Relevant and even prescient commentary on news, politics and the economy.

COVID-19 vaccines have saved, not killed millions

“COVID-19 vaccines have saved, not killed, millions” as taken from Fact check usatoday.com, Joedy McCreary, November 8, 2023 ‘It’s just completely impossible.’ The claim originated in a Dec. 2 Slay News article cites leaked official data to assert that more than 20% of vaccinated New Zealanders have died. COVID-19 became widespread in New Zealand for the first time in […]

Some Background on the Potential Purdue Settlement

I do not believe this (below) to be long. Then I am not the one who may choose to read it. Lawsuit by Pierce County against various drug distributors and manufacturers, In this instance, I am going to guess they are talking about Opioid pills such as Purdue’s Oxycontin. Do not confuse this with the […]

Oral argument December 23 2023, Harrington v. Purdue Pharma

Court conflicted over Purdue Pharma bankruptcy plan that shields Sacklers from liability, SCOTUSblog, Amy Howe. Conflicted? There is nothing to be conflicted about with Purdue and the US Opioid Epidemic. As was pointed out repeatedly. The Supporting Facts Leading to the Cause of the Opioid Epidemic is pretty simple. Purdue promoted the use of opioids […]

Basic research and the origins of CRISPR gene editing

I’ve always done basic research. I’ve never done any research specifically aimed at a clinical goal. I’ve never patented anything I’ve done. None of that motivated my curiosity. I’ve been a medical school professor for over 36 years and was Principal Investigator on three NIH grants and one from the American Cancer Society, and I […]

CRISPR to the rescue!

The Boston Globe has an article announcing the imminent approval of Casgevy, a CRISPR-based treatment for sickle cell disease that has already been approved in Britain. It is hard to overstate how transformative CRISPR has been for genetics research, and how promising it is for gene therapy. Sickle cell disease was always the low-hanging fruit, […]

trying to “terminate” healthcare coverage for over 40 million Americans

Healthcare in the United States of America has always been difficult and the costs are commercially driven with some give to what the market will bear. While not perfect, the ACA was a huge step forward in providing affordable healthcare. Unfortunately, Ted Kennedy died shortly afterwards. Senator Kennedy was also advocating for Long Term Care. […]

My turn in the barrel

In August 2020, I got my first jab of the Moderna COVID vaccine as part of their Phase III trial. One month later, I got the booster. 12 hrs after that, I had the classic symptoms–headache, fever, muscle and joint pain–indicating that I was in the vaccine arm of the trial and not the control. […]

In-Box Topics which May Be of Interest

Evey day, I get an array of emails in my In-Box offering up articles or what they think can be interesting reads. I would definitely read Economist David Zetland student’s writings on water shortages in other countries. Most Interesting Read Economist David Zetland’s Students Studying the Impact of Water Shortage in Europe, The one-handed economist, […]