We develop a model of induced innovation that applies to medical research. Our model yields three empirical predictions. First, initial death rates and subsequent research effort should be positively correlated. Second, research effort should be associated with more rapid mortality declines. Third, as a byproduct of targeting the most common…

The goal of education and research in all disciplines is to develop critical thinking skills as a method for improving clinical decisionmaking. The emphasis on critical thinking is nothing new and can be traced back to ancient times when Socrates challenged his students to think about their knowledge, beliefs, and behaviors by interrogating them.…

Stem cells are being touted as the greatest discovery for the potential treatment of a myriad of diseases in the new millennium, but there is still much research to be done before it will be known whether they can live up to this description. There is also an ethical debate over the production of one of the most valuable types of stem cell: the…

This article describes how academic scientists appear to have put their names on papers that are actually ghostwritten by for-profit companies and then published in medical journals. Some of the scientists accused of doing so deny any wrongdoing, but journal editors are already outlining measures to prevent future breaches of academic integrity.…

The consumer health information (CHI) movement is the result of various twentieth-century ideologies and is an outgrowth of the broader consumer movement. From a sociocultural and political perspective, the consumer, civil rights, and women's movements and related societal shifts helped pave the way for the consumer health movement, which laid the…

The decoding of the human genome was supposed to have been the dawn of the age of personalized medicine. It turned out, though, that health is affected by a lot more than genes. As scientists were already aware, the environment and life experiences also have a huge impact on disease. Researchers, such as Jeremy K. Nicholson, have worked to make…

Our research in statistical cognition uses both qualitative and quantitative methods. A mixed method approach makes our research more comprehensive, and provides us with new directions, unexpected insights, and alternative explanations for previously established concepts. In this paper, we review four statistical cognition studies that used mixed…

The technology surrounding stem cells generates great excitement amongst scientists, media and the community. For science teachers, this means not only embracing and keeping track of the rapid growth and ongoing development in this field but also tackling the ethical and legislative issues surrounding the topic. So what are stem cells, what is all…

In the past few months, animal-rights groups have stepped up their demonstrations against academic researchers who use animals, spawning a new wave of concern among scientists. In February, extremists caused a fire at the home of a researcher from the University of California at Los Angeles, and protesters struck the husband of a scientist from…

Historically, individuals with intellectual disability (ID) have been excluded from pain research and assumed to be insensitive or indifferent to pain. The weight of the evidence suggests that individuals with ID have been subject to practices and procedures with little regard for their ability to experience or express pain. A number of issues…

Obtaining more federal funds is the expressed research goal in "Closing the Gaps by 2015." It states: By 2015, increase the level of federal science and engineering research and development obligations to Texas institutions to 6.5 percent of obligations to higher education institutions across the nation. In 2006, Texas institutions of…

Objective: This article describes a regional program developed by the Department of Veterans Affairs South Central Mental Illness Research, Education and Clinical Center for training psychiatry residents in research and attracting them to academic careers. Methods: The authors describe a low-cost, innovative program developed to increase the…

Students learning statistics want to know how our methods are used in the real world. In response, this article offers a discussion of a relevant and timely medical study reported in recent headlines. Careful consideration of the study raises some ideas to get students engaged with statistics.

The topic of diagnostic error is a relatively new one in the academic arena and lacks an organized research agenda. Participants at "Diagnostic Error in Medicine-2008" formally considered this issue and provided initial suggestions. Recommendations were made to standardize taxonomies and definitions, especially in regard to what constitutes a…

Complementary and alternative medicine (CAM) has experienced a dramatic growth in use and acceptability over the last 20 years. CAM is a diverse collection of medical and healthcare systems, practices, and products that are not presently considered a component of conventional medicine. CAM traditionally has been practiced by informally educated…