Running Portfolio

2011-11-04T16:24:00.000-07:00

When there's just one cancer drug left to try and you're stuck on the waiting list -- my Los Angeles Times story on drug shortages.

Northe Olague has lived with ovarian cancer six-plus years, with the help of surgery and multiple chemotherapeutic regimens. Earlier this year, tests indicated that her cancer was growing again. Her doctor recommended Doxil, but by the time she was scheduled for treatment, she learned that the drug was unavailable.

Olague: "I was in disbelief."

Oncologist Michael Link, who leads the largest professional organization of cancer care providers: “It’s unfathomable.”

The drug’s maker, Johnson & Johnson, says the shortage was initially caused by production line problems. The worldwide supply of the drug is made at a single Ohio plant. Other chemotherapeutic drugs are also in short supply for various reasons, including supply chain economics and doctors' incentives to prescribe pricey brand-name drugs.

2011-10-04T17:58:00.000-07:00

My Los Angeles Times article on antibiotic use in agriculture received some outside attention.

Chris Lindsay of the Critical Wit podcast interviewed me about this and other recent work here.

And I commented on the issue for This Week in Earth here.

2011-10-04T17:53:00.000-07:00

Antibiotic use in agriculture can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria and those bacteria can infect humans. A new study gave me chance to dig into the issue for the Los Angeles Times.

The study found that the meat you buy at the grocery store is as likely as not to be contaminated with Staphylococcus aureus bacteria, according to researchers who sampled 26 grocery stores in five US cities. Yep, that’s a 50-50 chance. Worse, the staph is likely to be resistant to at least one antibiotic drug.

Farmers who raise food animals can buy feed with antibiotics in them -- the same drugs (or close enough) that are used as medicines in people. It’s perfectly legal and easy -- no veterinarian to sign off, just money to buy the food. A whole host of big name organizations -- the World Health Organization, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the American Medical Association to name a few -- condemn this practice and yet it continues.

Photo credit: jon smith photography via Flickr Creative Commons

2011-09-15T07:36:00.000-07:00

In my past life, I was a scientist who studied how contextual cues influenced drug action. I published papers in many scientific journals, although never this one: Physiology & Behavior.

In my present life, I’m a journalist who was invited to write for the same journal about anabolic steroids. Steroids are not usually considered drugs of abuse and society’s regulations on their use are quite different than illegal drugs. In a piece the editors were compelled to label “opinion” -- mostly because it did not contain primary data -- I reported on a real-life case study on how the internet aids the misuse of anabolic steroids.

2011-06-21T06:34:00.000-07:00

Are artificial food dyes harmless fun? Or do they make kids bounce off the walls? I explored the science behind these contradictory claims for the Los Angeles Times after an FDA advisory panel decided against warning labels for artificially colored foods. Many studies find behavioral effects of food dyes in kids, but they are too small and too variable to act upon.

One thing is for sure -- no harm in avoiding them. As nutrition researcher Laura Stevens says, “One thing about the food dyes, I don’t know of any nutritious foods that they’re in.”

Photo credit: Mouzzy via Flickr Creative Commons

2011-06-15T08:10:00.000-07:00

Biologic understanding of the hair follicle, the mini-organ that produces the shafts of keratin we call hair, has advanced by leaps and bounds in the last ten years. Now a handful of biotechnology companies are trying to translate this new knowledge into viable treatments for male pattern baldness and other types of hair loss.

I wrote about the new approaches for Nature Biotechnology (access limited to subscribers), which use cell-based therapies and topical drug cocktails designed to stimulate epidermal stem cells to create new follicles. Hair loss afflicts men, women, and children as a result of aging, disease, and medical treatments. The men's market is so huge, one researcher told me, “It’s mind-boggling.”

