For decades, using rational arguments, scientists failed to convince European politicians of the importance of biotechnology, including gene editing. The reason is that Europe is convinced it is on the side of great virtue.

Almost 100 years ago, Sinclair Lewis wrote a novel about a doctor trying to elevate scientific discovery over the pursuit of wealth that often accompanies the practice of medicine.
The story was about young Dr. Martin Arrowsmith, who discovers a new treatment for bubonic plague. It appears the drug works – but without rigorous controlled experiments, who can be sure?  Arrowsmith wants to play by the scientific rules and hold off universal dispensation until he can "prove" the efficacy of the treatment using controlled studies -- all the while people are dying around him.

The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) have tried several means to reduce healthcare spending, notably bundling services for procedural care and the patient-centered medical home (PCMH) for primary care. A new study looks at cost savings in the primary care model.

Washington State Governor Jay Inslee has canceled Thanksgiving as part of a new COVID lockdown. The Grinch of Whoville couldn't have created a better policy.

We've just gotten a whole bunch of good news – news we really needed – about finally getting the upper hand against COVID-19. Two vaccines, both more than 90% effective at protecting clinical trial participants against the disease, were announced just seven days apart. These numbers are well beyond expectations, but some critically important questions linger. Here they are. The answers will determine how successful the vaccines will be.

COVID-19 has brought supply chains more prominently into our lives. Those include getting toilet paper onto store shelves, assuring take-out food gets delivered, as well as deliveries being made during the Christmas season. And the first COVID-19 wave revealed our Strategic National Stockpile cupboards were mostly bare. (Spoiler Alert: The "why" has far more to do with logistics than political affiliation.)

In a recent interview, Andrew Kolodny maintained that pain patients don't hate him. Some would disagree. What would it look like if they sang their displeasure rather than voiced it? With apologies to Leonard Bernstein.

A writing partnership, between a University of Maryland professor and the pharmaceutical expert at the American Council on Science and Health, continues to thrive, producing valuable health information for publication in a major national newspaper.

Since 1986, the federal government has tracked vaccines' adverse effects through the Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System, or VAERS. It's a post-approval mechanism that captures any adverse event reported to it.

Kelsey Grammer is poised, quick witted, has a good sense of humor, and carries an aura of intellectual authority. He should be the next Jeopardy! host.