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No matter what you may think of Google, you gotta love the brilliance and innovative moxy of the guys who run that company. In today’s New York Times, there was a story about a new web tool called Google Flu Trends. This tool is being evaluated as a new early warning system for fast-spreading flu outbreaks in the US.

Tests of Google Flu Trends, suggest that it may be able to detect regional outbreaks of the flu a week to 10 days before they are reported by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It works by tracking and quantifying number of Americans who enter search phrases like “flu symptoms” into Google and other search engines. By analyzing these searches as they come in, Google Flu Trends creates graphs and maps of the country that show where the flu is spreading.  For example, in early February the CDC reported that the flu cases had recently spiked in the Mid-Atlantic States. But Google says its search data showed a spike in queries about flu symptoms two weeks before the CDC report was released.

According to public health experts “The CDC reports are slower because they rely on data collected and compiled from thousands of health care providers, labs and other sources. The Google data could help accelerate the response of doctors, hospitals and public health officials to a nasty flu season, reducing the spread of the disease and, potentially, saving lives.” Researchers have long contended that information published on the Web amounts to a form of “collective intelligence” that can be used to spot trends and make predictions.

Google Flu Trends appears to be the first public project that uses the powerful database of a search engine to track a disease. This could be the beginning of a new trend in epidemiology. Google hopes to publish the results of its study in Nature.

Until next time…

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!

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As the old saying goes, nobody is indispensable.  On the heels of Friday's report about US unemployment reaching 6.1 per cent, I learned that my contract medical writing position would be ending 4 months sooner than expected.  I worked at the company for 1.5 years and was excepting to finish out a two-year stint.

Of course, given the precarious financial state of the pharmaceutical industry, I had been looking and was able to find several opportunities that may translate into freelance gigs or possible employment. That said, if anybody out there is looking for an experienced medical/science/promotional writer, please feel free to contact me by sending a comment to this post or via e-mail: cmintz@bioinsights.com.

I hope that your luck is better than mine!!!!!

Until next time....

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting (I will be looking too)!!!!!!!!!

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There was an alarming article in today’s New Times which reported that greater numbers of parents are rejecting vaccination for their children. You may ask, “How is this possible. Aren’t childhood vaccinations mandatory?  Well, yes and no. As it turns out, 20 states including California, Texas and Ohio allow some kind of personal belief exemption from otherwise mandatory childhood vaccinations. And, more and more parents are opting out every year. In 1991, less than 1% of children in states with personal belief exemptions went without vaccinations. By 2004, the most recent year for which data are available, the percentages swelled to over 2.5 %. Frighteningly, according to a 2006 article in the Journal of the American Medical Association, exemption rates of 15% to 18% has been found in certain areas of Oregon, Washington and California.

So, what is responsible for this startling increase? Unfortunately, misinformation on the Internet promulgated by American news media outlets has caused some parents to question the safety of many childhood vaccines including those for measles, mumps, rubella, and diphtheria and whooping cough. Although parents who opt to not vaccinate their children believe that they are protecting them from serious vaccine-induced side effects, they are, in reality, increasing the risk that their children and others may contract these diseases. Surprisingly, many parents who choose not to vaccinate their children are aware hat they may be placing other children at risk. For instance, in the NY Times article, one mother chose not to vaccinate her child said, “I cannot deny that my child can put someone else at risk” 

The growing US anti-vaccination movement has caused serious alarm among many infectious disease specialists and public health officials– and with good reason. This year, there was an unusual outbreak of measles in California in which 12 unvaccinated children contracted the disease. In 2005, there was a mumps outbreak in Iowa that infected 239 people (many of whom were vaccinated) and in 2006 there was a measles outbreak in Indiana that affected 28 unvaccinated children. Ironically, the success of the US childhood vaccination program may be its “Achilles heel.” according to some epidemiologists. This is because most American parents, unlike their counterparts in developing countries where childhood disease like measles are rampant, have never seen measles and don’t understand the seriousness of the disease. According to one public health official “They do not perceive the risk of the disease but perceive risk of the vaccine”. Also, unvaccinated children can serve as disease reservoirs or carriers and unwittingly infect older people (whose immunity has waned over time), immunocompromised individuals (cancer, autoimmune and HIV/AIDS patients)
 and even vaccinated children who failed to develop sufficient immunity.

So what does the anti-vaccine movement have to do with American science education?  Simply put, most Americans don’t understand the basic principles or fundamental concepts of biology and medicine. This should come as no surprise. According to recent surveys, 40% of Americans don’t graduate from high school. .Further, many college-educated non-science professionals have trouble discerning fact from fiction when it comes to science. Their lack of concern or disdain for science is frequently expressed in financial terms. Why should I become a scientist (with an advanced degree) and make $65,000 to $75,000 when I can make $75,000 to $100,000 a year with an undergraduate degree in business or finance? I don’t know–call me crazy– but sometimes there are more important things in life to consider than money–like vaccinating our children so that they are protected against potentially life-threatening diseases!

Until next time….

Good Luck and Good Job Hunting!!!!!!!!!

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