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The internet has long been a place for the free exchange of ideas, regardless of the ideological beliefs of the posters. Indeed, the idea of internet censorship is anathema to Americans, whose free speech is protected by the First Amendment.But what can be done about the growing amount of harmful misinformation intended to influence thousands of people to make decisions that put not only their lives, but the lives of their and others’ children, at risk? Such is the situation for the anti-vaccination, or “anti-vax,” community, thousands of whose members flock to social media pages where they promptly remove “pro-vax trolls,” and post fear-mongering memes and exaggerated personal anecdotes. (Rachel Alter and Irwin Redlender, 2/4)

In so many domains, life is improving across the world. It doesn’t always feel that way. In surveys, Americans overwhelmingly believe that world poverty is getting worse or staying the same (it’s getting much better). And they tend to underestimate, by a wide margin, the percentages of children in the developing world who are receiving vaccines. Public health campaigns have been a big reason for major improvements, but urgent priorities remain. (Austin Frakt and Aaron E. Carroll, 2/4)

For the third consecutive year, life expectancy in the United States has declined. In fact, for the past 60 years our life expectancy has dropped in comparison to other rich countries. As we consider the state of our union, we should ask ourselves how this is possible, since the United States spends more on health care than any other country in the world. We think medicine will fix our problems. We should invest in medical treatments, but we must face disappointing results from medical research: Even the best clinical care has little effect on population life expectancy. (Robert M. Kaplan, 2/4)

Smallpox virus caused an estimated half-billion deaths in the 20th century before the World Health Assembly declared it eradicated in 1980. Our ability to diagnose and treat infectious diseases has advanced tremendously over the last century, but they continue to pose significant threats to the For example, the current Ebola outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo has become one of the worst in decades. Congress has already made substantial investments to guard against these threats and should ensure continued funding before the current authorization expires in 2020. (Brian T. Garibaldi and Lisa L. Maragakis, 2/4)

Among the many vexing issues faced by companies that conduct clinical trials, at least two of them — the large number of participants needed for trials and participants’ fears they will be end up getting a placebo — can be eased by using an innovative approach to collecting comparison data called synthetic control arms. With the skyrocketing cost of clinical trials, the proliferation of digital data, and a new FDA commitment to considering real-world data in regulatory decision making, it’s the right time to begin using synthetic control arms. Medical product development is at the brink of a new age of evidence generation, an environment that’s ripe for disruption. The next step requires risk taking, not something this industry is known for. (Jen Goldsack, 2/5)

We’ve read the recent headlines:“U.S. birth rate plummets to lowest point in 30 years.” “U.S. fertility rate declines for seventh year running.”It turns out we’re 16 percent below the level needed for our population to replace itself. Most coverage includes an expert who aims to assuage any concern. He points out that this decline may actually be a positive sign. It shows women have more control over pregnancy than ever and are making the decision not to have as many children. (Danielle Eldredge, 2/2)

There’s plenty of public awareness about the dangers of skin cancer, but much less about the benefits of sun exposure. Our skin isn’t just a passive, inert covering. Taking in sun allows the body to manufacture vitamin D, and more recent research suggests that when exposed to sunlight, skin helps regulate blood pressure. It’s possible that current recommendations to stay out of the sun might be counterproductive for darker-skinned people, who are at lower risk for skin cancer and higher risk of hypertension. (Faye Flam, 2/4)

“Live everyday like it’s your last.” If another person repeats that trite aphorism to me, in an attempt to soften my brother’s death with a philosophical spin, I think my head will explode. If I lived every day like it was my last, I would not go to work or brush my teeth. I’d spend every day eating raw cookie dough and chicken wings. (Michael J. Stern, 2/1)

In an effort to address California’s housing crisis, Gov. Gavin Newsom committed during his campaign to building 3.5 million homes in the next seven years. But that annual average of 500,000 new homes is without precedent in California history. It has been 30 years since the state has managed to construct even half that many new residences in one year. If nothing else, the new governor deserves credit for his ambition. (Dan Schnur and Steve Westly, 2/1)

Ohio may finally be turning the corner on drug-overdose deaths, and that is exactly the right time to keep the pressure on to fight opioid addiction. The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently pointed to Ohio as having the largest decrease nationally in drug-overdose deaths. The distinction is not all that much a cause for celebration, given the state was previously identified as being second only to West Virginia for having the most fatal overdoses per capita. (2/5)

Los Angeles County leaders often call their jail system the nation’s largest mental hospital, and to our great collective shame, they are correct. The jails are where we dump thousands of people who really ought to be in psychiatric hospitals, community-based rehabilitation programs or supportive housing. Those facilities were supposed to be built decades ago to replace state mental institutions, which too often served as abusive warehouses for society’s sick and unwanted. The state institutions closed on cue — but precious few of the humane, treatment-oriented alternatives were ever built.So now we “house” much of the mentally ill population on the street, until breakdowns or other crises lead to confrontations and criminal charges. Then they go to jail. (2/4)

Kentucky legislators are back in Frankfort with another hypocritical and dangerous bill intended to threaten pregnant people’s access to reproductive health care. Under the guise of “freedom from discrimination” and “ethical and humane treatment,” House Bill 5 seeks to prohibit physicians and other medical professionals from performing abortions if they have “knowledge that the pregnant woman is seeking the abortion, in whole or in part, because of … the sex … race, color, or national origin, …diagnosis, or potential diagnosis of Down syndrome or any other disability.” (Joan Kofodimos, 2/4)