Category Archives: In the News

World’s Most Expensive Books

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Last week, a new record was set with the sale of the Bay Psalm Book at 14.2 million dollars. The Bay Psalm Book is a rare translation of biblical Psalms from 1640, and the first English language book ever printed in North America. The recent sale is one of eleven surviving copies, and was (one of two) owned by the Old South Church in Boston before being auctioned at Sotheby’s.

Some other highly valued sales:

The Birds of America (1827-1838) by John James Audubon
$11.5 million in December 2010

The Canterbury Tales (1478) by Geoffrey Chaucer
$7.5 million in 1998

First Folio (1623) by William Shakespeare
$6.1 million in 2001

The Gutenberg Bible (1459-1455)
$4.9 million in 1987

Traité des Arbres Fruitiers (1768) by Henri-Louis Duhamel du Monceau
$4.5 million in 2006

How much would you pay for a piece of printed history?

Nutrition Recommendations Help Cancer Patients, and Other News

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Here are a few highlights of cancer research news that have caught our attention the past two weeks:

  • The Cancer Nutrition Consortium, formed by seven leading cancer centers, including the Dana Farber Cancer Center, aims to help cancer patients make healthy choices in their diet to support their treatment.
  • Negative BRCA testing may not always imply lower breast cancer risk, according to research in the journal Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention.
  •  The FDA announced the first regulatory approval of a high-throughput DNA sequencing device.
  • According to a study published in Cancer Epidemiology, Biomarkers & Prevention, sugary drinks increase endometrial cancer risk.

Blog Buzz November Edition

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Retraction Watch files a complaint, Ed Yong on chemotherapy and gut bacteria, reports on end of life care (both on in practice trends, and public opinion) are just some items that have caught my eye so far this month…

  • Retraction Watch and WordPress’ parent company are suing to fight against the false copyright violation charges that forced the blog to be censored (removing a number of posts for two weeks) earlier this year.
  • In yet another great post that translates new science for the non-scientist, Ed Yong’s Three Cancer Drugs Don’t Work Properly Without Gut Bacteria, explains two recent studies in mice that have recently hit the news, and why they offer new complexity rather than any immediate answers for doctors or patients. Continue reading →