The Ancient Mechanics and How They Thought

I came across this article in the New York Times and realized the numerous correlations it had with the topic we discussed in class about "Science Journalism." Even though personally being a student of science and already being familiar about three classes of levers and mechanics. I found it very interesting to read about a topic in Science written not by a Scientist but by a Journalist. I realized the writer of this article may have some knowledge about levers functionalities especially being that this is one of the fundamental knowledges in Science. But in many instances I came across specific quotation and paraphrases made by other knowledgable professors and scientists. I presume this was the writers way of recognizing the importance of accurately relating a topic about Science. The writing style lingered within the midst of both a historical as well as popular entertainment realms. The article was focused towards the general public, people who might find it interesting to know about one of the fundamental rules of science, and was not written targeted for a specific group. Hope you like it, Enjoy!

Doctor, Did You Wash Your Hands?

I think this article from today’s Health Section in the New York Times makes evident just how important a positive doctor-patient relationship is.

If a patient (and/or their family) feels marginally comfortable with their doctor, such that only certain questions are permissible, it makes us wonder how many accidents/errors/or conflicts could have been avoided.

One method of potentially improving patients’ ease is through thorough explanations by the doctor and/or medical team. By providing a comfortable, informed environment, health care providers can foster a setting in which conversation is easy.

By telling the patient things to expect, details of/reasons behind the process, and their experience with the procedure, patients are comforted, and most importantly, informed. By having a general understanding of the upcoming events or expectations, patients may be better able to formulate questions for their doctor.

By laying out the expected proceedings, things to watch out for, as well as general information, a better experience can be attained on both sides of the scalpel, regardless of science literacy levels or other means of access to medical information.

British Housing Controversy

I thought this article was interesting in itself, but as we're speaking about science journalism there are some components that I paid special attention to. One of which was the 'sources.' We talked in class about how reliable, credible, believable sources are critical. I'm curious as to what others think about who was cited. The article obviously poses a personal threat to local citizens and it is a issue that affects everyone. The author states statistics about the numbers of petitions that have been signed, yet not one local, unofficial citizen is interviewed, cited, etc. I wonder if it was part of the 'deadline' constraint, and whether it was an article purely for reporting on the issue, not controversy, so time did not allow further investigation. Or whether space was limited, as it's a short, brief article and it may be subject to further coverage.

Those are just things that came into my head while reading this. I'm curious if others think the same.

Lung Cancer Genes Identified

This article discusses the novel findings that specific gene variants may make some smokers and former smokers more susceptible to lung cancer. These gene variants have also been hypothesized to facilitate nicotine addiction. I feel this finding will soon have a significant impact in communication between physicians/counselors and smokers. For example, if a smoker bears the genetic variant, his or her physician can use this information to better understand the patient's addiction. As noted by the article, these findings "could lead to improved and individualized smoking-cessation drugs and programs, which are currently successful only 25% of the time." A smoker may need both behavioral therapy (for the psychological element of addiction) and a medicinal approach to successfully curb addiction. New medicinal approaches may include gene therapy or the development of drugs to interfere with the biochemical mechanism of nicotine addiction.

As public health officials are always looking for ways to reduce the number of smokers, I feel we will observe new approaches in communicating the risks of smoking and the psychological/physiological to the public in the near future.

Relevant Links (Nature):
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06885.html
http://www.nature.com/nature/journal/v452/n7187/full/nature06846.html

Related Video (Nature):
http://www.nature.com/nature/videoarchive/smokinglungcancer/

Agreement postpones killing of sea lions at Oregon Dam

This article was found on the CNN website and discusses the problem of the California sea lions located at a dam on the Columbia River. The issue that the states of the Pacific Northwest (Washington and Oregon) have with the sea lions is that while the sea lions are located at the dam they are able to eat many of the endangered salmon that make their runs up the Columbia. Due to the threat of the sea lions on the salmon many people are pushing for the sea lions to be either captured or killed. However, the Humane Society doesn't think this to be fair and would rather see the sea lions moved into zoos or marine theme parks. While the salmon are protected by the Endangered Species Act, the sea lions are also protected by an act, the Marine Mammals Act. It would not be justified to say the sea lions must be killed because they are disrupting an endangered species, because we would just be killing other animals protected by acts when we killed teh California sea lions.

AIDS Drug Lifts Heart Attack Risk, Study Shows

This article was found in the New York Times and discusses the correlation of an AIDS drug with an increase in heart attack risk. Two AIDS drugs, Ziagen and Videx, both are very commonly used by many individuals with AIDS. However studies have shown that these two drugs could increase the risk of heart attacks by more than 50%. AIDS drugs are becoming more and more beneficial for patients with AIDS, and because of this the reward is worth the risk for many patients. As this new information gathered in this study is informed to doctors who treat AIDS, they must make sure to relay this information back to the patient. It is important for the doctor to be able to communicate well with the patient in order to explain some of the risks that may occur when taking these drugs.

Cholesterol Crisis?

This article discusses how a new drug study has come out with new information that a perscribed medicine does lower one's choloesterol, but it may not be good for your heart. This information is contradiciting, and doctors are trying to figure out how this medicine actually works. I feel as though this is directly related to science communication because if the doctor's are unaware of how a certain perscribed drug works, then then consumer of the drug will be unaware as well. I think it is extremely important that people know exactly how the perscribed drugs are benefitting their health. Communication between the doctor and patient is crucial, and if the doctor is unaware of the drug, then the patient will be as well.