An Earlier Information Age

Florence Nightingale teaches us a thing or two

By M. Farbman Posted 12.02.2008 at 2:01 pm 1 Comment

Diagram of the Causes of Mortality: Florence Nightingale

Plus, oil sands, oily studies, and more, in today's links.

• Canadian oil is closer to home, and also provides a closer look at the environmental havoc wreaked by the process of extracting oil from oil sands.
• It's not a new suggestion that the drug company studies that make it into medical journals do not tell the whole story. But a new study takes a look at how data submitted to the FDA stacks up against what gets published.
• We are about 21 nanometers closer to self-powered electric devices. That amount sounds like a little step, but it could mean a lot.
• If this is the information age, Florence Nightingale was far ahead of her time. She helped bring about the use of applied statistics, as well as graphics for displaying quantitative information.
• For when those little mini-bottles of liquor on the plane don't work, an experimental drug may help travelers overcome jetlag.