American Council on Science and Health

01/03/2026

This new drug may have cracked the 'cheat code' for reversing ageing

You drink your two litres of water a day, hit 10,000 steps, take the right supplements and try to eat a balanced diet. Okay, maybe not all the time, but you’re giving it a good go. Yet despite your valiant effort, you still look older than you did a decade ago – and more than likely, you feel it too.

Ageing is an inevitable fact of life. Being healthier may slow the process down, but one thing that's certain – your biological clock will keep on ticking.

Scientists are literally turning back the clocks in our cells, with the first drugs about to go to human trials

01/02/2026

Medical Aid in Dying Legislation and the Limits of Prognostic Science

As a physician, I am attuned to the tension between my craft, grounded in “gold standard” science, and its artful application, grounded in the values of my patients as I experience them. End-of-life issues are complex because empirical questions (what happens, works, or harms) that can be approached by science are deeply entangled with value questions (what should count as a good death, autonomy, dignity, moral limits). The recent decision by Governor Hochul of New York to advance and promise to sign a Medical Aid in Dying (MAID) bill provides us with the opportunity to consider that entanglement.

New York’s Medical Aid in Dying is often framed as compassion guided by medical expertise. But is the legislation prescribing a moral choice behind the mask of scientific certainty?

01/02/2026

Science Has Always Been Marketed

People often see science as a world apart: cool, rational and untouched by persuasion or performance. In this view, scientists simply discover truth, and truth speaks for itself.

But history tells a different story. Scientific theories do not simply reveal themselves; they compete for attention, credibility and uptake. U.S. Supreme Court Justice Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr. once suggested that “the best test of truth is the power of the thought to get itself accepted in the competition of the market,” a line that helped popularize the metaphor of a “marketplace of ideas.”

People often see science as a world apart: cool, rational and untouched by persuasion or performance. In this view, scientists simply discover truth, and truth speaks for itself. But history tells a

01/02/2026

Two new subtypes of MS found in ‘exciting’ breakthrough

Scientists have discovered two new subtypes of multiple sclerosis with the aid of artificial intelligence, paving the way for personalised treatments and better outcomes for patients.

Millions of people have the disease globally – but treatments are mostly selected on the basis of symptoms, and may not be effective because they don’t target the underlying biology of the patient.

Exclusive: Scientists uncovered biological strands using artificial intelligence and hope discovery will revolutionise treatment

01/02/2026

Can't say I appreciate the language, but his science seems on target.

01/02/2026

The Danish Vaccination Schedule Is Not About Fewer Jabs—It’s About Context

A quiet policy proposal to shift America’s childhood vaccination schedule toward Denmark’s leaner schedule is on pause. Denmark’s “fewer jabs” is a context-driven strategy shaped by the Danes’ universal healthcare, different disease risks, and explicit trade-offs about severity, cost, and public acceptance. The real lesson for the US isn’t which shots to copy, but how to build a transparent process that earns trust by making those trade-offs visible.

A quiet policy proposal to shift America’s childhood vaccination schedule toward Denmark’s leaner schedule is on pause. Denmark’s “fewer jabs” is a context-driven strategy shaped by the Danes’ universal healthcare, different disease risks, and explicit trade-offs about severity, cost, an...

01/02/2026

Devices Target the Gut to Maintain Weight Loss from GLP-1 Drugs

Christina had tried dieting and exercise before. The weight always came off but then crept back on, especially after she gave birth to her son in 2022.

She had hoped that a new class of weight-loss drugs might finally offer something different. Obesity treatments such as Wegovy and Zepbound had just arrived on the scene, helping people slim down with unprecedented ease. But the price tag of these GLP-1 drugs put them out of reach. Christina’s health insurance wouldn’t cover the cost.

A new medical device targets the gut to help keep weight off after GLP-1 therapy.

01/02/2026

01/02/2026

Non-science non-sense.

01/01/2026

US FDA at work: A New Cigarette Every Two Days, But No Vapes

The FDA does not have smokers’ best interests at heart. While nearly half a million Americans die each year from smoking-related causes, the agency continues to deny smokers access to harm reduction tools that could prevent many of those deaths. It has authorized almost 180 new cigarette products each year on average—almost one new cigarette every two days—while only approving 23 va**ng products total, despite strong evidence that va**ng is both far less harmful than smoking and one of the most effective tools smokers use to quit.

Congress requires the FDA to permit new ci******es if they are “substantially similar” to products that were on the market before 2007. But no such obligation exists for modern, lower-risk technologies. The Family Smoking Prevention and To***co Control Act (TCA) of 2009 allows cigarette manufacturers to bypass full scientific review so long as the new product is similar to a pre-2007 brand. Newer reduced risk products like vapes must clear the far more onerous Premarket To***co Product Application process, including a full scientific review.

The FDA does not have smokers’ best interests at heart. While nearly half a million Americans die each year from smoking-related causes, the agency continues to deny smokers access to

01/01/2026

Will America’s Dietary Guidelines Lose Their Scientific Backbone?

With the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 (DGAs) expected by end of year, it is an important time to reaffirm the need for rigorous, transparent, and evidence-based science in shaping public health and nutrition policy.

The DGAs play a crucial role in guiding policymakers, educators, and public health officials to help Americans adopt healthier eating habits. These dietary recommendations underpin federal nutrition programs, from school meals to foods assistance programs, influencing health outcomes and eating habits nationwide. The DGAs serve as a key element of the country’s public health infrastructure.

With the release of the Dietary Guidelines for Americans, 2025-2030 (DGAs) expected by end of year, it is an important time to reaffirm the need for rigorous, transparent, and evidence-based science i

01/01/2026

How a 2019 NEJM Study Misled the World on Vitamin D

In January 2019, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that was immediately hailed as the final verdict on vitamin D: it doesn’t work. The study, known as the VITAL trial, was large, well-funded, and led by respected researchers from Harvard. Its conclusion—that vitamin D supplementation did not reduce the risk of invasive cancer or major cardiovascular events—rapidly diffused across headlines, textbooks, and clinical guidelines.

But the VITAL study didn’t fail because vitamin D failed. It failed because it was never designed to test the right question. This article walks through the anatomy of that failure, why it matters, and what we must fix if we are to take prevention seriously in modern medicine.

In January 2019, The New England Journal of Medicine published a study that was immediately hailed as the final verdict on vitamin D: it doesn’t work. The study, known as the VITAL trial, was led by respected researchers from Harvard.