As Japan suffers through a big aftershock, there are more questions about radiation and other kinds of environmental damage, and online media experiment with telling Japan's story digitally. Another kind of aftershock follows this week's big paper on hormone therapy for symptoms of menopause. It showed that HT appears to reduce the risk of heart disease and even breast cancer in some women. That should have been good news, but it mostly added to the confusion.
Member articles
Homo erectus moved to India with tools about 1.5 million years ago. Homo sap moved to the New World with tools more than 15,000 years ago. Energy policy gets annotated and greenhouse gases get live-blogged. Is this the online future for science writing? The New York Times hits the wall. The pay wall. What to do about it?
After Japan's earthquake and tsunami, it's all about nuclear power plants and radiation. But how much of this stuff is reliable? Stanley Miller's origin-of-life experiments are reanalyzed. Portrait of Otzi, the Iceman.
All earthquake all the time in Japan and elsewhere. Tsunami too. Also nuclear reactor accidents and radiation. Plus free videos to help you blog your best from the New England Science Writers and ScienceOnline2011 (SciO11)
Dr. Kmucha’s learned as a patient how difficult it is to get all the information you need to make good decisions about medical care and treatment. As a doctor he strives to educate, communicate with, and engage patients however he can. To listen to the interview go to: http://engagingthepatient.com/2011/03/11/putting-patient-safety-in-practice/#more-1762
How the human brain got big. And, oh yes, how the human penis lost its spines. Microbes in meteorites vs science journalism. Jonathan Eisen vs Nature Part 2, Involuntary entrepreneurship = reluctant freelancing. Tom Lehrer sings the Periodic Table of the Elements, redacted.
Dr. Stephen Lawless has spent much of his career treating the sickest of the sick in pediatric intensive care units. Saving lives requires teamwork, attention to detail and clear lines of communication between parents and physicians. Now he’s taking the ICU lessons across the hospital and across pediatric medicine. Hear from an expert how to keep your child safe the next time you head to the hospital. Listen to the interview at:
Interview with NPSF President Diane Pinakiewicz about how patients can contribute to improving patient safety. Listen at: http://engagingthepatient.com
In the news, patient safety is often a dramatic issue. Infected blood products and a stray surgical instrument that shows up on a post-op x-ray make for riveting and disconcerting reads. But addressing the problem calls for better communication on all sides and attention to even the most mundane details patient after patient, day after day.
Even well-intentioned suggestions can lead to unintended consequences. We can all agree that wrong-site surgeries are needless and tragic.