genomeboy.com

The report said 85 percent of science association members surveyed said public ignorance of science was a major problem. And by large margins they deride as only “fair” or “poor” the coverage of science by newspapers and television.

Only 3 percent of the scientists said they “often” spoke to reporters.

In a telephone news conference announcing the survey, Alan I. Leshner, chief executive of the science association, said scientists must find new ways to engage with the public.

“One cannot just exhort ‘we all agree you should agree with us,’ ” Mr. Leshner said. “It’s a much more interactive process that’s involved. It’s time consuming and can be tedious. But it’s very important.”

Hmmm. The head of the most important science organization in the country, if not the world, starts from the premise that educating and interacting with the public about science is time consuming and “can be tedious.” I can’t imagine why so much of the citizenry knows and cares so little about what we do. Can you?

Dr. Kao did not deny placing large numbers of seeds outside the prostate, but he said investigators were wrong to single him out. “It’s a recognized risk of the procedure,” he told the panel.

Dr. Kao’s assertion was disputed by Steven A. Reynolds, who oversees materials safety at the N.R.C., which regulates all nuclear materials. Cases where large numbers of seeds miss the prostate, Mr. Reynolds said, “happen very, very infrequently.”

Mr. Specter called the accusations against Dr. Kao serious. Responding to questions from the senator, Dr. Kao confirmed that he had on occasion implanted seeds in the bladder.

“Did you notify the patient?” Mr. Specter asked.

“No, sir,” Dr. Kao replied.

Ahem. Take it away…

I’m not always the biggest Gina Kolata fan, but her piece in this morning’s New York Times is a must-read:

Yet the fight against cancer is going slower than most had hoped, with only small changes in the death rate in the almost 40 years since it began.

One major impediment, scientists agree, is the grant system itself. It has become a sort of jobs program, a way to keep research laboratories going year after year with the understanding that the focus will be on small projects unlikely to take significant steps toward curing cancer.

“These grants are not silly, but they are only likely to produce incremental progress,” said Dr. Robert C. Young, chancellor at Fox Chase Cancer Center in Philadelphia and chairman of the Board of Scientific Advisors, an independent group that makes recommendations to the cancer institute.

The play’s the thing:

For the second study, Ms. Sands sent identical scripts to artistic directors and literary managers around the country. The only difference was that half named a man as the writer (for example, Michael Walker), while half named a woman (i.e., Mary Walker). It turned out that Mary’s scripts received significantly worse ratings in terms of quality, economic prospects and audience response than Michael’s. The biggest surprise? “These results are driven exclusively by the responses of female artistic directors and literary managers,” Ms. Sands said.

Amid the gasps from the audience, an incredulous voice called out, “Say that again?”

Ms. Sands put it another way: “Men rate men and women playwrights exactly the same.”

“My concern is that [these tests] are being marketed to the public as if there is no question about it,” says Merikangas, speaking generally about direct-to-consumer genomic tests that purport to offer people any truly predictive health advice. “Some people might understand that it is not a death sentence to them, but to others who are struggling, it could lead them not to have children or get married.”

Oy vey. 

George points me to TruGenetics(TM), Inc., which purports to offer the first 10,000 signer-uppers their very own variomes for free, nada, zilch, zero, bupkes etc. From the Terms and Conditions:

Risks
You may not anticipate the affect [sic] of knowing some types of genetic information. As part of this process, you will have access to genetic information that may lead to an emotional response or trouble you. For instance, your [sic] may learn some unanticipated information about yourself or a family member. This may have social, legal, or economic implications that you cannot anticipate at this time. Although we will give you the opportunity to review all of your genetic information, you will also be able to chose [sic] to not review certain genetic information until you are ready. We will also offer genetic counseling services that can help you better understand the implications of the genetic information.

We all knew this day was coming. Typing 500,000 markers is cheaper than a good meal in some places.

But what’s the business model here? Is free genotyping enough to cannibalize market share from the Big Three? What happens to “customer” 10,001?

Is there really a free lunch?

An oldie but a goodie

Nothing like a little primum non nocere when a guy is dying of Lou Gehrig’s disease:

As Joy helped Joshua with his mounting physical needs and cared for their son, Wyatt, who had been born two weeks after Joshua’s diagnosis, the couple pressed Kathy to explore Joshua’s medical options.

They decided he should try what seemed like the next best thing to Iplex — the drug that had triumphed over it in the patent dispute. But the first neurologist they visited refused to give him a prescription.

“This could cause hypoglycemia,” he told Joshua, warning that low blood sugar could result in seizures or brain damage.

“I’ll take my chances of hypoglycemia over laying in the gutter,” Joshua replied fiercely, but the doctor did not relent.

And it gets worse:

The F.D.A. had a month to respond from the date it received Joshua’s application on Dec. 16. When Joshua asked about Iplex now, Kathy told him, “It should be any day.”

On Jan. 16, when Dr. Werwath called to tell her the application had been rejected, she stood up in disbelief.

“How could that be?” she asked, dazed.

Kathy’s friend Mrs. Reimers had received a call with the same news.

“He said they had safety concerns,” Mrs. Reimers said. “This for a drug that was approved for children!”

“Safety,” Kathy repeated. “And what, exactly, is safe about A.L.S.?”

And I was so sure the Steelers were Buddha’s team.