Friday Blog Roundup

Bloggers have been looking at the numbers related to our health. WSJâs The Numbers Guy sheds light on the calculations behind global HIV-infection figures, which the U.N.âs AIDS agency has revised sharply downwards, and Mead Over at Global Health Policy hopes that the revision will re-focus attention on the need for cost-effectiveness estimates in the global response to AIDS. Shirley S. Wang at the WSJ Health Blog busts the myth that suicide rates rise during the winter holidays, while Merrill Goozner at GoozNews explains a mysterious Congressional Budget Office claim that health care co-pays by individuals have fallen as a share of health care spending.

Elsewhere:

Kevin Grandia at DeSmogBlog breaks down the alarming regional impacts that the latest Intergovernmental Planet on Climate Change report tells us we can expect.

David Roberts at Gristmill reports on a presidential-candidate climate and energy forum co-sponsored by Grist and Living on Earth.

Catherine Price at Broadsheet points out that scientistsâ success at giving stem cell-like characteristics to ordinary skin cells isnât without its own concerns.

Ed Silverman at Pharmalot alerts us to a potentially questionable appointment to the board of FDAâs new Reagan-Udall Foundation, which is supposed to streamline and improve the development of drugs and medical devices.

Maggie Mahar at Health Beat argues that a Wall Street Journal piece gets the cause of Swiss health care success backwards.

Bill Scher at .COMmon Sense identifies a crucial word missing from the CPSCâs list of Safe Shopping Tips.

Joel Makower at Two Steps Forward explains six ways that companies make misleading environmental claims on their labels.

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