Almost every day seems to bring a new scare headline about bird flu, e.g. “Governor issues disaster declaration as new avian flu outbreak detected in Weld County” (Colorado Public Radio News). [1] Below the headline, the articles typically warn that animal-to-human transmission is possible, and “mutations” of bird flu may
Harvard’s President recently resigned amidst allegations that she’d plagiarized dozens of her academic articles. Some have suggested this controversy was a “one off” or due solely to “politics.” But in January this year, the Harvard affiliate Dana Farber Cancer Center announced its retracting six major cancer studies, and correcting 31
Returning to the office for the New Year I decided to clean up my bulletinboard. My thinking was that if it’s buried under layers of paper, it’s probably irrelevant by now. If not, it may be something past due for attention. I found one article of a type I periodically
It has long been understood diabetes is often a function of lifestyle. Lifestyle, Insulin-Resistance and Diabetes A lifestyle of inactivity and a high sugar-high carbohydrate diet is known to cause “insulinresistance” in which the tissues of the body become less sensitive to the regulation of sugar through insulin. This condition
The holidays can be a wonderful time to reconnect with faith, friends and family. It can also be a dangerous time to get sick. Something called the “weekend effect” has been studied in medicine. This describes how patients admitted to hospitals on a weekend, as opposed to weekdays, have higher
Reports of a severe pneumonia in Chinese children are gathering headlines. Early reports indicate that most cases involve school aged children being hospitalized for respiratory illnesses, including pneumonia. To date, no new viruses have been identified as the culprit. While pneumonia is of course a potentially very serious condition, our
New York’s Appellate Court recently upheld a regulation (“Rule 2.13”) which would allow the Governor significant, additional power to quarantine New Yorkers in a declared “public health emergency.” 1 Rule 2.13 was enacted in the wake of the Covid-19 Pandemic. To some, Rule 2.13 is a necessary adaptation in light
It has been reported that a Pathologist at the prestigious Johns Hopkins Hospital has pressured colleagues to falsify reports, to protect a surgeon from charges of unnecessary surgery. 1 The report cites sources who reportedly obtained their knowledge from a report by the national organization that reviews hospital accreditation (Joint
Many of us are familiar with “learning loss” in children due to Covid interruptions in their education. But some in medicine believe that changes in medical school education since Covid have had the effect of “dumbing down” our medical profession –which may bode ill for the quality of future doctors.
