Biology in the News Explained

Does Fosamax prevent breast cancer?

If bisphosphonates taken for bone health actually do also help prevent breast cancer, does that mean every woman should take them?

Prostate cancer update: Discuss delaying treatment with your doctor

More evidence continues to accumulate that it is a perfectly reasonable approach to take a wait-and-see approach after being diagnosed with early-stage prostate cancer with a low Gleason score.

The USPSTF deals with data, not hyperbole

The American College of Radiology is outrageously irresponsible in its assertion that "countless American women may die needlessly from breast cancer each year" if the new USPSTF recommendations are followed. So much for the Hippocratic oath of 34,000 doctors - screening results in overtreatment, which, as has been known for a long time, can cause a great deal of harm.

Myriad Genetics did not create the BRCA gene. Evolution did.

The decision by a federal appeals court in New York to reject Myriad Genetics' and the University of Utah's motion to dismiss the lawsuit against them was a small step toward the inevitable recognition that uncreated biological information should not be patentable.

Changing the cancer culture

There might just be finally enough data about cancer screening to tip the balance toward a more intelligent and nuanced way of looking at cancer.

If only health care were all about economics

Economic considerations are necessarily a huge part of the health care debate. But should they be the only ones?

Take lymphedema-prevention instructions with a grain of salt

If you have had axillary lymph node surgery for cancer treatment, you will be given a list of instructions for care of your arm that have virtually no scientific basis — and some of them might actually cause lymphedema. Read this to find out what we really know.

Pathogen Art

Yes, disease-causing organisms can be beautiful.

Paper or plastic?

The best answer to the question, "Paper or plastic?" is "neither." If you want to reduce your carbon footprint, you should be using your own polypropylene bags.

Do honeybees have AIDS?

According to the latest research, colony collapse disorder (CCD) is looking like a honeybee version of AIDS.

The irrational roots of resistance to change

Resistance to change is a standard human response, and thus ubiquitous for organizations, but is usually based on irrational reasoning. (Continued from Part 1.)

David Gregory and the quixotic belief in the fictitious ideal

Journalists are aggressively failing to do their job in presenting the rational version of the health care debate, which means those who support the status quo are succeeding in their campaign to appeal to those who fear change (Part 1).