General Interest
In Win for Open Access, Two Major Funders Won’t Cover Publishing in Hybrid Journals
9 Nov, 2018 | 02:40h | UTCIn win for open access, two major funders won’t cover publishing in hybrid journals – Science (free)
See also: Wellcome and Gates join bold European open-access plan – Nature (free) AND Wellcome is updating its open access policy (free) AND Big funders back plan for instant free access to journals, but researchers say it is risky for science – Science|Business (free)
Related: cOAlition S: Making Open Access a Reality by 2020 (free Statement and commentaries)
Study: Health-Motivated Taxes on Red and Processed Meat
9 Nov, 2018 | 02:36h | UTCCommentaries: Should there be a tax on red meat? – BBC (free) AND Taxing red meat would save many lives, research shows – The Guardian (free)
Related: To improve global health, tax the things that are killing us – Financial Times (free policies, articles and commentaries) AND Policy lessons from health taxes (free research and commentaries) AND Fiscal policies for diet and the prevention of noncommunicable diseases – World Health Organization (free) AND The Lancet taskforce on NCDs and economics (free series and commentaries)
Study: Link Between Vaccines and Allergies Dismissed
9 Nov, 2018 | 02:32h | UTCCommentary: Link between vaccines and allergies dismissed – Karolinska Institutet (free)
Study: One Month of Cannabis Abstinence in Adolescents and Young Adults Is Associated With Improved Memory
9 Nov, 2018 | 02:02h | UTCOne Month of Cannabis Abstinence in Adolescents and Young Adults Is Associated With Improved Memory – Journal of Clinical Psychiatry (link to abstract – $ for full-text)
Commentaries: When Adolescents Give Up Pot, Their Cognition Quickly Improves – NPR (free) AND Stopping Cannabis Tied to Memory Improvements – NEJM Journal Watch (free)
Perspective: A Profusion of Diagnoses. That’s Good and Bad
9 Nov, 2018 | 02:17h | UTCA Profusion of Diagnoses. That’s Good and Bad – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
“…we may also be medicalizing much of normal human behavior — labeling the healthy as diseased, and exposing them to undue risk of stigma, testing and treatment.”
Study: Associations Between Screen Time and Lower Psychological Well-Being Among Children and Adolescents
6 Nov, 2018 | 15:44h | UTCCommentary: Reduced screen time for young highly recommended for well-being – San Diego State University (free)
Perspective: Training the Next Generation of Doctors and Nurses
6 Nov, 2018 | 15:37h | UTCTraining the Next Generation of Doctors and Nurses – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
For a Child’s Cough, the Best Medicine Is No Medicine
6 Nov, 2018 | 15:06h | UTCFor a Child’s Cough, the Best Medicine Is No Medicine – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
See Original Article: What Treatments are Effective for Common Cold in Adults and Children? (link to abstract and commentaries)
Perspective: Impact of the Discordance Between Blood Pressure Guidelines
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:12h | UTCCommentary: Disagreements in Blood Pressure Guidelines Lead to Physician, Patient Confusion – Clinical Advisor (free) AND Competing hypertension guidelines: what’s a clinician to do? – Univadis (free registration required)
Case Report: Fatal Measles Case Highlights Importance of Herd Immunity in Protecting the Vulnerable
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:09h | UTCCase Report: Fatal Measles Virus Infection After Rituximab-Containing Chemotherapy in a Previously Vaccinated Patient – Open Forum Infectious Diseases (free)
Commentary: Fatal measles case highlights importance of herd immunity in protecting the vulnerable – Infectious Diseases Society of America (free)
Perspective: Accreditation, Quality, and Making Hospital Care Better
5 Nov, 2018 | 12:07h | UTCAccreditation, Quality, and Making Hospital Care Better – JAMA Forum (free)
Related: Questioning One of Healthcare’s Sacred Cows – Op-Med (free)
See Original Study: Hospital Accreditation not Associated with Better Outcomes in Observational Study (free study and commentaries)
Randomized Trial: Minimally Invasive versus Abdominal Radical Hysterectomy for Cervical Cancer
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:50h | UTCRelated Study: Survival after Minimally Invasive Radical Hysterectomy for Early-Stage Cervical Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Editorial: Surgery in Cervical Cancer – New England Journal of Medicine (free)
Commentaries: Studies Warn Against Minimally Invasive Surgery for Cervical Cancer – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free) AND More deaths seen for less invasive cervical cancer surgery – STAT (free) AND For Cervical Cancer Patients, Less Invasive Surgery Is Worse For Survival – NPR (free)
Report: Cell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation and Risk of Cancer
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:48h | UTCCell Phone Radio Frequency Radiation – National Toxicology Program (free)
