Science and Health Commentary
Alicia PhD
- Location
- New Hampshire, United States
- Birthday
- September 08
- Bio
- Alicia has a PhD in Experimental Pathology and, after having worked in a genetics lab for her dissertation, now edits scientific manuscripts full-time from the comfort of the White Mountains. Alicia is also a writer, contributing health commentary and articles on disease and anatomy to many online publishers. She upkeeps a number of blogs devoted to her interests in public health and science.
MY RECENT COMMENTS
- “scottso87, other clips
on the news have shown those
inside
the bookstore
chanting…”
November 21, 2009 01:27AM - “Steve, every patient is
on their own for their
own
preventative care. This
especi…”
November 20, 2009 03:26PM - “thank you everyone for
the comments...I am simply
watching
the conversation as
yo…”
November 10, 2009 10:57PM - “So pointing out that
people are wrong is an attack
on them?
No, it's pointing
out…”
November 01, 2009 05:09PM - “lol it took me a minute
to catch the satire...I
haven't had
my coffee yet
:)
Very…”
October 27, 2009 11:55AM
Alicia PhD's Links
- Alicia's Writing
- On Helium
- On Suite101
- Maeflowers - Health Science Liaison
- Links of Interest
- Public Citizen - Health Research Division
- Alliance for Human Research Protection
Reflections on Mammography

There's been a lot of buzz and dropped jaws this week due to new recommendations from a goverment panel regarding breast cancer screening (published in the Annals of Internal Medicine Nov 17) Previous recommendations were that women should have a mammogram every year starting at… Read full post »

Last night, the House of Representatives of the U.S. Congress passed their health care bill. 220 representatives, including 1 Republican (Cao of Louisiana), decided that the bill they had before them was what they wanted to contribute to health care reform in this country. The v… Read full post »
How to find what your Representative voted on Health Care
The House vote on health care reform, along with an amendment regarding federal subsidies to abortions and a Republican alternative, is happening right now. But you can see any time after now how your Reps voted by visiting the House of Representatives roll call. (Stupak was the abortion funding amen… Read full post »
FDA embraces consumer advocacy
DrugWonks, the blog for the Center for Medicine in the Public Interest, was the first to report that Dr. Peter Lurie, a painful thorn in the side of the FDA for many years and most recently the Deputy Director of Public Citizen's health research group, has been hired by the FDA.… Read full post »
The Blight of Journals - Ghostwriting

The Public Library of Science (PLoS), an open scientific journal, has been part of an information gathering campaign to bring to light the extent of ghostwriting in journal publications. What they've uncovered shows a systematic abuse of the system to promote pharmaceuticals by… Read full post »
JAMA on Gardasil - More work needs done
I wrote previously about Gardasil, the so-called cervical cancer vaccine. Stemming from that was a conversation with someone who actually works at Merck and worked with the vaccine. I truly believe and accept that the researchers are trying to help medicine and patients. I truly believe and accept th… Read full post »
I got my flu shot
I got my seasonal flu shot this morning. We went to our local pharmacy in a hurry because when I called yesterday to inquire about hours they said they only had 20 doses left. Normally I don't get the flu vaccine - I'm a relatively young and healthy… Read full post »
Open Access Bill Stalled in Congress

Work funded by the NIH is required to be available in an open access database within 6-12 months of publication. A bill that would require all research funded by 11 federal agencies to do the same is stalled in Congress....again.
VapoRub and On Cue Tears
A hollywood secret (or not so secret) to produce tears on cue is to use tear replacement drops or some sort of lubricant to get the water works effect, but to really produce the eye response of tearing up an irritant is needed. Like that used by Fox News' Glenn Beck.… Read full post »
Nurses and Forced Vaccinations

There are a number of videos on YouTube of news reports about health care workers refusing H1N1 or flu vaccinations this year. These are really big with the anti-vaccine, H1N1 was manmade, and "the gubment wants to kill me" crowds. I understand why. Here are the very people… Read full post »
Finding the words
As you've probably noticed, I haven't posted here on OS in awhile. I also have not written any articles in 2 months. I have been updating some older ones, but as my 3 month deadline approaches next month (this is the cycle I'm on currently) I will be playing catch up… Read full post »
The Cost of Education - Textbooks Gone Wild

