By Casey Thomson
After what we hope was a hearty meal (or at least a restful, happy holiday) this past Thanksgiving for all of our readers, we are back with this week’s Twitter round-up – just a few days behind schedule.
- Daniel Goldberg (@prof_goldberg) tweeted an article by Stefan Fatsis on the different perspectives regarding child participation in tackle football. As Goldberg noted in his tweet, from the perspective of neuroethics, the choice is clear: tackle football (or American football) is harmful for kids. (11/19)
- Frank Pasquale (@FrankPasquale) included a link to a piece describing why data from all clinical trials should be readily accessible to doctors, or the origins of the BMJ Open Data Campaign. The article used the case of the Tamiflu anti-flu drug as an example, where the article authors described their hurdles in communicating with the drug’s producers concerning drug test results while trying to review the efficacy of the drug through Cochrane Collaboration. (11/21)
- Kevin Outterson (@koutterson) posted his article, published in the New England Journal of Medicine, concerning the path for new federal regulations for compounding pharmacies in the wake of the meningitis outbreak and the New England Compounding Center (NECC). (11/23)
- Arthur Caplan (@ArthurCaplan) brought up a recent post concerning the American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) and their declaration that making birth control pills over-the-counter (OTC), rather than prescription, could reduce the rate of unplanned pregnancies in the United States (which has not changed in 20 years). While the change would not occur overnight, there are many consequences that remain unclear – including changes in price and insurance coverage. (11/23)
- Michelle Meyer (@MichelleNMeyer) retweeted a link to David Shaywitz’s article, which noted the increased criticism and distrust facing industry studies as compared to those of university scientists. Shaywitz encouraged contextualization of industry criticism to recognize that such critiques often plague medical science in general, not just industry. (11/24)
Note: As a reminder from the last post, retweeting should not be read as an endorsement of or agreement with the content of the original tweet.