this to clarify Toor’s courtesy title. “Ms.” Toor, or “Mrs.” if she’s married. But certainly not “Dr.” Toor.</p> Fri, 03 Jan 2025 01:35:38 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10217 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-health-and-nutrition/why-its-been-so-difficult-address-inflammations-role-heart-disease <hr /> <p><em>This article was first published in <a href="https://www.montrealgazette.com/opinion/columnists/article618459.html">The Montreal Gazette.</a></em></p> Fri, 20 Dec 2024 18:45:57 +0000 Christopher Labos MD, MSc 10208 at /oss /oss/article/medical-critical-thinking-technology/dental-x-rays-may-be-overused-they-are-safe <p>X-rays of our teeth are routinely prescribed by dentists, but you know what else follows a certain periodicity? Media coverage of the alleged danger and overuse of these dental radiographs.</p> Fri, 06 Dec 2024 18:22:15 +0000 Jonathan Jarry M.Sc. 10191 at /oss