The massive global hunt for genes for common diseases, such as cardiovascular diseases (CVD) and type 2 diabetes, has raised huge expectations. The idea that knowledge of disease genes can […]
Latest articles
Julian Sheather on placebos
Earlier this week, the fairly formidable Commons Science and Technology Committee published its report on homeopathy. For anyone who likes a bit of evidence with their medicine, the results were […]
Siddhartha Yadav: Suicide due to healthcare costs
The Oli family had already borrowed a hundred thousand Nepalese rupees (around 800 Pounds) for the treatment of their daughter with epilepsy. They needed more to continue the treatment. Unable […]
Behrooz Astaneh: Guest authorship – a vicious cycle
The ethics of guest authorship in biomedical publishing have been discussed for many years. A recent blog on this topic by Dr Barbour on the COPE website says that in […]
Peter Lapsley: Whither the general physician?
From this patient’s perspective, the ‘Easily missed’ and ‘Diagnosis’ series begun in the BMJ last year are particularly welcome. Many physicians are described informally as ‘diagnosticians’ but, as a layman, […]
Georg Röggla: Peter Sawicki’s dismissal
Nutrition in Critical Care Medicine was the main topic in the lectures at the ‘Wiener Intensivmedizinische Tage’ in Vienna (February 10th to 13th, 2010), one of the biggest ICU meetings […]
Helen Jaques: Halfpipes and helmets – how Olympic athletes could reduce head injuries in skiers and snowboarders
The Winter Olympics this year in Vancouver have been particularly gripping, and not just for the close finishes on lots of the events. Thanks to the poor conditions, even the […]
Domhnall MacAuley: Bishops, doctors and, God
Remember being called to the headmaster’s office? Of course not. All you doctors were goody-goodies, never misbehaved. But, when I see the 24 Irish Bishops summoned to Rome after publication […]
Martin McShane: Specialised
Commissioning of specialised services is done across the region. I had to drive to another county for the meeting where we were going to decide what to invest in. These […]
Louise Kenny: Gateshead to Guatemala
Strangely enough, I think I may have found it a more difficult transition returning back to work in the UK, than the initial challenge of starting work in Guatemala. Working […]