The World of Biomedicine, in Brief
Q: What prompted the stereotype of psychiatrists medicating children at the drop of a hat?
A: Some psychiatrists take money from drug companies for giving lectures about medication, or even allow drug companies to ghostwrite medical journal papers for them. This creates the impression of a conflict of interest. It also adds to impressions that medicines are sometimes prescribed for the wrong reasons and that kids are getting too much care. In fact, there’s a dearth of children’s mental health providers.
Dürer: Pinpointing Pain
The use of 3-D models to track a patient’s pain has roots in a sixteenth-century sketch by a German master.
The Newborn Score
Lacking a standardized test to assess a baby’s health at birth, anesthesiologist Virginia Apgar created a simple rubric that persists more than a half century later.
Intestinal Flora: Our Germs, Ourselves
The bacteria inside us may form a symbiotic relationship that not only affects metabolism, but emotions and brain development as well.
A Premium on Gender
Insurers attribute higher premiums for women than men of the same age because of the increased cost of women’s care.
Predicting Suicide
Harvard psychologist Matthew Nock has undertaken a large-scale study to understand why people take their own lives and find ways to assess those at risk.
Comprehension Test
Cutting through the fog of medical jargon could help patients better understand—and perhaps improve—their care.
Protecting Children’s Hearts
A cholesterol test for 10-year-olds could show early signs of cardiovascular disease, yet critics foresee unnecessary treatment.
Parsimonious Care
The American College of Physicians’ new ethical guidelines has its members separating prudent cost controls from ones that may adversely affect patient care.
The Genome’s Dark Matter
From architecture to function, the ENCODE project's researchers are filling in the gaps in our understanding of human genetics.
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Each object found its unhappy place in a person’s trachea, larynx, bronchus, esophagus, stomach, pleural cavity, lung tissue, pharynx or tonsil. Each was removed—and kept—by a laryngologist with the improbable name of Chevalier Quixote Jackson.
