Friday, September 11, 2009
Every doctor seeks to evoke the placebo effect. They might wear a white smock with a stethoscope around the neck for a start. A diploma and license mounted on the wall further enhances
the effect. The doctor may say that your condition has been studied, and effective treatment is available. "You should feel better in a few days," the doctor says while writing a
prescription. You feel better before you fill it. That’s why the randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study is the most important invention in modern medicine. It tells us
what works, and what doesn't. But according to Steve Silberman in Wired magazine, placebos have become a big problem for big-Pharma: They’ve started working even better, which is
making one promising drug after another seem little better than the placebo. So what’s happening? I suspect that the people who design the trials have gotten more sophisticated at
double-blinding. That’s good; it prompted industry to launch new studies aimed at better understanding the placebo effect, to the eventual benefit of medical science.
The Coalition for Space Exploration issued a statement on Wednesday praising the Augustine Commission. That's a very bad sign. The Coalition is a space-industry lobby; it pushes for space
exploration by humans, ruling out the universe beyond Mars. That is totally inappropriate for the modern space age, but it costs a lot more, and spending more is what the Coalition for
Space Exploration is about. Columbus, if he could have, would have sent a drone to find the New World. The only plan that makes any sense is to give everyone involved in human
spaceflight a medal, and send them home with the thanks of a grateful nation. The final report is expected to be released next Tuesday.
Three months ago WN commented on the long delay in filling the position of director of NIH, http://bobpark.physics.umd.edu/WN09/wn060509.html , with Francis Collins. It was pointed out to
me at the time that the position of director of NIST had still not been filled. Today, President Obama nominated Patrick Gallaghe to fill that position. Dr. Gallagher joined the NIST
Center for Neutron Research in 1993, and became NIST deputy director in 2008.
While the United States is focusing on reduction of greenhouse emissions by technological means, the Optimum Population Trust in the UK issued a press release this week comparing the cost
of reducing CO2 emissions by technological means to the cost of an equivalent CO2 reduction by investing in family planning. It concluded that family planning is five times more
effective.
The link between cellphone radiation and cancer, for example, seems to have once again gotten out of its coffin. The only defense is exposure to sunlight.
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