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October 30, 2008
When those of us who practice real medicine write about implausible medical claims, we are often accused of lacking compassion, as if offering false hope is the same as compassion. We are also accused of turning away from therapies that "couldn't hurt". After all, if someone wants to use…
October 30, 2008
By Sarah Vogel
The Science Board Subcommittee on Food Contact Applications of BPA (Bisphenol A), the expert panel assigned to evaluate the FDAâs Draft Assessment on BPA, released a report Wednesday, October 29, 2008, highlighting a number of severe limitations of the agencyâs assessment. Although…
October 29, 2008
Arghhh! I hate blog memes, but rules are rules. As Robert Service said, "a promise made is a debt unpaid, and the trail has its own stern code," and although I'm not sure how that applies, I'm forced to respond. From Abel over at TerraSig comes a random blog meme...literally.
For the uninitiated…
October 29, 2008
I told you earlier about Proposal 2, a proposed constitutional amendment here in Michigan. The lies being spread about this proposal are thick and vicious. Orac also goes into a bit of detail about the dishonest tactics being used, mostly by religious groups, to try and stop this prop.
Just to…
October 29, 2008
It's that time of year again---the time of year when everyone gets the sniffles, and everyone wants an antibiotic. Even folks who know better, who know intellectually that an antibiotic isn't going to fix their viral illness still harbor a strong suspicion that it just might help---and it couldn't…
October 29, 2008
With concerns growing about a nursing shortage, hospitals are looking at ways to improve retention of the nurses they have on staff. Susan Meyers at Nurse.com (via RWJF) reports on an initiative at Los Angelesâs Cedars-Sinai Hospital to improve physician-nurse communication in order to boost morale…
October 28, 2008
The Rotterdam Convention is an agreement addressing international movement of hazardous substances, but of course thereâs a great deal of debate about what qualifies as a hazardous substance. As convention parties met this week, several developing nations spoke up against adding asbestos to this…
October 28, 2008
I don't like to repost, but Steve Novella has some great pieces up right now, and this is directly related. --PalMD
s I've clearly demonstrated in earlier posts, I'm no philosopher. But I am a doctor, and, I believe, a good one at that, and I find some of this talk about "non-materialist"…
October 28, 2008
The American Public Health Association is holding its annual meeting this week in San Diego (check out their conference blog here), and members of the occupational health section will be gathering today to congratulate the winners of this yearâs awards. (Read about last yearâs awards here.) Here…
October 27, 2008
This article is cross-posted at Science-Based Medicine. Check it out. --PalMD
In a previous post, I argued that placebo is an artifact of certain clinical interactions, rather than a treatment that we can exploit. Apparently, there are a whole lot of doctors out there who don't agree with me.…
October 27, 2008
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure
Earaches, respiratory infections and diarrhea are the bane of existence for young parents. All are potentially the result of contagious agents. The most common agent for diarrhea in infants and children is rotavirus, a double-stranded DNA virus, that CDC…
October 27, 2008
Remember back in early May, when White House Chief of Staff Joshua Bolten sent a memorandum to all agency heads warning them:
"to resist the historical tendency of administrations to increase regulatory activity in their final months" and
directed, except in extraordinary circumstances, that…
October 26, 2008
In a little over a week, Michigan voters will be asked to vote on Proposal 2. The proposal is very simple. It is a constitutional amendment that makes Michigan a less hostile place for human embryonic stem cell (HESC) research. It forbids state or local government from passing laws that are more…
October 24, 2008
Once again, bloggers turn their keyboards to the economic crisis:
Merrill Goozner at GoozNews explores how the stock market's collapse may affect health-insurance premiums.
Chris Mooney at Science Progress looks at the grim prospects for increased science funding.
