The avalanche danger level was the second highest possible this week in most parts of the Alps. But the warning did not help: six alpinists died in avalanches within 24 […]
Guest writers
Muza Gondwe: Risky media sensationalizations and my African death risk
What do risky media sensationalizations and my African death risk have in common? They are the remaining mental imprints of the two lectures I have attended so far in the […]
Richard Smith asks: Can we create a global network of mentors?
I’m on a plane flying home from Nigeria, where I’ve been participating in a workshop on writing and publishing in journals, reading scientific papers, and encouraging evidence based practice. I […]
Tracey Koehlmoos: To Haiti, with solidarity from Bangladesh
Natural disasters, a history of corruption, high population density, and extreme poverty. Am I talking about Haiti or Bangladesh? When the 7.0 magnitude earthquake hit Port au Prince and brought devastation, the usual […]
Ishbel Matheson on aid agencies in Haiti
Little over two weeks ago, I was blearily watching the closing minutes of Newsnight, when Jeremy Paxman dropped in a late-breaking news story. There had been – he said – […]
Douglas Noble on medication safety
A recent review of medication safety revealed a 9% error rate, of which 50% were significant and 2% potentially fatal. Just think of the significance of that for a moment, […]
David Kerr: Healthcare reform depends on senate race which is too close to call
Massachusetts voters go to the polls today to elect the late Ted Kennedy’s senate replacement. They also hold the fate of Obama’s healthcare reform programme in their hands. From a […]
Vidhya Alakeson on the two US healthcare reform bills
As world events have come to dominate the news in America, health reform appears to have slipped from the front page. But in the backrooms of Capitol Hill and the […]
Hugh Ip: Reverse culture shock
I got out of the lift on the sixth floor of S block. I asked a nurse in Cantonese, “is this the respiratory medicine clinic?” “That’s right; you’re an overseas […]
Muza Gondwe: It was not easy to identify them
It was not easy identifying them; I had to rely a lot on nomination from peers. The information in biographical dictionaries of “leading” scientists was scant and searches on the […]