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Advancing Science through Conversations: Bridging the Gap between Blogs and the Academy
A postdoc by day and a scientific activist by night, Nick Anthis isn't letting his research in protein structure and function get in the way of defending scientific and social progress.
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Category: health policy
I recently had the pleasure of writing an op-ed piece about health care reform for my hometown newspaper, the Fort Worth Star-Telegram, and it ran in the paper today. You can check it out online here. I grew up reading...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:41 PM • 2 Comments •
Category: universal health care
Socialized medicine isn't even on the table right now... unfortunately.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 4:22 PM • 15 Comments •
Category: blogosphere
Although I've only written a bit about the recent outbreak of influenza A H1N1 (swine flu), I'd encourage you to take a look at this post by Kent Newsome that discusses where to find reliable information on this topic. This...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 11:26 AM • 8 Comments •
Category: structural biology
All H1N1 swine flu isolates tested to date are resistant to adamantane-based drugs. This post explains the origin of this resistance in light of what we know about the structure and function of influenza proteins.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:49 AM • 33 Comments •
Category: medicine
Yesterday, the Institute of Medicine released a report entitled "Conflict of Interest in Medical Research, Education, and Practice". As far as I can tell, the full report is only available for a fairly substantial charge, but these are some of...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:54 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: human rights
Further to the points I wrote about in my previous post on the CIA torture memos, Mike Dunford of The Questionable Authority has previously raised another important issue: the complicity of medical professionals in CIA torture: Reading these memos, it's...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 10:42 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: vaccines
The Lay Scientist has a new guest post up from British physician "DeeTee" about measles, a horrible disease that until recently had been virtually eradicated from the developed world. Unfortunately, despite the fact that measles is totally preventable with proper...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:46 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: philosophy of science
Human medicine is rife with unempirical interventions.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:47 AM • 7 Comments •
Category: biology
The active ingredient in marijuana causes cancer cells to begin to degrade themselves from the inside, leading to programmed cell death.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:12 AM • 27 Comments •
Category: Nobel Prize
was awarded for the discovery of HIV and the discovery that HPV causes cancer.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 9:10 AM • 3 Comments •
Category: drug industry
Another doctor is caught not disclosing payments from drug companies, but when will the drug companies themselves be held responsible?
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:10 AM • 5 Comments •
Category: medicine
Legendary heart surgeon Michael DeBakey passed away Friday night at the age of 99. From the Houston Chronicle: Medical statesman, chancellor emeritus of Baylor College of Medicine, and a surgeon at The Methodist Hospital since 1949, DeBakey trained thousands of...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:08 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: chemistry
That might not be possible, but ingesting isotopically-enriched food would make your waste even more valuable.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:37 AM • 1 Comments •
Category: HIV/AIDS
Scientists identify the alpha-4 beta-7 integrin as a co-receptor for HIV, offering a potential new drug target.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:23 PM • 3 Comments •
Category: HIV/AIDS
Antiretroviral drugs taken prophylactically protecting against HIV, some doubt about the effects of circumcision, and a blast from the past with John McCain
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:20 AM • 16 Comments •
Category: stem cells
Awkward? Probably. But, menstrual blood stem cells show some early promise.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 3 Comments •
Category: medicine
Guess what... we all get to play doctor!
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:25 PM • 10 Comments •
Category: scientific activism
Drug safety advocate Dr. Steven E. Nissen
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:44 AM • 0 Comments •
Category: death penalty
On Tuesday, California offered the courts a revised capital punishment policy, and I was dismayed to learn that a physician had helped formulate the policy.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:11 PM • 5 Comments •
Category: public health
It's a virtual smorgasbord!
Posted by Nick Anthis at 5:18 PM • 14 Comments •
Category: universal health care
The UK's National Health Service (NHS) is a matter of British pride, despite some minor shortcomings. Strong on preventative and routine medical care, the NHS has on the other hand been criticized for its long waiting lists required for more...
Posted by Nick Anthis at 8:12 PM • 1 Comments •
Category: health policy
When you live in the wealthiest nation in the world but can still claim over 40 million people without health insurance--despite spending more than twice as much per capita on health care as any other nation--you might have a problem....
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:08 PM • 4 Comments •
Category: death penalty
Another reason to question the death penalty: lethal injections are a pretty nasty way to go.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 6:14 PM • 0 Comments •
Category: drug industry
I'll be honest with you: sometimes I really don't know what to think about drug companies. I'll give them some credit, since unlike many of their peers they produce a product that is useful to society and has important humanitarian implications. I want to like them--I really do--but when I read about things like this, it becomes pretty difficult.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: universal health care
If Massachusetts were a physician, I'd have mixed feelings about visiting him or her. Sure, Dr. Massachusetts would be persistent and would try to make me feel better, but probably wouldn't do much to treat the underlying causes. Massachusetts would probably be an adept surgeon, but maybe not a great family doctor.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 7 Comments •
Category: universal health care
I had a great hassle-free trip to the doctor the other day, and it wasn't because I live in some fantasy world. I live in England.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 7 Comments •
Category: Fantastical Fridays
If you know what I'm talking about, and if you are in fact "cool", then you might also be interested in these recent research findings about the surprising lack of negative health affects associated with marijuana.
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 2 Comments •
Category: marijuana
Which of the following does not belong: (a) abortion, (b) medical marijuana, or (c) physician-assisted suicide? According the Supreme Court, the answer is (b) medical marijuana
Posted by Nick Anthis at 7:45 AM • 7 Comments •
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