Why Pipe Smokers’ Personalities Are Resistant to Cancer, Philosophically

Research studies about the Relation Between Pipe Smokers’ Personalities and Cancer; about Smoking and Drinking, Attractiveness and Addiction; and about 57 people; about a Heavily Bearded Philosopher in Women’s Underwear; and about the question “When Should Philosophers Sacrifice Utilitarians?” are featured in the “Super Advanced Theories: Philosophers and Smokers” column in the special Super-Advanced Theories issue […]

Coffee and Cancer: A Bad News Burp for Modern Science Journalism

A newly published study is bad news for news organizations — it’s a burp in the stream of guaranteed-attention-getting medical reports that suggest coffee-drinking might cause cancer. The study is: “Coffee and Cancer Risk: A Summary Overview,” Gianfranco Alicandro [pictured here], Alessandra Tavani, and Carlo La Vecchia, European Journal of Cancer Prevention, epub March 2017. The authors, at the University of […]

Pigeons as Trained Observers in the War on Cancer

Pigeons may be as good as some bad radiologists, in some ways, maybe, suggests this new study: “Pigeons (Columba livia) as Trainable Observers of Pathology and Radiology Breast Cancer Images,” Richard M. Levenson, Elizabeth A. Krupinski, Victor M. Navarro, and Edward A. Wasserman, PLoS ONE, 10(11): e0141357. (Thanks to Ig Nobel Prize winner Elizabeth Oberzaucher for […]

A Suggestion that Wearing a Bra Does Not Cause Cancer

Researchers in Seattle are directing your attention to bras. Their new study focuses on an occasionally purported danger of bra-wearing: “Bra Wearing Not Associated with Breast Cancer Risk: A Population-Based Case–Control Study,” Lu Chen, Kathleen E. Malone, and Christopher I. Li, Cancer, Epidemiology, Biomarkers and Prevention, epub September 5, 2014. The authors, at the Fred […]

“Is everything we eat associated with cancer?”

A new study looks at a plethora of glancing looks at cause and effect. The study is: “Is everything we eat associated with cancer? A systematic cookbook review,” Jonathan D Schoenfeld and John PA Ioannidis, Amercian Journal of Clinical Nutrition, epub November 28, 2012. The authors report: Objective: We aimed to examine the conclusions, statistical […]

Sex With Animals: Results of a new survey

The new Brazilian report about sex with animals has finally been published online. “Sex with Animals (SWA): Behavioral Characteristics and Possible Association with Penile Cancer. A Multicenter Study,” Stênio de Cássio Zequi [pictured here], et al., Journal of Sexual Medicine, published online October 2011. (Thanks to Richard Wassersug for bringing this to our attention.) The […]

B.J. Cummings & Swallow: Anal [study]

A medical report notable for the harmonious combination of authors and topic: “Cancer of the Anal Region,” B.J. Cummings , C.J. Swallow, et al., in: Cancer: Principles and Practice of Oncology, V.T. DeVita, Jr., S. Hellman, and S.A. Rosenberg (eds), Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins, 2008, pp. 1301–14. [AIR 16:2] (Thanks to investigator Ken Gorelick […]