Stories by Judy Stone

As has been announced earlier today, Scientific American blogs is "being reorganized." As part of that euphemism, many blogs, mine included, are being eliminated as of today, along with changes in their editorial policies.

There was an interesting array of topics at last week's Advancing Ethical Research conference sponsored by Public Responsibility in Medicine and Research (PRIMR), ranging from basics of Institutional Review Boards (IRB) to ethics of Ebola trials, which was excellent.

In a pattern being repeated across the country, the Boothbay, Maine peninsula's hospital has been shuttered, and the communities just lost their bid to even have a 24 hour urgent care on the peninsula.

“I’m a believer in an abundance of caution but I’m not a believer of an abundance of idiocy.” Ashish Jha, MD Quarantine craziness has continued since my last post, with more states joining in the fray.

There has been a quantum change in the past few days as to how healthcare workers (HCW) returning from the West African countries of Liberia, Guinea and Sierra Leone are being treated.

Just as the CDC’s and other experts’ thoughts on Ebola and infection control have evolved with experience, mine have taken a slight twist as well.

“Against stupidity, even the gods strive in vain.” — Fredirich Schiller I've been glued to the Ebola news, riding the roller coaster of emotions.

The first case of Ebola in the United States was announced today, with a patient in Dallas who traveled to the US from Liberia. The resultant hysteria and xenophobia prompts this reminder.

To anyone who follows infectious disease outbreaks, it is no great surprise that the most immediate, looming threat, Ebola, has received scant attention until recently.

My attention having been riveted by Ebola, I missed this startling news last week: U.S. Agency for International Development sent young people undercover to Cuba to incite anti-government activism.

News is rapidly changing regarding Ebola. Even as I've been writing this post, we've gone from "There is no treatment except supportive care" to NIH's Dr.

This series uses the story of Dan Markingson's participation in a clinical trial of anti-psychotic drugs at the University of Minnesota, his suicide in 2004 while participating on the study, and subsequent events as a case study in which to explore various aspects of clinical trial conduct.

While I was working on the “H1N-What?” post, I also knew there would soon be questions about MERS (Middle East Respiratory Syndrome), just as there were about SARS.

"Every 4 1/2 minutes, a baby is born with a birth defect." That translates to 1 of just 33 babies being born with a defect in the U.S. Of these, about 1,500 babies, or 4 out of every 10,000 babies are born missing a hand or arm ("upper limb reduction").

Its all in your head, patients with unexplained pain or unexpected symptoms often hear. My recent post on rare diseases and pediatric pain clearly resonated with a number of people, prompting my immersion in the medical literature and speaking with some experts and patients about these topics and about the difficulties patients with atypical symptoms [...]

The Olympics are not just a chance for countries to bring home the gold. They also provide a perfect chance to spread infections all over the world.

Muddled about all the new flu viruses? Its hard to keep up with the changing names in the news. H1Nwhat? Bird flu. Pig flu. MERS. SARS. Here is a quick overview of this dizzying, dyslexia inducing array, with what you need to worry about, even if some arent yet in your backyard.

Two cases this week highlight some of the difficulties surrounding rare and orphan diseases. First, Sam Berns, age 17, just died from his progressive genetic disease, progeria, which causes very rapid and premature aging.

I spent a year filtering spit and nasal washings, growing influenza in tissue cultures in a minimalist lab, and trying to develop an oral flu vaccine, all as part of my Infectious Diseases fellowship thirty years ago.

This research ethics series uses the story of Dan Markingsons participation in a clinical trial of anti-psychotic drugs at the University of Minnesota, his suicide 2004 while participating on the study, and subsequent events as a case study in which to explore various aspects of clinical trial conduct.

This research ethics series uses the story of Dan Markingson’s participation in a clinical trial of anti-psychotic drugs at the University of Minnesota, his suicide 2004 while participating on the study, and subsequent events as a case study in which to explore various aspects of clinical trial conduct.

Just in time for “Get Smart about Antibiotics Week,” I had a refreshing experience recently, working in a different rural hospital. Over that week, I didn’t see one patient with “superbugs” other than the occasional MRSA.

When Danielle N. Lee, a PhD biologist, was likened to a whore last week for declining to work for free, I was furious. She and Scicurious proposed a series of posts on diversity in science and I reached out, asking if my perspective as a woman physician might be of interest.

ClinicalTrials.gov Atul Gawande has made human lapses more understandable, if not acceptable, reminding us that “We miss stuff. We are inconsistent and unreliable because of the complexity of care,” and making the idea of checklists mainstream, rather than a prop for failing memories.