2011-06-13T12:11:00.000-07:00

Screening for cancer makes so much sense. Find the cancer early -- before symptoms show and tumors have grown and cancer has spread -- and have better chance of survival. However, in practice this is not always so. I wrote about an 18-year study in nearly 80,000 women found no benefit of screening for ovarian cancer for the Los Angeles Times. The lack of benefit couldn't have been more clear: no reductions in deaths, no finding cancers at earlier stages.

2011-04-04T11:27:00.000-07:00

For the Los Angeles Times, I wrote about a provocative study out of the Netherlands says that more than 60% of kids diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD) might be helped by changes in their diet. The study was significant because it did not exclude kids with known allergies or allergy-related conditions, such as eczema and asthma. And yet, doctors in the US are not exactly jumping on the bandwagon and suggesting dietary overhauls for their patients. (Neither are they doing so in Holland, say the study's author Lidy Pelsser.) The docs I talked to all agreed that there may be dietary triggers in some kids and if parents asked, they would help them plan a dietary intervention. But none were going to suggest trying diet before drugs unless asked.

2011-03-03T12:17:00.000-08:00

Last summer I worked on writing an e-book entitle Essentials of Cell Biology for Nature Education, in collaboration with Clare O'Connor, a biology professor at Boston College.

I think cell biology is an acquired taste, personally. I was never particularly interested in it when I was a graduate student or a researcher. But later, when I started my writing career, I often covered cell biology topics and research trends for The Scientist. I was intrigued -- I mean, cells have to take out their own garbage! Soon I was reading Lewis Thomas and I knew I was smitten.

I learned lots of fun facts while working on the e-book. For those of you who know this workflow: DNA to RNA to protein, did you know that it happens thousands of times each second in every cell? Cell biology blows me away.

2011-02-28T08:02:00.000-08:00

For February -- American Heart Month -- I reviewed the latest American Heart Association (AHA) guidelines for heart health for the Los Angeles Times. The AHA has boiled their advice down to seven things: some are straight numbers (blood pressure, cholesterol, and glucose) and some are behaviors (not smoking, diet, and exercise) and one is a little bit of both (maintain a healthy weight).

Easy to understand, seemingly easy to do, and yet surveys say that only 1% of Americans actually hit all seven criteria.

2011-02-23T13:37:00.000-08:00

Last year I wrote about two brothers who are developing a better epi-pen -- one that's smaller and easier to carry, has a retractable needle, and has clearer label instructions. Eric and Evan Edwards both have life-threatening allergies and they started work on their device when they were still in college. Now they have a patent on their invention in partnership with Virginia Commonwealth University, where Eric is on leave from the medical school. The story can be found here in the Spring 2010 Dean's Discovery Report.

2011-02-22T08:44:00.000-08:00

A new study says less is more in breast cancer treatment. I wrote about this counterintuitive finding for the Los Angeles Times. In women with small tumors and signs of lymph node invasion, it turns out that surgically removing cancer-containing lymph nodes from under the arm makes no difference in a woman's survival. Breast cancer experts say this shift in strategy has been a long time coming.

Why wouldn't cutting out cancer help? It's because by the time cancer shows up in lymph nodes, it's proof of escape from the initial tumor site, and many routes are open to spreading cancer cells including the blood and the lymph. "You can't cure metastatic disease with a scalpel," says UCLA's John Glaspy.

2009-11-10T07:19:00.000-08:00

In March, I wrote about prostate cancer for the Los Angeles Times, after radio talk show host Don Imus announced he had the disease. Two large studies found that screening for the cancer has had a negligible effect on how many men die from the disease. Rather, more men are getting tests and treatments that may expose them to more harm than the disease itself. One big problem is doctors' inability to determine which prostate cancers will morph into killers and which will remain harmless. One doctor I talked to put it this way, "Prostate cancer is like the cat family. You have house cats and you have tigers."

I wrote several stories for the spring 2009 issue of the Dean's Discovery Report, a biannual newsletter that features faculty researchers and new facilities and centers at the medical school campus of Virginia Commonwealth University.

