Science & Society

Health plans that offer low premiums and high deductibles believe that patients with deductibles of $1,000 or more for individual coverage (or twice that for family coverage) will shop around for the best price to get their health care. Not so, according to a new analysis by the USC Schaeffer Center for Health Policy and Economics and the RAND Corporation which examined consumer decisions with and without these so-called consumer-driven health plans (CDHPs) when receiving nine common outpatient services, like office visits, chest x-rays and colonoscopies.  CDHPs have gained traction in…

Health care is shifting to be more like traditional service industries and that means more value will (and must be) delivered through technology and lesser-trained clinical personnel.  With increased government control of health care, a predicted shortage of 65,000 primary care physicians (PCPs) by 2025 will mean a greater need for leveraging technology solutions. The role of the primary care physician, though not eliminated, will certainly change.  According to a survey sponsored by Cisco, 70 percent of patients would trust an automated device for diagnosis and advice on whether to…

A recent article entitled "Monsanto v Monarch Butterflies" begins by examining the argument that GMO foods are impacting the population of Monarch butterflies.  There are enough references and quotes that indicate that this assertion isn't particularly viable and that it isn't likely that Bt toxin plays any role in the issues facing Monarchs. So far so good. Then the article continues, by considering a recent study which indicates the loss of milkweed as being a major factor in the declining Monarch butterfly population.  In this paper, the point is raised that the increased use of…

American women extol the technical educations of women in India - it may be that so many women in India are intent on getting a technical degree so they can get out of India. While sexual violence is getting all the current media attention, sexism and other bias are persistent.  The male bias is even evident in in women's health care - a woman in India is more likely to get prenatal care when pregnant with boys, according to a new paper by Leah Lakdawala of Michigan State University and Prashant Bharadwaj of the University of California, San Diego, which suggests sex discrimination in…

Sometimes there is a story with no winner and a bunch of losers.  In this case, first among the losers are wind energy subsidies squandered on companies that aren't doing much good at all to bridge us to a clean energy future. California likes to brag about both its clean energy subsidies and all the patents it is getting for products that remain not very good, but without government funding they are a non-starter; it is the definition of a fake industry propped up by taxpayers.  But they are not the only losers. Animal activists are, of course, right in there, because they…

Women may be terrible drivers but their abilities to make fair decisions when competing interests are at stake make them better corporate leaders, humanities scholars have found. Don't like sweeping stereotypes? It's better not to read surveys dressed up as science, then. But if you think surveys are science, a survey of over 600 board directors concluded that women are more likely to consider the rights of others and to take a cooperative approach to decision-making. This approach translates into better performance for their companies. The paper in the International Journal of Business…

Gun control, a dormant issue for much of the 21st century, became a political hot-button again after the murder of children and adults at the Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut.  To effectively influence a country divided on the issue, elected officials must take a broad perspective rather than focusing on specific incidents, according to social psychologists from The University of Texas at Austin. Psychologists Erin Burgoon and Marlone Henderson say public officials who are located out of state from their constituents and the incident are more likely to gain approval…

On Wednesday, March 19th, a group of researchers organized by the Society for Neuroscience descended on Capitol Hill to let Congress know how important it was to reverse the budget cuts inflicted by the sequester and increase funding to the NIH and NSF. Biomedical research is important to the long term health and prosperity of Americans, they said. It creates jobs. It can spark innovative new business sectors. It contributes to the welfare of our soldiers. It distinguishes us internationally. It alleviates the economic burden of sad, costly and chronic health issues. In fact, it is the only…

Hunting in Africa has halved the number of primates, according to estimates, but that is not the extend of the problem. Primates help with dispersal of seed and the reduction in primates has led to a reduction in the numbers of fruit trees, say biologists from Lund University in Sweden. Felling and clear-cutting is not the only problem in Africa; the researchers studied rainforests in Nigeria, where the local population hunts for food, and found that the animals that are hunted include almost all mammals, including gorillas and chimpanzees and some small species of monkey. Both apes and small…

It is time that we in the US stop outsourcing research. By this, I refer to the overwhelming dependence we have on research talent brought here from overseas. This is true in the universities in all the physical sciences and engineering. It is increasingly true at corporations, and apparently at government labs and agencies. The current NASA lapse in the news appears very similar to the series of such breaches we witnessed in Los Alamos. So isn't it about time we pay whatever stipends are needed to induce Americans to study the physical sciences and engineering in our graduate schools and…