Why is it difficult to pick out even a familiar face in a crowd? We all experience this, but the phenomenon has been poorly understood until now. The results of a recent study may have implications for individuals with face-recognition disorders and visual-attention related ailments - and eventually could help scientists develop an artificial visual system that approaches the sophistication of human visual perception.
The study is part of the recently completed
Journal of Vision special issue titled "
Crowding: Including illusory conjunctions, surround suppression, and attention". "Crowding" is a failure to recognize an individual object in a cluttered environment. It may be due to one of the shortcuts our brains use to help us make sense of the vast amount of visual information we take in every second.
Another belated disclosure from the pharmaceutical industry
Under pressure from media reports, consumer groups and federal investigators, pharmaceutical giant Merck and its partner Schering-Plough released the findings of a long-withheld company-sponsored study of the cholesterol-lowing drug Zetia this week. The study, completed in April 2006, reveals that companies had been falsely marketing the drug as an effective part of heart disease prevention. Moreover, the data indicate a link between the drug - taken by about a million Americans - and increased risk of heart attacks and strokes.
Comment: The question to ask is: Is there more money to be made from sickness or from health?
For health clubs and fitness centers, health is lucrative. For the medical industry and the pharmaceutical industry, sickness is more lucrative.
Which industry is larger and has more influence?
Washington - A new study showing an increased risk of blood clots among women using a contraceptive skin patch prompted the Food and Drug Administration on Friday to add that finding to the drug's label.
A federal health agency on Wednesday launched a study into an unexplained skin disorder that causes a crawling sensation and lesions that won't heal, the first attempt to determine whether Morgellons is a legitimate illness or caused by the patient's imagination.
The makers of antidepressants like Prozac and Paxil never published the results of about a third of the drug trials that they conducted to win government approval, misleading doctors and consumers about the drugs' true effectiveness, a new analysis has found.
Rita Rubin
USA Today Wed, 24 Nov 2004 08:25 UTC
Scientist, father, husband and scoutmaster David Graham recently added another job to his résumé. Unlike the others, though, it's one he never sought.
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| ©Gerald Herbert/AP
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| Graham: "FDA made me into a whistle-blower. It wasn't my intention to be a whistle-blower."
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Washington - Parents may be left with only love and lots of liquid to give their sniffling babies and toddlers now that the government is declaring over-the-counter cough and cold medicines too risky for tots. The Food and Drug Administration was issuing that warning Thursday to parents of children under 2.
Calcium supplements may increase the risk of a heart attack in older women, New Zealand research suggests.
Regulators have given scientists the green light to create human-animal embryos for research.
The Human Fertilisation and Embryology Authority granted permission after a consultation showed the public were "at ease" with the idea.
A University of British Columbia and Vancouver Coastal Health Research Institute study has found that a popular class of osteoporosis drugs nearly triples the risk of developing bone necrosis, a condition that can lead to disfigurement and incapacitating pain.
The research is the largest study of bone necrosis and bisphosphonates, a class of drugs used by millions of women worldwide to help prevent bone fractures due to osteoporosis. It is also the first study to explore the link between bone necrosis and specific brands of bisphosphonates, such as Actonel, Didrocal and Fosamax. Researchers found that all three brands had similar outcomes.
Comment: The question to ask is: Is there more money to be made from sickness or from health?
For health clubs and fitness centers, health is lucrative. For the medical industry and the pharmaceutical industry, sickness is more lucrative.
Which industry is larger and has more influence?