musings on medicines from the Earth
Abel Pharmboy is the nom de plume of an academic researcher and educator who holds a PhD in Pharmacology. He writes on natural product drugs and dietary supplements, academic career development, medical journalism and, occasionally, making and listening to music and wine appreciation for the monetarily-challenged.
You can learn quickly the distinction between the fields of Pharmacology, Pharmacognosy, Pharmacy, the Pharmaceutical Sciences by clicking on the hyperlinks. You can learn more about the author here.
"Why Terra Sigillata?" will tell you about the origin of the blog name.
Please feel free to contact me off-blog by e-mail to abelpharmboy (at) gmail (dot) com.
Please read the DISCLAIMER for details on the blog's intended audience, advertising and comment policy, and how not to use the information presented herein.
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July 31, 2006
Category: Political interference in science
Interesting timing: former US National Cancer Institute director and current acting FDA commish Dr Andrew von Eschenbach is about to go before the Senate tomorrow regarding his nomination for the permanent position. You know that he was going to get...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 12:38 PM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Blog quizzes
After being prompted by GrrlScientist and Prof John Lynch, I took this test again remembering that I scored in the 79th percentile before we joined ScienceBlogs.com. The results page states further that, "it's time to apply to MIT," but after...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 3:16 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 30, 2006
Category: Cancer
If posting frequency is any indication, regular readers might be able to tell that the last two or three weeks have not been the highlight of my life. And, thankfully for you, I've kept much of it off-blog because of...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:57 PM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Politics
I very rarely post directly on issues of politics outside of science policy, biomedical research funding, or political interference in the scientific process. However, the came in last night from frequent Terra Sig commenter and all-around kool lady, Anjou: This...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:38 AM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 28, 2006
Category: The Friday Fermentable
Welcome to our 2nd installment of The Friday Fermentable, Terra Sigillata's Friday fun-blogging feature. You can read our mission statement at the original post last week, but the goal, briefly, is to celebrate the particular class of natural products that...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 6:48 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 26, 2006
Category: Ask A ScienceBlogger
This week's 'Ask A ScienceBlogger' focuses on reports such as those in National Geographic and DailyKos that global warming is having, and will progressively have great influence, on wine grape-growing. The idea is that grapes grown for premium wine production...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:29 AM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 25, 2006
Category: Blogging community
If you read any sort of science blogs, you may remember when Pharma Bawd at Moment of Science burst on the scene in Feb 2006 at with her pathway of metabolism of evolution information. Reading about enzymes like Respectful Insolence...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:07 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 24, 2006
Category: K-12 education
There was really nothing more I could add last week regarding all of the turmoil at/about the US Food and Drug Administration in the aftermath of the much-debated survey results, as covered by my SiBlings and elsewhere last week. A...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:20 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 23, 2006
Category: Health Care
Reading the paper this morning reaction to murder charges being brought against a New Orleans doctor and two nurses post-Katrina makes me want to read a little more into the facts of the cases. However, my SiBling, Prof Shelley Batts...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:32 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 21, 2006
Category: The Friday Fermentable
Welcome to the inaugural edition of The Friday Fermentable, the end-of-week fun feature of Terra Sigillata.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:01 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 20, 2006
Category: Drug safety
Being part of a family with a high penetrance for both depression/anxiety and migraines, I can't tell you how many times I've asked docs and pharmacists whether it is safe to take a "triptan" class migraine drug (e.g. Imitrex, Zomig)...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 12:11 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Cancer
Is it me or does anyone else feel like Terra Sigillata is becoming ScienceBlogs.com-version of the obituaries section of your local newspaper? This just in from the NCI Cancer Bulletin: Dr. Robert B. Dickson Dies at 54 Former NCI investigator...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:11 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 19, 2006
Category: Colorado
While we're on the topic of death and acknowledging that 70-ish is a life well-lived, I'd note that experimental pharmacologist and legendary gonzo journalist, Dr Hunter S Thompson, would have been 69 yesterday. His widow, Anita, keeps a blog at...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:27 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Cancer
If you get this in your e-mail or RSS feed, don't bother reading - yet another family member of a dear friend lost their battle with cancer, again, and way too early.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:29 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 18, 2006
Category: Botany
Monday's contest to win $50 decoding the chemical and historical nature of the Terra Sigillata banner masthead got such a response that I didn't even expect it. Amazingly, one entrant answered 4 of the 5 questions correctly, with the 5th...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 2:32 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 17, 2006
Category: Botanical/Herbal Medicines
Get ready to be barraged by news of a proprietary pine bark extract exhibiting efficacy against attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Today's report by the French company that manufactures a maritime pine bark extract seems to be associated (see press release below fold) with Dr Steven Lamm, a clinical assistant professor at NYU Medical School, and based on results published in the journal, European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:09 AM • 6 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Chemistry
Answer some historical and chemical questions about the Terra Sigillata masthead banner and you can win up to fifty US dollars (get 'em while they still have some value).