The cost of education was high when I started college - $300-500 a semester for books, $2000 per semester tuition, $12000 a year total cost of attendance - and this was a public university. My sister is entering college this week, a state university, and her books alone… Read full post »
Healthcare Reform Myths
I've been attempting to let everything about the healthcare reform debate sink in rather than simply bolting at it with words, postures, or fits of rage. I've been involved in a few discussions on various forums I frequent, been following the cable news channels, been reading a Twitter feed of a… Read full post »
The Age of Un-enlightenment

I read a lot throughout the day, both for work and leisure. One thing that seems increasingly clear is that everyone has something about which they would like to enlighten others. The problem, though, is that most of it is steps backwards in thinking.
Many ideas are actually… Read full post »
Genetic poetry

The Human Genre Project is attempting to establish the poetryome.
Yes, you read that right - accumulating submissions from writers, scientists, and genetic entthusiasts the project is attempting to spread the word about the human genome via poetry, short stories, and refl… Read full post »
My plunge into Veterinary medicine
Having a sick cat has given me a rare opportunity to
compare my knowledge of human anatomy and pathology to that of
animals, marveling at the similarities and becoming frustrated with
the differences. In early March our 15-year old was diagnosed with
an enlarged heart following an episode of… Read full post »
Why I think Cylapril is a scam

I once again saw a commercial last night for Cylapril from the Adrenal Fatigue Institute (AFI) to treat adrenal fatigue. Something about both the terminology and symptoms did not mesh with what I learned in graduate school. My suspicions were well-founded:

I ran across this interesting, though intuitive, study in the International Journal of Obesity. It is currently open access, so I wanted to share it while you can still read it.
The researchers looked at twins in Finland to determine the extent physical activity can overcome ob… Read full post »
I missed this news when it came out in May. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) announced a spending program to push research on rare diseases, the ones that affect less than 200,000 Americans. They also want to include research on neglected diseases, those that affect low income or undeveloped r… Read full post »
Use explosives safely!
This is the time of year when people blow off fingers*, burn their hair**, lose their hearing***, and get hurt while escaping from idiots**** - all to celebrate our independence!
Please, if using fireworks, use them safely and minimize the danger to yourself and others. We all love a good… Read full post »
Embryo testing and false security

There's been some hype garnered for a new genetics test seeking licensure in the UK. It would test embryos for genetic abnormalities, alerting parents to disease. The exact effect of the test on the embryo (do they remove a cell?) isn't stated. It uses karyomapping, which is a… Read full post »

There are many conditions known to be the result of both genetics and environment. Despite extreme environmental variations that can overcome genetics, and genetics that can overcome environment - the majority of individuals who are susceptible lie somewhere in the middle, strad… Read full post »
Although the government (both state and federal) has been one of the constant players in the tobacco sale game, even making money off of it, there's been a slow war waged against smokers. It started with laws banning smoking in certain establishments, slowly in some cities and states. Then there were… Read full post »
10-second Mouse
In the movie 50 First Dates, a
patient at a memory clinic is called 10-second Tom because he can't
remember anything that just happened to him. It makes for some
funny, yet sad in concept, moments.
Amazingly, the concept has been duplicated in mice.
A Japanese Research group… Read full post »
The past few days have been surreal. We've been thrown out of our normal routine due to a litter of baby mice.
My significant other (otherwise known as Courtney) works at a store that had a mouse problem earlier this month. So they caught the mouse in a trap, cleaned… Read full post »
Updates
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Hey Paul Krugman, where the hell are you, man?
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medical marijuana and homosexuality - legislating science?
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Insured breasts matter more
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In Real America, Palin a Constitutional Scholar?
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Kerry Lauerman: I See Your Bad Sign & Raise You
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Yannick's debts
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Dating Is For Dickheads
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The Sexiest Men of Children's TV or Mommy Needs to Get Laid

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