Commentaries: High exposure to radio frequency radiation associated with cancer in male rats – NIH News Releases (free) AND Expert reaction to study on mobile phones and rats – Science Media Centre (free) AND Study of Cellphone Risks Finds ‘Some Evidence’ of Link to Cancer, at Least in Male Rats – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Cohort Study: BMI of 21-25kg/m2 Linked to Lowest Risk of Dying
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:38h | UTCCommentaries: The association between BMI and mortality: implications for obesity prevention – The Lancet Diabetes & Endocrinology (free) AND BMI of 21-25kg/m2 linked to lowest risk of dying from cancer and heart disease – London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine (free) AND Being too fat or too thin ‘can cost four years of life’ – BBC (free)
Systematic Review: Effectiveness of Plant-Based Diets in the Management of Type 2 Diabetes
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:37h | UTCCommentaries: Expert reaction to study looking at plant based or vegan diets and type 2 diabetes – Science Media Centre (free) AND Vegan diet linked to better diabetes control and wellbeing – OnMedica (free)
Study: Targeted Neurotechnology Restores Walking in Humans with Spinal Cord Injury
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:35h | UTCTargeted neurotechnology restores walking in humans with spinal cord injury – Nature (free)
Editorial: Paralysed people walk again after spinal-cord stimulation (free)
Commentaries: Spinal implant helps three paralysed men walk again – BBC (free) AND Once Paralyzed, Three Men Take Steps Again With Spinal Implant – The New York Times (10 articles per month are free)
Perspective: Unpublished Medical Research ‘a threat to public health’
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:23h | UTCUnpublished medical research ‘a threat to public health’ – BBC (free)
Meta-Analysis: Cannabinoids for the Treatment of Chronic Noncancer Pain Conditions
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:29h | UTC“It seems unlikely that cannabinoids are highly effective medicines for chronic noncancer pain conditions.”
Randomized Trial: Oral Curcumin in Elective Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Repair
2 Nov, 2018 | 03:19h | UTCEditorial: Take turmeric with a grain of salt (free)
Commentary: Oral curcumin shows no benefit in reducing inflammation following vascular surgery – Canadian Medical Association Journal (free)
WHO Report: Air Pollution and Child Health
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:57h | UTCAir pollution and child health: prescribing clean air – World Health Organization (free)
Commentaries: WHO says air pollution kills 600,000 children every year – Reuters (free) AND 90% of world’s children are breathing toxic air, WHO study finds – The Guardian (free)
Related: How air pollution is destroying our health – World Health Organization (free) AND Air pollution is the ‘new tobacco’, warns WHO head – The Guardian (free)
Perspective: What a Massive Database of Retracted Papers Reveals About Science Publishing’s ‘Death Penalty’
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:46h | UTCRelated: A huge database of scientific retractions is live. That’s great for science. – VOX (free)
Physician Burnout Costs up to $17B a Year, Task Force Says
2 Nov, 2018 | 02:20h | UTCPhysician burnout costs up to $17B a year, task force says – HealthcareDive (free)
Related Position Paper: The Business Case for Humanity in Healthcare – National Taskforce for Humanity in Healthcare (free PDF)
Related: Systematic Review: Prevalence of Burnout Among Physicians (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Implementing Optimal Team-Based Care to Reduce Clinician Burnout (free review and commentaries) AND Association Between Physician Burnout and Patient Safety, Professionalism, and Patient Satisfaction (link to abstract and commentaries) AND Physician Burnout Can Lead to Major Medical Errors (link to abstract and commentaries) AND The Burnout Crisis in American Medicine (free perspectives on the subject)
Study: Association of Weather with Incidence of Myocardial Infarction
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:38h | UTCCommentaries: Your risk of a heart attack could increase as it gets colder, study says – CNN (free) AND Cold, cloudy weather ‘could increase your risk of having heart attack’ – The Guardian (free)
Perspective: Superfoods Are a Marketing Ploy
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:26h | UTCSuperfoods Are a Marketing Ploy – The Atlantic (free) (via @edyong209 and @onisillos)
Perspective: The Problem with Probiotics
26 Oct, 2018 | 02:08h | UTCThe Problem With Probiotics – The New York Times (free)
Related: Probiotic Safety—No Guarantees (free perspective)
“There are potential harms as well as benefits, and a lot of wishful thinking and imprecision in the marketing of products containing them.”