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 12:02 AM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 16, 2006
Category: Personal
Dear Mom, I was still sick all day on our first day back from vacation. However, I just wanted you to know that we are all thinking of you for your birthday today hoping, especially, that the celebration included healthy...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 9:46 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 15, 2006
Category: Colorado
I've gotten a few raised eyebrows this week as to why a modestly-compensated, mid-career cancer researcher would choose to (or could afford) to vacation in Aspen, Colorado. I'll have more to say about this, but just one example of why...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 9:50 AM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 14, 2006
Category: The Friday Fermentable
As alluded to on ScienceBlogs.com editors' Page 3.14 blog, many of us are formalizing our more light-hearted posts on Fridays to coincide with the inevitable dropoff in internet traffic and reality-based work. I had intended to launch today "The Friday...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 3:27 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 13, 2006
Category: Nursing
As PharmMom is a retired nurse and some of my favorite health sciences students have been nurses, it is always my pleasure to promote Kim at Emergiblog. It's always worth a trip over if for nothing other than her vintage...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 8:26 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 11, 2006
Category: Botanical/Herbal Medicines
For several years, various media outlets have asked my opinion about herbal medicine and dietary supplement issues. I've generally written several pages of responses only to find a few key quotes mined from my paragraphs of wisdom (in my mind). No problem at all; I just have trouble with churning out sound bites. So, I'd like to share with you stuff that never makes it to the so-called mainstream media. This is a repost of classic Terra Sigillata that first appeared on the old site on 8 May 2006.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 1:29 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Colorado
Sorry, gang, but this is just more journal than blog - and yet another emphatic and blathering reason of why I love this town.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 1:03 PM • 4 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Research
Long-life runs in families, right? Why?
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 10:14 AM • 3 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 10, 2006
Category: Colorado
Turns out that I was not the only one offended by the content of Ken Lay's biography and obituary:
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:50 AM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 9, 2006
Category: Colorado
I wasn't going to disclose my location while on working vacation, but since half the world already has my dang cell phone number, I might as well share with you the latest from Aspen. Apologies to my SiBllings Karmen and Kevin for having such a short jaunt through the Front Range and being unable to catch up this time. Sounded like Kevin was checking out for awhile himself.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 2:08 PM • 2 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 7, 2006
Category: Quackery
This link provides a truly lengthy diatribe on "11 Effective, Natural Strategies To Kill Your Cancer" that I found the other day while reading on ABCNews about Sheryl Crow's battle with breast cancer. It literally takes about 15 min to read and then ends with a list of links to purchase products mentioned in the "report," with nearly all being mail order supplements from one Robert Harrison of Homer, Alaska.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 2:53 PM • 5 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 5, 2006
Category: Navel-gazing
I've gotten a bit sidetracked so we'll have to wait on my follow-up on pharmacist's refusal and some posts I've been working on about curcumin in cancer and the concerns about lay persons making treatment recommendations about lymphoma treatment.
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 11:59 AM • 8 Comments • 1 TrackBacks
July 4, 2006
Category: DonorsChoose.org
As noted in my last post on the end of our ScienceBlogs.com DonorsChoose campaign to raise funds for public schoolteacher projects around the country, we have all been amazed at the outpuoring of generosity from readers who share our passion...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 10:47 PM • 1 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
Category: Community
Sometimes, it's just best to leave the truth and sentimentality to the most idealistic among us...
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 3:39 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
July 2, 2006
Category: DonorsChoose.org
The DonorsChoose campaign here at ScienceBlogs has come to a close and our challenge has been the beneficiary of the generosity from about 10 donors. However, one donor stands out for having given a total of $3500!
Posted by Abel Pharmboy at 7:20 PM • 0 Comments • 0 TrackBacks
