Category Archives: In the News

Celebrating 350 Years of Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

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This month marks a milestone in modern scientific publishing.  Back when science was called Natural Philosophy and the practice of medicine straddled the line between alchemy and butchery, the Royal Society started publishing (what is considered) the first peer-reviewed scientific journal. Volume 1 of Philosophical Transactions: Giving Some Accompt of the Present Undertakings, Studies, and Labours of the Ingenious in Many Considerable Parts of the World (as it was fully titled) was published 350 years ago this month.

The journal, which started as the Royal Society’s secretary Henry Oldenburg’s pet-project, was intended to communicate the most current information to society members and other scientifically minded readers. Since it’s first appearance in 1665, Philosophical Transactions has continued publication through plagues, wars, competition, and scandal. Continue reading →

Little Links to Lots of Big Issues

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In this edition of Blog Buzz;

  • Buzzfeed Science Editor Virginia Hughes writes on the revelation by Sequenom Laboratories of rare cases where prenatal genetic tests have helped to find cancer in pregnant women. The numbers are still small but are bound to increase, and the ethical questions surrounding how inconclusive results, the possibility of false positives, and a largely unregulated industry interweave here are certainly significant. Read all about it here.
  • And let’s not forget last week’s net neutrality rulings in which the Federal Communications Commission decided to regulate Broadband as a utility. The SCOTUS Blog provides some “plain English” explanations of the proceedings. You can also find coverage from the NY Times and here is an official joint statement from five library professional organizations, including the Medical Library Association, submitted to the FCC in July supporting net neutrality and Title II as a “practicable” way to protect it.

Dr. David Hyman explains precision medicine on PBS News Hour and more…

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  • On the March 1 edition of PBS News Hour, MSK’s Dr. David Hyman explained changes in the way oncologists currently think about and treat cancers. He said that the new focus is on the genetic mutations that cause cancer rather than on the organ that the cancer originates from. Drugs are now being developed that target a particular mutation in a tumor and these may potentially be beneficial to patients regardless of the type of cancer (based on organ) that they have.
  • MSK will soon be incorporating real-time patient monitoring software, developed by PeraHealth, into its electronic health record (EHR) systems. It is believed that this new technology will result in improved communication among care team members as clinicians will be provided with an updated computed score of how a patient is doing every time new data is added to a patient’s record.
  • Dr. Margaret Polaneczky and her colleagues at Weill Cornell Medical College, along with clinicians at MSK, have created an online patient decision aid that helps women (ages 40-49) decide whether or not to get a mammogram. The website, available at http://breastscreeningdecisions.com, was inspired by the guideline reversal that occurred in 2009 when the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force released new screening recommendations for women ages 40-49.
  • MSK’s Dr. Samuel D. Kaffenberger and his colleagues presented a paper at the 2015 Genitourinary Cancers Symposium last week, during which they reported on a study where they were able to use protein expression characteristics to accurately stratify patients with clear cell renal cell carcinoma and predict their prognosis.