2009-11-10T06:42:00.000-08:00

In the April issue of Nature Biotechnology (subscription only), I reported on a new medicine approved for the treatment of gout -- Uloric (febuxostat) -- the first in 40 years. Three more new drugs are moving through clinical trials and drug-makers are hopeful about their approval by the FDA. The new drugs offer more choices to the limited options doctors have had for decades. And gout, yet another disease of our overconsumptive sedentary lifestyle, is on the rise.

(Image by 19th century caricaturist James Gillray.)

2009-06-08T12:32:00.000-07:00

I wrote a couple more scientist profiles for the scientific journal Nature. Neuroscientist Leopoldo Petreanu published a paper describing a new technique for mapping neuronal connections in the brain (story by subscription). And Luke Harmon did a laboratory experiment modeling how different fish species can influence pond ecosystems (story by subscription). Both stories carry an element of surprise and seredipity, as is so often the case in science. In Petreanu's case, early experiments were useless because all the neurons were lighting up -- until he figured out a way to isolate only functional connections between neurons. In Harmon's case, early experiments clearly showed the effects of different fishes -- but a pattern of effects only emerged when researchers measured the physical properties of the water, such as light penetration and dissolved organic matter.

2009-06-04T05:18:00.000-07:00

I wrote a story for the Los Angeles Times about last year’s outbreaks of two childhood diseases — Hib and measles — that are generally considered vanquished in the US. Scientists say that clusters of unvaccinated children in certain communities may give rise to more outbreaks. Fear of autism may be one reason why parents opt-out of vaccinating their children, but also today’s parents haven’t witnessed these diseases, and how severe they can be. Hib used to be the most common cause of bacterial meningitis and killed some 1,000 children each year.

Another LA Times story focused on a move by the FDA to put a black box warning on metoclopramide, a drug that stimulates stomach digestion. The reason? Metoclopramide can cause tardive dyskinesia, a neurological disorder that can be irreversible.

2009-05-20T13:25:00.000-07:00

Moving on to February...

I reported on a new study ranking antidepressant drugs for the Los Angeles Times. Researchers compiled data from more than 100 clinical trials and concluded that two antidepressants -- Zoloft and Lexapro -- bested the rest. Another study found that antidepressants were largely equivalent in their therapeutic effect. More damning is a third study that used internal FDA documents to prove that published studies exaggerate the benefits of antidepressants by publishing only those trials with positive results. The take home message (and my favorite quote, thanks to UCLA psychiatrist Lon Schneider): "They may be comparing a relatively ineffective drug with another relatively ineffective drug."

In Nature (access limited to subscribers), I profiled ecologist Simon Lewis, who has studied tropical forests in Africa and thinks that they absorb and store more carbon dioxide than has ever been realized -- enough to affect atmospheric concentrations of the greenhouse gas. In a recent study, Lewis used data collected by the forest service of a number of African countries to monitor the growth of forest trees over four decades.

2009-05-14T12:53:00.000-07:00

I've fallen terribly behind on posting my stories. Here's my first effort at catching up.

I wrote about genetically engineered animals for the Los Angeles Times in January, soon after the US Food and Drug Administration decided how they should be regulated. Essentially, these are farm animals to be raised for food or to produce biologic drugs. The engineering of genes are a high-tech way of breeding animals with certain desirable traits, such as fast-growing salmon that reach market weight much faster or pigs that make heart-healthy omega-3 fatty acids -- nutrients not usually found in pork. My Q&A article explains how genetic engineering is done, what products are under development, and what exactly the FDA will regulate -- and what it won't.

For Nature (subscription only), I profiled German scientist Marcel Kuypers, who discovered a new dynamic among gases, bacteria, and fishes in deep ocean waters. When oxygen levels drop -- as they do with algal blooms -- hydrogen sulphide levels can rise, poisoning fish and crustaceans in the vicinity. In Nambia, where the discovery was made, natives have long known that the smell of rotting eggs means that lobsters will congregate on the beach. Kuypers measured high sulphide in the absence of any surface smell or discoloration, and further analysis of his samples showed that unusual bacteria were feeding on the sulphide and thereby shielding it from animals that live in the surface waters, as well as from human detection. His finding suggests that sulphidic events are probably much more common and widespread than previously thought.