Kate Sheppard at Gristmill brings…
October 24, 2008
The UKâs Health and Safety Executive reports that 20 tradesmen die from asbestos-related diseases every week, and that number will likely increase. In an effort to reduce asbestos exposure among plumbers, joiners, electricians, and other maintenance workers, HSE has launched the campaign Asbestos:…
October 24, 2008
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure
Everyone knows newspapers are struggling, which means cutting back on everything, including investigative reporting. So it is nice to acknowledge that there is still some wonderful reporting going on. A particular standout has been Susanne Rust and her…
October 23, 2008
By Nathan Fetty
This is a slightly different post to the Pump Handle, mixing in some visuals.
Thereâs a route I often drive here in West Virginia that, not surprisingly, takes me through a lot of coal mining territory. Along this route, coal miners are rushing to and from work, and big coal trucks…
October 23, 2008
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure
With the advent of flu season the perennial question of the "next pandemic" is again making an appearance, although I think it is more of a cameo appearance than a substantive one. WHO, CDC and numerous state health departments are warning citizens about…
October 22, 2008
The FDA, already under fire in the wake of widespread food- and drug-contamination problems, is now facing criticism for its failure to adequately guard against conflicts of interest in its assessment of the safety of bisphenol A.
FDAâs draft assessment of the chemicalâs safety placed more weight…
October 21, 2008
The Union of Concerned Scientists has just released a report on the media policies at federal agencies, in order to assess âthe degree of freedom with which science is communicated at federal agencies.â The nonprofit organization analyzed 15 regulatory and science agenciesâ policies governing…
October 21, 2008
By Ruth Long
We, in the United States, generally feel safe when it comes to our water. Most people turn on their faucets at home without so much as a thought to where the water comes from or whether it is safe to use (consume). It would baffle us to no end if, for whatever reason, the water…
October 20, 2008
I took on the ScienceOnline09 anonymity panel because I thought it might be interesting, but the conversation that has developed has turned this into a much deeper issue than I had anticipated. I'm stepping into a big, brown pile of ethics here, and hopefully Janet won't make too much fun of me.…
October 20, 2008
A long awaited OSHA proposed rule on crane safety was published in the Federal Register on Oct 9. The current OSHA safety standards on cranes and derricks dates back to at least 1971, and these proposed changes have been in the works for 10 years. I've criticized OSHA's Asst. Secretary for…
October 20, 2008
by revere, cross-posted at Effect Measure
Here's some public health man-bites-dog news. George Bush's Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) did something right:
The Environmental Protection Agency on Thursday set stringent new standards for airborne lead particles, following the recommendations of…
October 19, 2008
How stupid do you have to be for Jenny McCarthy to legitimately toss the epithet back at you?
This question may seem unanswerable, but in this case, McCarthy may have gotten it half right regarding Dennis Leary. The headline at MSNBC delcares: McCarthy calls Leary 'obviously stupid'
I don't know…
October 19, 2008
My Fellow Americans,
In a very short time, you will be given the chance to exercise one of the greatest and gravest responsibilities for citizens of the world's most successful democracy. On that day, you will be choosing between two candidates, both tireless public servants whose personal stories…
October 17, 2008
This thread needed to be moved up for obvious reasons. Have at it. --PalMD
I've been writing quite a bit about "questionable" illnesses, shameless quacks and the like, but there are reasons that people seek out odd diagnoses and cult doctors. They feel crappy, and they haven't yet found someone…
October 17, 2008
Bloggers have more thoughts on the environmental and human-health impacts of the economic crisis:
Sarah Rubenstein at WSJâs Health Blog explains why a sick economy can make the case for health reform more compelling.
Joe Paduda at Managed Care Matters suggests a way to improve the health insurance…
October 17, 2008
Iâm repeating myself here, but itâs for a good cause. At the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health, weâve launched a multi-part study to understand the current policies surrounding scientistsâ work at government agencies and to…
October 16, 2008
I made a mistake. First, I got a little worked up during last night's debate because, when discussing health problems, both candidates gave shout-outs to relatively rare conditions rather than to the big killers. My second mistake was more grievous. I read something in HuffPo written by Deirdre…