RECENT WORKA second lease on life -- By the late 1980s, more than half of the 16,000 Americans with hemophilia who used blood-derived clotting factor were exposed to the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) and up to 90 percent were also infected with the devastating hepatitis C virus (HCV). More than 6,000 people with hemophilia were infected with both. For many, if not most of these people, risky and controversial liver transplant surgery is their only hope. Michael O'Connor is one of the first HIV+ hemophilacs to survive liver transplantation. (HemAware, November/December, 2004)
Surgery teams orchestrate better when they listen to music (USA Today, March 30, 2004)
Infant mortality increases for the first time in four decades (USA Today, February 11, 2004)
FDA requires scanners in hospitals (USA Today, February 25, 2004)
What Freelance Writers Need to Know About Editors -- One of the ugly truths about freelance writing is that the actual process of writing is only a portion of the work. (.PDF document, 132K) (Editorial Eye, July 2003)
Journalistic Credibility in Deceptive Times -- Reporters and editors face a newly cynical public. (.PDF document, 284K) (Editorial Eye, August 2003)
Digital Deception -- It's long been said that you can't believe what you read in the papers. Now you can't even trust your own eyes. (June 2003)
Schering-Plough Consent Decree Puts Drug Industry on Notice -- Story behind the record $500 million penalty for good manufacturing practice (GMP) violations, including news that company executives face criminal charges. (.PDF document, 59K) (Food & Drug Letter, June 7, 2003)
Molecular Farming, Next Wave for Biotech Drugs -- Producing drugs and industrial enzymes with genetically modified crops isn't science fiction, but key to the business model of a growing number of companies. (.PDF document, 654K) (Food & Drug Letter, January 31, 2003)
Claritin Approval Marks Significant Shift in Rx-To-OTC Switches -- The switch of Schering's allergy drug to non-prescription status, instigated by a payer group, sets precedents with implications that reach far beyond drug store shelves. (.PDF document, 64K) (Food and Drug Letter, December 20, 2002)
NEWS AND FEATURES
Miracle of Modern Medicine -- The journey of Christine and Loice Onziga, conjoined twins separated at University of Maryland Medical Center in February 2002, began more than 7,000 miles away in remote Uganda. It is one of the most impoverished regions in the world, with no electricity, no paved roads and no running water. With options for survival running out, a team of professionals brought the babies to Baltimore for life-saving surgery. Also available as a PDF document. (University of Maryland magazine, Winter 2003)
Propane Odor Fade -- Warning labels tell you what to do if you smell leaking propane, but they don't say the gas may be odorless. The industry has known for more than 50 years that propane can lose its smell. A conspiracy of silence keeps this warning from the public, resulting in hundreds of deaths and injuries from propane explosions every year. Versions of this article have appeared in small local papers after propane explosions in Pennsylvania, Iowa, Michigan, Nebraska and elsewhere. (Danbury [CT] News-Times, July 27, 1998)
Small Scale Tragedies -- The Nutshell Studies of Unexplained Death is an extraordinary 60-year-old collection of hand-crafted crime-scene models, a miniature community of horrors on display at the Maryland Medical Examiner's Office. (American Medical News, August 17, 1992)
The Heart of the Matter -- When two-year-old Phil developed lethal heart failure, we were plunged into the frightening world of heart transplantation. (Hopkins Medical News, Fall 1998)
Sex, Lies and Anesthesia -- Am I dreaming, or did Phil Donahue just screw me? (American Health, October 1991)
BALTIMORE STORIES
Counting Crows -- When a crow infected with West Nile virus was found on a busy downtown Baltimore street within months of the disease erupting in New York City, I had a hunch it was more than a fluke, perhaps signaling the spread of an emerging disease. This early enterprise story accurately predicted the impact and spread of the West Nile virus. (Baltimore magazine, June 2000)
Lives of Quiet Desperation -- Frank S. went home in 1974 and did not leave for 23 years. This is the director's cut, the extended dance mix version, of the story appearing in the May 2001 Baltimore magazine. Awarded first prize for human interest by the Maryland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, 2002.
