Science & the Public
Where scienceand society meet
We summarize the week's scientific breakthroughs every Thursday.
- Health & Medicine
Journal bias: Novelty preferred (which can be bad)
Negative findings in a drug trial may seem ho hum, but they're too important to ignore or leave unpublished.
- Health & Medicine
Ghost authors remain a chronic problem
They’re not apparitions, just authors who want to fly below – way below – the radar screen of scientific journals and their readers.
- Health & Medicine
Hearing bolsters case for U.S. moly-making
Congress today addressed the need to wean America off of reliance on foreign sources of a feedstock of the most widely used isotope in medical imaging.
- Chemistry
50 million chemicals and counting
BLOG: Chemists race to keep up with a mushrooming proliferation of novel molecules.
-
- Humans
Medicare changes threaten access to radiation therapy
Oncologists worry that proposed Medicare cuts could result in dramatically reduced access to radiation therapy, even for non-Medicare patients.
- Earth
Sun is setting on incandescent era
After more than a century, Edison's light bulbs stand poised to go extinct.
- Earth
Cash for clunkers II: Appliances
States could soon roll out programs that help consumers replace energy hogging home appliances.
- Chemistry
Nitrous oxide fingered as monster ozone slayer
Nitrous oxide has become the leading threat to the future integrity of stratospheric ozone, scientists report.
- Health & Medicine
Probiotics: Better off dead?
Treating the gut to microbial therapy doesn't necessarily require using live bacteria.
- Health & Medicine
Herbal supplementation can be an empty gesture
Chemical analyses show some botanical extracts contain little of the plant material they were supposed to possess.
- Health & Medicine
Feds won’t cover PET scans during isotope crisis
One alternative procedure for scouting bone cancers is theoretically available, but currently may be an option only for people with deep pockets.
