Patients who take a close look at medical science in search of treatments are often appalled by what they discover. On the one hand, there's academic research, a self-contained and self-absorbed universe of its own where data may be internally consistent (on a good day) and robustly reproducible, yet often has little relevance to real-world clinical conditions.

The Medicaid drug program wasted $329 million nationwide in 2009 from states all too frequently reimbursing for a version of a drug that is more costly than another product with the exact same active ingredient, dose, form and bottle size.

Drug makers aren't chasing blockbusters like Lipitor anymore, or uncovering compounds the same way.

"Phake: The Deadly World of Falsified and Substandard Medicines" explores the underground trade in illegal medicines that kills over 100,000 people per year and supplants billions of dollars of real products.

Technological developments have driven the obesity plague, but technological change may also be more successful at reducing obesity than attempts to change people's eating and exercising habits have been.

The Food and Drug Administration's letter to Cheerios typifies the FDA's longstanding discomfort with health claims made on food labels, particularly those touting the medical benefits of certain diets and ingredients.

Studies show that drug advertising actually saves consumers money by alerting them to the benefits of new medicines that prolong and enhance life and reduce hospital stays.

Americans have for many years been paying the world's highest prices for pharmaceuticals--but is it more than their fair share?