Top Docs -- Who is best of the best in this medical town? Doctors voted for who they think are a cut above the others. Awarded first prize for public service by the Maryland Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists, 1998. (Baltimore, November 1997)
Doctors of Invention-- What if Heimlich had patented his maneuver? A festering controversy about "process patents" raises troubling ethical questions about commercialism and medical advancement. (Baltimore, January, 1996)
INTERVIEWSFrancis Collins -- The director of the National Human Genome Research Institute discusses the genomic age and some of the developments in store; gene therapy, genomic-based medicine and new generations of therapeutics. (Genomics News Wire, April 2000)
Patrick Moore -- The founding director of Greenpeace says eco-activists are killing biotech with pagan beliefs and junk science. (Genomics News Wire, April 2001)
Juan Enriquez -- Director of Harvard's Life Sciences Project and author of As the Future Catches You discusses molecular biology and the emerging world economy. (Genomics News Wire, December 2001)
Jacob Beser -- As a 24-year-old electronics specialist, Beser was the only crew member to fly on the attack aircraft at both Hiroshima and Nagasaki. (Washington Post, May 19, 1985)
FUN WITH CHEMISTRY
The Canine Cocaine Caper -- Customs agents were piqued by two empty travel kennels on a flight from Colombia. No drugs were detected by dogs, but two men were arrested for smuggling nearly $500,000 in cocaine. Where was the coke concealed? Awarded "Best News Story" by EdPress. (Chem Matters, October, 1993)
Seeds of Doubt -- A young nurse was shocked when a hospital denied her a job because a urine test indicated illicit drug use. It was impossible, but two reliable lab tests proved opiates were in her bloodstream. How was she betrayed by her metabolism? (.PDF document, 300K) (Chem Matters April 1995)
Down the Drain -- "Ceramic laundry disks" sound too good to be true, laundering your clothes without detergent. Do the disks really emit infrared radiation that ionizes water? More important, do they really clean clothes? This article led to investigations by the Federal Trade Commission and the Oregon Attorney General's Office. (Chem Matters, April, 1997)
Color in a Capsule -- Warmed in your hand, bright orange Silly Putty turns to a brilliant yellow. Color-changing pigments are becoming ubiquitous, found in everything from soda straws to clothing and the latest in high-tech security. Yet the chemistry of color-changing is surprisingly simple. (Chem Matters, February 1998)
A Womb with a View -- Perfluorocarbons, oxygen-carrying fluids often called "liquid Teflon," are making science fiction possible; synthetic blood and even liquid breathing. (Chem Matters, April 1998)
DIVERSIONS AND TAX DEDUCTIONS Larry's Face -- A private prank for friends and family that became an unintentional web phenomenon.
Keeping Patients in Stitches -- Long before the movie Patch Adams, as a public affairs officer for University of Maryland I covered a humor workshop led by the real Patch Adams, published in the form of a memo. (The Voice, 1986)
Strange injuries -- Excerpt from a special "Current Research" column in the 10th anniversary issue of Journal of Emergency Medical Services. (JEMS, February 1990)
Traffic Jam -- Diminished by mountains, matters of schedules and commitments evaporate into the thin atmosphere. (Baltimore Sun, June 16, 1991)
Senses of the Past -- Nostalgia isn't what it used to be. The smells and sounds of childhood are becoming disturbingly artificial. (Baltimore Evening Sun, April 21, 1992)
Pasta Perfect -- My personal creative best. Written for the University of Maryland student paper to make amends for being mean to Shari Saverino, who was dating the paper's editor-in-chief. Among the numerous obvious and subtle references to things Italian are spelling out Italia with the first letter of the first paragraphs, and Shari's name with the final letter of the final paragraphs. (The Retriever, 1984)
Acts of God -- A work in progress documenting strange and mysterious ways.
© Copyright 2005 Bruce Goldfarb. All rights reserved.