Health
Plan B: My politically incorrect take on the news
Sometimes I feel like Alice in Wonderland, staring into distorting mirrors. The ongoing fight over Plan B has again precipitated this disquieting feeling.
Molecules to Medicine
Demystifying drug development, clinical research, medicine, and the role ethics plays
Health
Elections Have Consequences: Fungal Meningitis and Compounding Pharmacies
32 deaths. 461 cases...and counting. Unless you live under a rock, you probably know about the nationwide outbreak of an unusual fungal meningitis caused by Exserohilum rostratum, a plant fungus...
Health
From the Holocaust to Thalidomide: A Nazi Legacy
I was attending World Federation of Jewish Child Survivors of the Holocaust and Descendants 24th Annual International Conference in Cleveland last week, when my aunt, herself a survivor, handed me a copy of Newsweek with a cover article, “The Nazis and Thalidomide: The Worst Drug Scandal of All Time." The story was prompted by the drug developer, Germany’s Grünenthal, unexpectedly issuing an apology to the victims of its teratogenic drug—babies who sustained life-long wounds inflicted by their drug more than 50 years earlier.I’ve written some about thalidomide previously, in my initial Clinical Trials for Beginners posts, (here and here)...
Health
An Emergency Room's Closure: A Community's Betrayal
Although I've been busy traveling again, the struggle of the Boothbay peninsula communities to keep their hospital remains constantly on my mind. I've written two letters to the editor of the Boothbay Register*, which I am reproducing here to update my readers, as this is an example of broader David and Goliath healthcare struggles and a case study of a crisis in rural healthcare.The proposed closure of the ER is scheduled for April, 2013...
Health
Medicine in the Media: Debunking journal reports and news at #NIHMiM12
Until recently, my formal education in statistics was largely Darryl Huff’s “How to Lie with Statistics” and, more recently, Marya Zilberberg's “Between the Lines” (reviewed here ).
Health
Book Review: The Breast Cancer Checklist
This is “Breast Cancer Awareness” month, the much-hyped recognition of a serious problem that we should be conscious of throughout the year. The associated “pink ribbon” campaign sometimes feels akin to a “Hallmark holiday" sales gimmick, rather than recognition of the pain of breast cancer and need for further research...
Health
Drugs in Search of a Disease Pharma Targets Women
Last week I focused on drug advertisement for “Low T” catching up with all the attention given to menopausal women with declining hormones. But women still are the primary targets for pharmaceutical advertising, in part because they can be captured for multiple products—if not quite from the cradle, at least from puberty, through pregnancy, to menopause and to grave.What are some of the consequences of this relentless focus on women’s hormones and common symptoms?...
Health
Big Fish Eats Little Fish- Warning for Rural Hospitals
St. Andrews Hospital, Boothbay Harbor, Maine update.In my previous post, I outlined the looming menace to tiny St. Andrews hospital in Boothbay Harbor, Maine.I’ve met with one Lincoln County Healthcare (LCH) executive, Dr...
Health
Drugs in Search of a Disease-Men s Edition
In one sense, it is refreshing to see men being the target of pharma, after all these years of women being the focus of relentless—and misleading—advertising.
Health
Neil Armstrong s Death a Medical Perspective
Astronaut Neil Armstrong died August 25 th , following complications from a cardiovascular procedure on August 7 th , according to a statement from his family.
Blog Index
@ScientificAmerican
STAFFBehind the scenes at Scientific American
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Anecdotes from the Archive
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Anthropology in Practice
Exploring the human condition.
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Beautiful Minds
Insights into intelligence, creativity, personality, and well-being
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Budding Scientist
Everything you always wanted to know about raising science-literate kids
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Cross-Check
Critical views of science in the news
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Dark Star Diaries
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Dog Spies
Explore the science behind the dog in your bed
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Extinction Countdown
News and research about endangered species from around the world
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Eye of the Storm
The Science Behind Extreme Weather
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Science by and for kids ages 8-15
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Commentary invited by editors of Scientific American
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Hot Planet
Climate science in a changing world
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Illusion Chasers
Illusions, Delusions, and Everyday Deceptions
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Life, Unbounded
Discussion and news about planets, exoplanets, and astrobiology
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Observations
Opinion, arguments & analyses from guest experts and from the editors of Scientific American
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Roots of Unity
Mathematics: learning it, doing it, celebrating it.
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Rosetta Stones
Adventures in the good science of rock-breaking.
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SA Visual
STAFFIllustrating science since 1845
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Talking back
STAFFA science blog, sans blague
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The Artful Amoeba
A Blog About the Weird Wonderfulness of Life on Earth
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Voices
Exploring and celebrating diversity in science.
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