The first thing that struck Bernard-Henri Lévy, arguably France’s leading public intellectual, about the covid-19 pandemic was the rise of “medical power.” In his short, enjoyable, and provocative book The […]
Columnists
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Anecdata
As I wrote in January of this year, the Oxford English Dictionary (OED) is updated every three months (“on a quarterly basis” as they put it—they mean “quarterly”). Two recent […]
What to say to a 7 year old terrified by climate change?
How can we support children who are worried about climate change? Richard Smith, David Pencheon, and Frances Mortimer look at how we might find hope through action […]
Richard Smith: Medical schools move to teaching online consultation with patients
As for everybody and every organisation, the covid-19 pandemic has presented challenges, but also opportunities, to medical schools. One challenge is how the schools can ensure adequate and safe contact […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Pseudonymy
Have you ever used a pseudonym? There are many reasons for doing so. The word “pseudonym” comes from two Greek words: the combining form ψευδο- or ψευδ- before a vowel, […]
Daniel Sokol: A wake-up call for clinical ethics committees
A High Court judge has criticised Great Ormond Street Hospital’s Clinical Ethics Committee (“CEC”) for failing to involve the parents of a nine year-old child in their decision making process. […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Power
Last week I outlined some basic pharmacokinetic principles that can inform the likelihood that a newly proposed treatment may be effective, given only in vitro evidence. I showed that the […]
Nick Hopkinson: Castles of cloth and covid-19
Midsummer’s day just past saw the 500th anniversary of the Field of the Cloth of Gold, the opulent tournament where Henry VIII and the French King Francis 1st sought to […]
Pharmaceutical companies should publish more research open access
Many organisations are working towards making scientific publications more transparent, discoverable, accessible, and accountable, but wouldn’t it be better if all these organisations could work together? In June, Open Pharma, […]
Jeffrey Aronson: When I Use a Word . . . Movements
My column on ivermectin, published two weeks ago, has elicited a few comments, mostly pseudonymous. This prompts me to outline some relevant pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic principles, starting with the former. […]