Month: September 2008
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Ayurvedics Are Secretly Using Pb®
Friends, many of you know the miraculous benefits of Hoofnagle Brand All-Natural Pb®. Well, I am writing to tell you that today I am filing a suit against a wide range of ayurvedic herbal supplements providers for using the active ingredient of Pb® and its sister product, As33® without licensing it from me. The New…
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What makes these quacks different from all other quacks?
These quacks are in a bit of trouble. The FTC and FDA have decided that they are sick of bogus cancer cures, and have sued a handful of companies. WHAT THE HELL TOOK THEM SO LONG? And more important, are they going to go after more snake oil salesmen? There is nothing special about the…
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Everyday, every day
I love language, which I suppose is as good a reason as any for being a writer. I’m also terribly critical—I hate misuse of language, especially my own. I’m not talking about silly grammatical rules that real speech renders moot. I’m talking about the misuse of words that actually changes meaning. Every day I give…
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I Can Haz Less Poison in My Drugs?
The Journal reports this morning that: The U.S. Food and Drug Administration banned imports of more than 30 generic drugs made by India’s Ranbaxy Laboratories Ltd., citing concerns about the safety of the company’s production practices. The ban affects low-cost versions of popular medicines such as the anticholesterol drug Zocor; Acyclovir, which treats herpes; the…
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The Miracle that Failed
Yesterday, I posted about the rabid, pro-free-market rhetoric present in Washington, DC over the past decade. When Congress had the opportunity to consider privacy laws that would limit marketing of financial products, it chose to side with bank lobbyists, who invoked the idea of the “miracle of instant credit.” Basically, they argued that any incursion…
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Cancer 101
Cancer is the second leading cause of death in the U.S., and at any moment directly affects almost 4% of the population, or about 10.8 million Americans. A diagnosis of cancer can be one of the most frightening moments in someone’s life, and yet most people understand little about the disease. I hear the same…
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[Updated] Free Markets and the Credit Crisis Freefall
[Update: The WSJ reports that you’re now bailing out AIG.] For years working in Washington, I listened to libertarian tripe about how privacy law would prevent free markets from operating, and how banks should be able to freely trade personal information to assign risk and create new credit products. The “Miracle of Instant Credit” was…
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A very confused pharmacist
I’ve written often about the ethics of doctors and pharmacists imposing their own morals on their patients and customers. Our Sb pharmacologist has as well. And even though all of our legitimate professional organizations recognize this line, Bush’s Department of Health and Human Services has jumped into the ring to join a fight that should…
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A Vote for Science
The ScienceBlogs Command Center has decided to fire up a group blog for election season. It’s called A Vote for Science, and several Sb’ers and others will be writing about the candidates and science policy (including yours truly). If your a political junkie and a science geek, cruise on over and check it out.
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Medical professionalism, or WE ARE YOUR GODS, BOW BEFORE US
One of our sciblings, Dr. Signout, is learning the ropes as she struggles (and presumably excels) through her medical residency. As her writing has picked back up, she has brought up some important questions about medical education and medical professionalism. I’m a little further along in my career than she, and I have some thoughts…