1. Hillary or Donald? Who will be best for science? Science is a $120 billion a year constituency and health is even bigger. Despite that, it doesn't get a lot of notice in elections. Still, we care about what the future might bring because America leads the world in science output, we practically run the table in Nobel prizes, and we lead the world in adult science literacy. The next President could have a huge impact on that, especially given the funding stagnation of the recent administration.
On Science 2.0, American Council on Science and Health Senior Fellow of Biomedical Science Dr. Alex Berezow tackles the issue by parsing out statements from the candidates plus, in the case of Hillary Clinton, actions while in government. The answer as to who will be best for science may surprise you.
2. The unintended harms crackdowns on prescription medications may bring. The afternoon we heard that the musical artist Prince passed away, we predicted it was going to be a drug overdose and, since a few months earlier we had testified at the FDA about the fentanyl craze ("synthetic heroin") that had risen in the wake of abuse-resistant painkillers, that was the most likely culprit. Now the same thinking that got us into this mess - the demand for abuse-resistant oxycontin, for example - is trying to squash this new problem. But as Pamela Fayerman cites Dr. Josh Bloom in the Vancouver Sun, a crackdown without some thought could harm the many patients who use it for legitimate pain relief.
3. Will e-cigarettes get a boost thanks to government? There's no question the Obama administration is down on smoking cessation and harm reduction but, like with his efforts to curtail guns, sometimes that causes sales to go up.
And perhaps just knowing the regulatory landscape helps a market. Manufacturers would have to have been crazy knowing that the FDA's "deeming regulations" on e-cigarettes were unsettled, including what date would require going through approval. That may have held back innovation. With the issue settled, and a whole lot of small companies soon to be wiped out of business, the market is wide open again, a new administration is a few months away, and perhaps a new boom in innovation is on the horizon.
