Below is my friend’s personal experience with the medical/pharamaceutical industry over the past 15 years. I suspect the story is not unique and underlines the profound lack of trust many feel with the industry. Without further ado….

I’ve had a couple of long-term conditions (migraines, chronic back pain after a back surgery) over many years, and so I’ve been to the doctor more frequently than many people my age (mid-30s). Since my early 20s, I’ve noticed a dramatic uptick in my doctors’ pill pushing.
Partly I think it’s managed care, which …

You may have noticed over the past few months….the plethora of political debates, myriad of formats (sitting down, standing up, standing in reverse order, blatantly partisan liberal moderator, blatantly partisan conservative commentator). One thing I’ve noticed, the topics are always the same. Not that these are important issues, but how many times do we need to hear the same thing?
A grassroots movement has developed in order to have the candidates debate scientific issues. The folks over at Science Debate 2008 have created a tremendous movement, now with the support of …

About a year ago, Berkeley became the first city in the nation to regulate nanoparticles. The legislation requires any manufactured nanoparticle to be reported to the city. The law is aimed at small nanotechnology startups that are springing up all over the Bay Area. To be clear, this law only requires companies to report the development on nanoparticles. Nanoparticles are used in a myriad of products, everything from sunscreen to solar cells.
The motivation? Nanoparticles can pass directly into cells, with potential harmful effects.
How dangerous are these little particles? No one …