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A new study took as its premise, “Many cancer survivors prefer clinicians who understand or share their culture,” and evaluated how often cancer survivors delayed care based on their income and race. Let’s consider what was found.

Sepsis, an overwhelming infection, remains among hospitals’ most difficult conditions to identify and treat. Algorithms within electronic medical records have been developed to help clinicians. So how is this real-world A.I. of medicine working out? Just a bit better than a coin toss.

Accelerated approval is intended to get needed drugs to patients, but there are sometimes distortions and complications in the process that should be addressed.

Drug shortages mean that many patients are getting the second or third choice of a medicine, increasing the likelihood that the drug will be ineffective or only suboptimally effective, or have unwanted side effects. Reciprocity of approvals between the U.S. and certain other countries could help to address that.

Last year's omnibus appropriation bill passed by Congress made a good start with cybersecurity standards for internet-connected medical devices. But it's only one tiny piece of a large and complex puzzle.

Reflecting on the possible causes of his Parkinson's Disease, Fox recently told CBS News that he "did some damage" and that alcohol or chemical exposure could have contributed to – or even caused – his condition. While Fox’s comment is only speculation, a similar incident is not: in 1976, a young chemist inadvertently injected himself with a toxic impurity in a drug he made in his lab. It caused an unprecedented case of Parkinson's.

The New York Times’ “Well” section recently published an article entitled, “What Dentists Wish You Knew,” which listed five points. We found them to be a somewhat odd and incomplete collection.  We list the Times' offerings, with our commentary and some bonus suggestions of our own.

COVID is still killing more than 1,000 Americans a week; long COVID causes prolonged misery; and a new, more transmissible subvariant of the SARS-CoV-2 virus is spreading.

Welcome to another thoroughly worthless edition of the J-Man Chronicles, where you will learn absolutely nothing while at the same time being offended, grossed out, or hopefully both.

Our drug laws are almost supernaturally stupid. Part of this, aside from that they're largely made by morons, is the lack of knowledge of even basic chemistry, which could, at least, introduce a little sanity to the process. Here's a bit.

"... [I]nfluenza A, SARS-CoV-2, endemic coronaviruses, RSV, and many other 'common cold' viruses ... have not to date been effectively controlled by licensed or experimental vaccines." So wrote Dr. Tony Fauci, former head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases. What can policymakers learn from this controversial analysis? California is poised to ban five commonly used chemicals under the guise of protecting children. There's no science to justify the legislation.

The stakes are literally life and death. More than 100,000 patients are on the national transplant list, awaiting organ transplants, with thousands needlessly dying before receiving them. For now, a single nonprofit, The United Network for Organ Sharing (UNOS), is the sole organization responsible for matching organ recipients with donors. Last year the 42,888 organ transplants performed were just not enough.

The agency's primary functions are ensuring food safety, regulating tobacco products rationally, and expeditiously approving new drugs and medical devices. It's failing. Instead, we're getting increasingly complex organizational structures and the commissioning of endless reports.

​​​​​​​“Today we are asked to declare war on a domestic enemy which threatens the strength of our nation and the welfare of our people. This administration today, here and now, declares unconditional war on poverty in America.”
– Lyndon Johnson, 36th U.S. President, Inaugural Address

Another view of peer review
Automating the lawyers
As I grow old, I jettison the unnecessary
Sleep is not just for humans and other living creatures

Bumble bees are prolific pollinators, vital in creating the crops we eat. A new study shows how co-evolution between the bees and the plants can reduce the deaths of bumble bees.

Entasis Scores! The FDA's anti-infectives advisory board unanimously recommended approval of Entasis sulbactam-durlobactam for the treatment of hospital and ventilator-acquired pneumonia, caused by resistant strains of Acinetobacter. Wonderful news. But will the company survive?

Lost in the debate over how Medicare will negotiate drug prices, there's a concern by federal agencies about a metric used in determining a drug’s value. It's known as the Quality-Adjusted Life Year. There's bipartisan agreement in not using the term QALY, and “not even Medicare officials have signaled they want to use that approach.” What exactly are they talking about?

As plant-based diets gain more traction, the vegan population, especially in high-income countries, is rising. Is veganism – avoiding products produced by, or from, animals – a healthy lifestyle? (Spoiler Alert: you already know the answer. Vegans, like the rest of us, have varying lifestyles, some of which are not as good as others.)

Former President Trump said, “we have learned to live with it [COVID-19], just like we are learning to live with Covid, in most populations far less lethal!!!” before he recanted that statement with Bob Woodward, saying he knew it was "more deadly than even your strenuous flu." The morbidity and mortality of COVID have indeed changed over time; a recent study helps define whether COVID is becoming a new seasonal influenza.

The mind-body problem is fake science
Zombie pathogens have taken over my brain
There is more to figs than the Newton
Superstition, Enthusiasm, and Politics

There is nothing better than a crisp, crunchy, dare I add, slightly burnt pretzel – whole or in pieces. Add a bit of mustard, and we are set for the day. It is National Pretzel Day, time for a few pretzel factoids.

Once a medical device is brought to market, FDA surveillance of its safety continues. “To facilitate incremental improvements in safety and effectiveness, the FDA allows manufacturers to modify previously approved devices.” Only a few of those modifications require additional clinical testing. How often are those modified devices recalled? Is there cause for concern?

The Chicken Economy
Ode to an IBM Selectric
Can a patient advocate make a difference?
Do plants think?

Kimchi, initially a household staple of Korea, has increasingly found its complex flavors of vegetables, garlic, ginger, and fish sauce being accepted as a global star. Long before refrigeration, fermented foods were a winter staple. A new study looks at the physics underlying the of making Kimchi.