2009-03-11T09:16:00.000-07:00

Here's a word cloud of my blog posts, thanks to Wordle. The bigger words are the ones I use more frequently...

2009-01-23T10:48:00.000-08:00

Can you avoid exposure to cold and flu germs? What preventative measures really help? Such a simple question prompts a very complicated answer from science -- mostly because it's not clear how the viruses travel from one person to the next. One paper I read while researching my two-part story for the Los Angeles Times was entitled: "Rhinovirus transmission: One if by air, two if by hand."

In another story for the Los Angeles Times, I wrote about some rare but serious side effects linked to the osteoporosis drug, Fosamax.

For Nature (subscription only), I profiled a scientist who studies AIDS vaccines in animal models. Dan Barouch was in the midst of a three-year long study in monkeys when an important human vaccine trial was called off because it wasn't working. Barouch's vaccine was of a similar type (based on an adenovirus), but his method was different enough that he stuck with his experiment -- to a positive end. While much remains to be learned about vaccinating against HIV, this work shows that the regimen is as important as the vaccine itself.

2008-12-23T14:14:00.000-08:00

Eating fish is good for you and bad for you at the same time. Omega-3 fatty acids are brain food for fetuses, babies and children, and they promote cardiovascular health in adults. But fish also are contaminated with mercury, a toxin which interferes with the development of the nervous system in those same fetuses and babies. I wrote about the science behind a controversy brewing between two federal agencies that regulate fish for consumption -- the FDA and the EPA -- in a two-part article for the Los Angeles Times.

After carbon dioxide, methane is the second biggest contributor to the greenhouse gases involved in global warming. A new natural source of methane was identified by a monitoring station in Greenland during freeze-up in the fall of 2007. Results were published in Nature earlier this month and I interviewed the lead author, Torbin Christensen of Sweden, about the story behind the story (subscription only) for Nature's Authors Page.

2008-12-19T10:39:00.001-08:00

I wrote about the movement towards broader testing for HIV for the Los Angeles Times. In the past, the test was only offered to people in high-risk groups, such as i.v. drug users and gay men. Now, everyone between the ages of 13 and 65 should be screened, says the Center for Disease Control and Prevention. Age 13, you say? So did I, as the mom of a 12-year-old. Think of it as a necessary education in today's world. AIDS isn't going away soon, and as teens contemplate their sexuality and parents do their best to talk to their teens, a doctor saying, let's test for cholesterol and HIV, will drive that point home.

For the Author's Page at Nature (subscription only), I profiled Barry Trost, a medicinal chemist who found a shortcut to a complex chemical structure -- one that may pave the way for new anti-tumor drugs. Trost believes chemistry and development of synthetic tools is the key to improving the quality and the diversity of leads pursued by the pharmaceutical industry.

2008-12-19T09:42:00.000-08:00

Can people be vaccinated against high blood pressure? I wrote about two companies that think it's a viable therapy for Nature Biotechnology (subscription only). The vaccine stimulates the body to make antibodies against angiotensin -- a circulating hormone that tightens blood vessels -- and the target of most current antihypertensive medications. Early results in small studies have shown the vaccine to be safe and to have some efficacy. However, the products are up against two hurdles: showing they work better than standard treatments and overcoming physician skittishness about biologic products (as opposed to traditional pharmaceuticals).

One group of doctors who are very comfortable with biologics are rheumatologists. A biologic drug that has offered real hope for people suffering rheumatoid arthritis is infliximab (Remicade®), which is an antibody against an inflammatory mediator called tumor necrosis factor or TNF. I covered the Janssen Award symposium for the New York Academy of Sciences (subscription only) honoring the drug's inventors, Marc Feldmann and Ravinder Maini of Imperial College London. Their first success was reported in 1993 in a small study of 20 patients, whom Maini described described as “train wrecks—severely disabled people who had been through the gamut of therapies with no hope of benefit.”

