Aspirin Resistance? Aspirin is back in the news. Recently the science of “aspirin resistance” has taken a big knock. And once again calls for “aspirin for everyone” – at least everyone middle aged – are being pushed as “the” heart disease and cancer preventive. What we really learn from these debates is what runs the […]
The Generic Drug Mess (12/17/12)
They’re Not The Same “I used to be taking blue pills but now they’re orange. And I don’t think this pill is working.” The patient had been given the “same” medication. But it was a different generic drug. This “generic” story is now a general story. Generic medications are off-patent versions of FDA approved drugs. […]
Different Brains (12/11/12)
Different Ways of Thinking Different people, different brains. But as George Orwell might have said, some brains are “more” different than others. People with “mental illness” or “learning disabilities” like dyslexia often experience lifelong reproach, ostracism and discrimination. Tell an employer you are “bipolar” and you may lose that job. No matter what your capacities […]
Does Winter Kill? (11/28/12)
Tis the Season? “This is the winter of our discontent” writes Shakespeare. More than discontent – actual demise. New data analysis performed at UCLA looked from sea to shining sea – 1.7 million death certificates across the U.S. The figures demonstrated that no matter whether you live in cold or warm climates, American cardiovascular deaths […]
Reconstructing Memory (11/26/12)
Safeguarding the Self It’s true – you’re not you. At least not what you think. We slide through life consumed and propelled by memory. We know what we know, saw what we saw. Except recent research demonstrates that memory is always changed every time it is retrieved – whether you consciously remember it or not. […]
