I’m repeating myself here, but it’s for a good cause. At the Project on Scientific Knowledge and Public Policy at George Washington University School of Public Health, weâve launched a multi-part study to understand the current policies surrounding scientistsâ work at government agencies and to create recommendations for policies that support strong science and the […]
It might be hard to recall a time when we didnât know that exercise is good for your heart, and smoking is bad for it â but, back in 1948, researchers and clinicians knew little about the causes of cardiovascular disease. That year, the National Heart Institute (now the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute, […]
The big healthcare news this week was the scheduled 10% cut to Medicare physician fees, which Congress almost managed to avert. Instead, implementation of the cuts has been put on hold for two more weeks. Bloggers have more: Sarah Rubenstein at WSJâs Health Blog gives a quick summary of the situation and explains the implications […]
The United Steelworkers, North America’s largest private sector union with 1.2 million members, and Unite the Union, the largest labor organization in the United Kingdom and Ireland with 2 million members, signed an agreement to create the world’s first global union called Workers Uniting. The announcement was made at the USW’s 2008 Constitutional Convention. In a […]
The six-year term of John Howard, MD as director of the National Institute of Occupational Health and Safety is coming to an end.  An annoucement today from CDC’s Media Relations office said: “Dr. Julie Gerberding met with Dr. John Howard and let him know that HHS/CDC will begin a search for a new NIOSH director.” That was […]
Obviously, the economy and Iraq are big issues on votersâ minds, but a new poll from Scientists and Engineers for America shows that candidates would also be smart to demonstrate their support for science. In fact, SEAâs Michael Stebbins reports that although the organization expected positive answers to their questions, they were stunned by the […]
The Chipotle restaurant chain’s corporate philosophy is “Food with Integrity”: “we can always do better in terms of the food we buy. And …we mean better in every sense of the word—better tasting, coming from better sources, better for the environment, better for the animals, and better for the farmers who raise the animals and grow […]
For PBS, Bill Moyersâ Journal and Exposé: Americaâs Investigative Reports went to the Charlotte Observer to learn more about their excellent series on injured poultry workers, The Cruelest Cuts. Reporters actually stumbled on the story in 2005, when they were reporting on avian influenza. Poultry workers told them that, yes, an avian flu outbreak would […]
The State of Rhode Island’s efforts, which began in 1999, to force lead-paint manufacturers to clean-up contaminated homes received a mortal blow when the State’s Supreme Court reversed a lower court’s 2006 decision. (Full decision from 7/1/2008)  This early ruling was a result of the longest civil jury trial in Rhode Island history, with the decision going against the […]
Did Brush Wellman, the worldâs largest producer of beryllium products, hire Hill and Knowlton, the public relations giant behind Big Tobaccoâs campaign to fool the public about the hazards of smoking, to help Brush refute reports of berylliumâs toxicity? Brush says no, but we have the smoking guns — memos and invoices — that say […]