2008-11-22T05:20:00.000-08:00

Is one city really "healthier" than another? After Burlington VT made news by being called the healthiest city in the US, I explored city rankings in general, and the basis for Burlington's honor specifically, for the LA Times . Another thing? All the cities in a top ten list are likely to be equivalent -- in other words, #10 (and maybe even #25) is not measurably different from #1.

Two weeks ago, I looked into the issue of drinking during pregnancy for the LA Times. No one disputes the damaging effects on the baby, called fetal alcohol syndrome, when a pregnant mom drinks a lot. What's not known is where the threshold lies between total abstinence and dangerous drunkenness. A recent study may help doctors reassure women who imbibe every once in a while, and have that reassurance be based on scientific evidence.

2008-10-30T08:24:00.000-07:00

I explored a rather grim topic for the LA Times Health section -- whether suicide might increase as the economy falls. Two recent deaths in Los Angeles were seemingly triggered by large financial losses (in one case) and home foreclosure (in the other). In fact, people rarely, if ever, commit suicide over one bad event. Studies have shown that some 90% of suicides occur in people with mental disorders (which makes them preventable by treating mental illness).

I told a scientist's story on the Nature (subscription only). While studying a factor involved in immunity, Peter Creswell discovered one pathogen -- food-borne Listeria -- that turns the factor into a traitor, benefitting bug over host.

For Skidmore's alumni magazine, I found out why seven alums work in the same office at NYU Langone Medical Center. One of them, boss Andrew Rubin, has found Skidmore grads to be his best source of motivated, ambitious employees. By recruiting at Skidmore, Rubin has also found a way to give back to his alma mater.

2008-10-15T07:08:00.001-07:00

My LA Times article this week considered the science behind the claim that energy drinks, packed with caffeine, sugar, and supposedly active botanicals, might lead to substance abuse. The so-called gateway hypothesis says that certain "soft" drugs such as marijuana or alcohol are stepping stones to using harder and more addictive drugs. Energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Wired, Boo-Koo, and Fixx, have been linked to drinking more booze and to abusing prescription stimulants such as Ritalin.

I also have a short article in Parenting magazine about finding math in everyday children's activities, everything from playing tea party and building block towers to singing the ABC’s and putting away toys. Most of us think of math as counting and addition tables -- what educators call "math facts" -- but that’s not all it is. Concepts such as sequencing, categorizing, and patterns lay the groundwork for much of the math that kids will encounter in school.

2008-10-01T12:03:00.000-07:00

For the Authors page of Nature this week (by subscription only), I profiled Gerard Evan of the University of California San Francisco who has a research paper in the same issue. Evan shared the story behind the research -- about an anti-cancer mechanism which was too good to be true -- giving credit to a postdoctoral fellow in his lab who had a cool tool and the initiative to apply it.

I wrote several articles for Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Medicine, which included profiles of new faculty members, a patent for screening new vaccines, and a new NIH-funded center for research on allergic diseases. A back-page story featured two researchers who collaborate on campus, but took time off this summer to explore different paths: one hiked across England, the other biked across America.

2008-09-30T08:35:00.000-07:00

Tainted Chinese infant formula has sickened thousands of babies and is blamed for four deaths in China. Could it happen here? My article in the LA Times says 'no, but...' Baby formula has been deemed safe, but FDA investigators are scouring the shelves of Asian food markets for illegal imports. New concerns are cropping up about other foods that may contain powdered milk products, such as coffee creamers, baking mixes, and frozen desserts.

The University at Albany has a new slogan and with it a new push to accentuate those areas in which it excels. I wrote a couple articles in the fall issue of the alumni magazine about two of these areas: Modern Vision and Life-Enhancing Research. I profiled the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and some of the research being done in the new Life Sciences Building.

