After reaching a high-water mark in 2006, when media talking points were portrayed by journalists as settled science prior to the actual IPCC reports in 2007, people have steadily lost interest in climate change since then.

There is an upside to that. Scandals like ClimateGate didn't damage public support. The bad thing remains that all of the new evidence for climate change isn't helping either. The public in the middle is simply numb and then people on the sides are entrenched.

Antibiotics for acute bronchitis don't work. 

Yet despite clear evidence of ineffectiveness, guidelines and more than 15 years of educational efforts stating that the antibiotic prescribing rate for acute bronchitis should be zero, the rate was about 70 percent from 1996-2010 and increased during this time period, according to a study in the May 21 issue of JAMA.

In Lewis Carroll's 1871 classic novel Through the Looking Glass, the Red Queen tells Alice: "Now, here, you see, it takes all the running you can do, to keep in the same place."

Over the years, evolutionary biologists have used the Red Queen's statement to refer to the "Red Queen" hypothesis, which describes how living organisms, including humans, manage to survive in a changing environment by adapting through sexual reproduction. According to a University of Iowa researcher, the hypothesis is supported.

In a new paper, lead author Deanna Soper, assistant professor at Beloit College and colleagues write about testing a version of the Red Queen hypothesis.

A large study may upend our understanding of vitamin E, a vital antioxidant, and ties the increasing consumption of supposedly healthy vitamin E-rich oils such as canola, soybean and corn  to the rising incidence of lung inflammation and, possibly, asthma. 

The different health effects of vitamin E depend on its form. The form of Vitamin E called gamma-tocopherol in the ubiquitous soybean, corn and canola oils is associated with decreased lung function in humans, the study reports. The other form of Vitamin E, alpha-tocopherol, which is found in olive and sunflower oils, does the opposite. It's associated with better lung function. 

Oil and gas development from shale fields leads to high-paying jobs and a boost to property taxes, sales taxes and state-collected severance taxes or fees. Do they outweigh the increased costs related to road damage heavy truck traffic, water and sewer service expansion, government staffing and other needs brought on by rapid population growth?

An analysis of data from communities surrounding 10 oil and gas "plays" from September 2013 through February 2014, in Arkansas, Colorado, Louisiana, Montana, North Dakota, Pennsylvania, Texas and Wyoming found that the net impact of recent oil and gas development has been positive for local public finances.

Reducing medical resident duty hours may have unforeseen consequences; changes must be made carefully and evaluated rigorously to ensure patient safety and resident well-being, according to an analysis published in CMAJ (Canadian Medical Association Journal).

Canada's National Steering Committee on Resident Duty Hours recently released recommendations to help inform a discussion on the issue. The United States and Quebec have reduced resident duty hours because of concerns over patient safety and resident quality of life. Residents in Quebec now cannot work more than 16 hours in hospital, compared with about 24 hours in the rest of Canada plus 2 hours for handover of patient care information.