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Mouse model suggests our brains may learn more from rare events than from repetition but wider scope of evaluation required to determine if this applies to only some endeavours and skills.
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 20, 2026 Source:Our brains may learn more from rare events than from repetition Reference:Duration between rewards controls the rate of behavioral and dopaminergic learning
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Drinking caffeinated coffee and tea daily may slightly decrease risk of dementia. Absolute risk reduction of 0.2%. Highest vs lowest caffeinated coffee quartile: incidence 141 vs 330 per 100,000 person-years (difference ~189 cases/100,000 person-years; ARR ≈ 0.189%). And this makes headlines. 🙄
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 19, 2026 Source:Drinking caffeinated coffee and tea daily may slightly decrease risk of dementia: Experts Reference:Coffee and Tea Intake, Dementia Risk, and Cognitive Function
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Bacteria found in underground cave after thousands of years is resistant to antibiotics: study. Just don’t let it escape from the lab and transfer those genes to its friends.
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 18, 2026 Source:Bacteria found in underground cave after thousands of years is resistant to antibiotics: study Reference:First genome sequence and functional profiling of Psychrobacter SC65A.3 preserved in 5,000-year-old cave ice: insights into ancient resistome, antimicrobial potential, and enzymatic activities
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The time of day when a dose of immunochemotherapy is given in non-small cell lung cancer may have an impact on treatment efficacy.
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 17, 2026 Source:How well a cancer treatment works may depend on the time of day you get it Reference:Time-of-day immunochemotherapy in non-small cell lung cancer: a randomized phase 3 trial
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House Calls, #1002, February 15, 2026: PrescribeIT: Because nothing says modern healthcare like spending a quarter billion dollars to keep using my fax machine.
The fiasco that was PrescibeIT. The Federal governments attempt to create an electronic prescribing system falls flat after spending $250 million with less than 5% adoption by users and now will be shut down. PrescribeIT, federal e-prescribing initiative launched 2017 by Canada Health Infoway with Telus Health, aimed to “axe the fax” and replace paper/fax…
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Soda pop study with the usual self-reporting bias food questionnaires links to risk of developing fatty liver disease. Not great to drink the stuff so limiting use is a healthful choice for many reasons but study itself cannot demonstrate causality.
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 13, 2026 Source:This Everyday Nonalcoholic Drink Could Be Linked to Serious Liver Risk, Researchers Say Reference:Soft drink consumption and increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Results from the health workers cohort study Referenced Study: “Soft drink consumption and increased risk of nonalcoholic fatty liver disease: Results from the health…
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Do I give the study that claims in just 7 minutes each day you could extend your life buy a year any credence? Absolutely not.
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 12, 2026 Source:In Just 7 Minutes Each Day, You Could Extend Your Life by a Year—Scientists Reveal How Reference:Minimum combined sleep, physical activity, and nutrition variations associated with lifeSPAN and healthSPAN improvements: a population cohort study Study Background: Cohort study from UK Biobank with 59,078 adults aged 40-69. Measured sleep…
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Babies given peanuts, fish, eggs early less likely to become allergic, study affirms
Medical Mythbusting Commentary for February 11, 2026 Source:Babies given peanuts, fish, eggs early less likely to become allergic, study affirms Reference:Risk Factors for the Development of Food Allergy in Infants and Children
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