2008-09-15T05:22:00.000-07:00

I've got an article in today's LA Times about a Supreme Court case that has the potential to radically change the way drug liability is handled in the US. Now, an individual who has been harmed by taking a pharmaceutical product can sue the company who made the product for damages. If the Supreme Court rules that drug makers' liability ends when a drug (and its label) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, consumers will have no such legal recourse.

I also wrote about mental health research and practice at Binghamton University (not online). The practice side told of a new psychiatric nurse practitioner program at the school to address the rising need for mental health care in today's society. In addition, the State of New York hopes that nurses trained in the rural Southern Tier of the state -- where the need is particularly acute-- will set up practice in the region.

2008-09-01T15:49:00.000-07:00

I wrote about medical marijuana for the LA Times last month. I started with those effects that have been touted as good (anti-pain, anti-nausea, muscle relaxant, appetite stimulant) and those that are deemed bad (addiction, risks to mental health, lung damage) and dug up the best scientific studies on each. The advocates are in there as well, with valid points to make on a topic that's been debated for decades. A new delivery system uses a vaporizer rather than smoking joints.

I also wrote an essay for the Washington Post about my experience in adult gymnastics class -- and the memories it inspired of my teenage years as a competitive gymnast.

2008-07-13T05:12:00.000-07:00

Two articles out this week had me writing about research in foreign lands and foreign plants in the wilds of the Adirondacks.

I wrote the annual piece about scientific research careers in Europe for Science. The European Union has recommended that member countries strive to invest 3% of their gross domestic products on research and development. My article focused on two giants, Germany and the UK, an up-and-comer, Spain, and a fading glory, Italy. None are at 3% yet. I reported on new funding initiatives, new research centers, and other strategies to attract and keep researchers -- both homegrown and from abroad.

For Plenty magazine's website, I wrote about a program that trains volunteers in the Adirondacks, residents and summer folk alike, to survey lakes and ponds for invasive plants. Writing from the perspective of a participant (I plan to survey three bodies of water this summer), I described the challenge of positively identifying the bad plants from the good -- most of the problem plants have look-alike native cousins. If I can find them early, before they're well established, it increases the chances of eradication.

2008-06-12T08:04:00.000-07:00

Translational research was the focus of a feature I wrote for Nature Reviews Drug Discovery (you have to register, but it's free for now). New funding in the UK and the US is meant to build the infrastructure to support the human experimental work necessary to "translate" promising basic research into medical practice. That infrastructure is less about facilities and more about career structure that rewards teamwork and sharing the cost burdens of clinical research.

For Nature, I reported on a diversity in science program at the University of North Carolina that's unusual in two ways: it's been around for 30 years and it supports postdoctoral fellows rather than graduate students. The program's express intent is to groom postdocs for academic research positions, to help universities (especially those in North Carolina) diversify their faculties.

2008-05-09T19:43:00.000-07:00

This week I wrote about new treatment options for enlarged prostate, called benign prostatic hyperplasia, for the LA Times, including recent evidence that Viagra and Botox can help. If new drugs -- or new uses for old drugs -- isn't enough for you, check out the related shorts on advances in surgery, lifestyle factors, and herbal medicines, namely saw palmetto. In addition to researching the literature, I learned that urologists are funny. Unfortunately, some of their juicier quotes weren't appropriate for a newspaper audience.

2008-04-25T03:32:00.000-07:00

I profiled Marja Makarow, a Finnish scientist who is now leading the European Science Foundation, for Nature. In doing so I learned the word sisu. It refers to a Finnish personality trait -- think resiliency -- that means "the ability to move through stone." Makarow has it. Shouldn't everyone who works in policy?

I wrote several articles for a Virginia Commonwealth University School of Medicine newsletter. I profiled six "new recruits" for the Dean's Discovery Report (click Spring 08 for PDF), including Steve Negus, a drug abuse researcher I know from my scientist days. I wrote the "patent spotlight," about a chemist who makes marijuana-like compounds and has brought in more licensing revenue to the university than anyone else. And I wrote the "back page," about a faculty member who was once an auto mechanic and now restores vintage cars.

