Three open letters from scientists to the incoming Trump administration are being circulated, Tabitha M. Powledge writes, but their prospects for success are probably not good: "Were all these open-letter writers really aiming at Trump with hope in their hearts? … If they truly wanted to reach the President-elect, they should have chosen his usual methods of information gathering: cable news and Twitter." Also, stories about science writing win a science writing prize.
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Tabitha M. Powledge unloads on writer Frank Bures and his Slate post — excerpted from his recent book — about premenstrual syndrome: "He declares that PMS is a 'cultural syndrome,' or 'cultural idiom of distress.' That doesn’t mean, he says, that the physical symptoms are imaginary, only that they are prompted by beliefs and expectations. Well, you can imagine. Nearly 400 comments so far. Quintessential mansplaining, as several commenters of the other sex have noted."
Dementia rates have declined over the past dozen years, but some of the most promising treatments for a leading cause, Alzheimer's disease, are failing to live up to expectations, Tabitha M. Powledge writes: "Despite these continuing disappointments, will the hunt for a magic bullet against Alzheimer’s disease continue? You bet. Medicare is now spending around 20% of its funds on caring for Alzheimer’s patients. Not to mention that the profit potential is ginormous."
Tabitha M. Powledge examines the president-elect's positions on abortion, gay marriage, and health care and concludes that Donald Trump may be a "pronatalist," or a supporter of growing the U.S. population to boost the economy: "I wandered into this notion while trying to figure out why Trump currently embraces two policy ideas that on the surface appear antithetical: pro-life and pro-gay marriage. He expressed them most recently in last Sunday’s 60 Minutes broadcast."
From climate change and Obamacare to the EPA and marijuana research, Tabitha M. Powledge reviews what Donald Trump's election means for science: "Note that speculation is pretty much all it is — or can be — at this point. That’s because, while Trump’s policy declarations have been sweeping and startling, they also utterly lack details." Also, why Trump's victory can be explained better by voters' skin color than by their education, intelligence, or socioeconomic status.
Discussion of a New York Times story raising questions about genetically modified organisms is summarized by Tabitha M. Powledge: "If there’s one thing we should have learned, it’s not to look at GMOs as A Thing. Case-by-case is the only sort of analysis that makes sense. But of course case-by-case means lots of detail and a very long piece, not a popular approach for writers (or editors)." Also, the state of marijuana research as five more states vote on legalization.
Tabitha M. Powledge reviews John Oliver's take on the problem of prescription painkiller abuse and Big Pharma's role: "This time his topic was the opioid epidemic and its accompanying thousands of deaths. Which he laid at the feet of drug companies, especially Purdue Pharma, maker of the hugely successful opiate, OxyContin." Also, the sorry state elsewhere of television health news reporting, as evidenced by the latest evaluations at the HealthNewsReview.org website.
Four cities in Colorado and California have ballot issues to tax sugary drinks, and Tabitha M. Powledge summarizes some surprising sources of support and opposition: "Writing about a new study (free to read) published by the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Kerry Lauerman reported at To Your Health that nearly 100 health and medical groups have accepted money from Coke and Pepsi." Also, how this ususual election campaign is raising American stress levels.
What's in a name? If it's a health product, calling it a supplement and not a drug makes a big difference. Tabitha M. Powledge writes about one supplement, a life-extension product called Basis, that bypassed the FDA approval process because it's called a supplement: "Supplements — vitamins, herbal preparations, miscellaneous nostrums — can (and usually are) sold without needing to show that they are (1) safe and (2) effective." Also, the evolution of naked mole rats.
Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg and his wife Priscilla Chan are funding a drive to end human disease. Tabitha M. Powledge provides some context: "Their down payment on the vow is $3 billion over the next 10 years. At first bite, that sounds like a lot of money. But, as a number of commenters have pointed out, it’s puny compared with what the U.S. National Institutes of Health spends on biomedical research." Also, why 115 years may be the natural limit for a human lifespan.