2008-04-03T15:18:00.001-07:00

I profiled Dave Tapolczay, the new chief of technology transfer at the UK's Medical Research Council (MRC), for Nature. This is no small shakes, as licensing revenue from MRC intellectual property ran to $92 million last year, and start-up companies based on ideas developed by MRC-supported scientists the (17 in the last two decades) create both jobs and revenue for the country.

I covered a symposium on predictive toxicology, diagnostics, and personalized medicine, all under the rubric of Toxicogenomics for the New York Academy of Sciences. The symposium was fascinating, with five speakers covering a wide array of practical applications of human genetics. For example, using a genetic marker to predict which patients will suffer a serious side effect -- even so-called idiosyncratic ones -- after taking a pharmaceutical. Also in breast cancer patients , predicting who will benefit from chemotherapy and who will not -- and therefore shouldn't be subjected to its side effects. Unfortunately for you NYAS nonmembers, you can only view the opening screen of the web presentation (the e-briefing).

2008-03-19T12:40:00.000-07:00

I wrote about artificial sweeteners for the LA Times Health section. My article was a follow-up to a widely reported study in rats that found aspartame-eating rats ate more food and gained more weight than sucrose-eating rats. The study's authors say it's Pavlovian conditioning, a topic near and dear to my heart. I talked to researchers who study obesity in humans for their take on the study and how it might--or might not--apply to us.

I profiled the new head of a new academic consortium in Scotland for Nature. Mike Tyers moved from Canada to lead the Scottish Universities Life Sciences Alliance (SULSA), one of several "pooling" initiatives whereby the universities and the Scottish government fund new research positions and core facilities to foster collaborative research.

2008-03-07T12:37:00.000-08:00

I wrote an article for the Los Angeles Times that digs a little deeper into the science of influenza and the flu vaccine. After hearing about the new recommendations for vaccinating all US children for flu every year, as proposed by an advisory panel at the Centers for Disease Control, I wondered, who really dies from flu? As a parent, do I have to worry about this for my relatively healthy kids? I was assigned to write A Closer Look, a column that regularly takes a look at the facts and opinions about topics in the news. With epidemiology -- the main science here -- estimates substitute for facts and opinions are mixed.

I have another careers piece in Science, about drug discovery and development called A Complex Team Sport . It's an overview of what kind of skills and mindset are best suited for a job in drug discovery and development, and what's needed to get hired. Typically these careers are in the pharmaceutical industry, but I also included some government and university programs that train and hire scientists.

2008-02-11T11:07:00.000-08:00

My favorite article of the week is Nurturing Women Scientists for Science magazine. It's about institutional efforts to increase the numbers of women in science in both academia and industry. What used to be a pipeline problem (fewer women with science degrees) has become a hiring and retention problem. Women in science is a perennial feature for the magazine and I've read many of them over the years. I was pleased to have the opportunity to write it.

I profiled Sir Leszek Borysiewicz a couple weeks ago in Nature. He's the new head of the Medical Research Council in the United Kingdom (analogous to the US National Institutes of Health).

I covered a scientific conference on Inflammation in the Central Nervous System for the New York Academy of Sciences about the double-edge nature of the immune system. With very different examples, the three speakers described how therapies targeting immune function produce problematic effects, secondary consequences of tinkering with a very complex system. (Only the introductory page is accessible to nonmembers.)

I wrote two stories for my local newsweekly, the Spotlight. One piece was about online dating (but it's not available online!). It was part of a package on finding love; the reporter I partnered with, Jennifer Farnsworth, wrote about speed dating and other offline ways to meet people. A second piece profiled a military catholic boys school here in Albany: the Christian Brothers Academy. I spoke to Brother Aloysius who has work at the school for 50 years (talk about perspective).