Reading Room
The reading room includes articles of potential interest to consumers and medical professionals. The opinions expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of the NC Medical Board, its members and staff.
A ‘digital pill’ for cancer patients is rolled out for the first time, in hopes of improving outcomes
STATNews
January 17, 2019
A Silicon Valley company on Thursday announced what it described as the first “digital pill” program of its kind, one in which the chemotherapy pills taken by cancer patients are packaged with a sensor that can alert a physician, pharmacist, or caregiver after it has been swallowed.
The work-from-home doctor will see you now
San Francisco Chronicle
December 1, 2018
It’s been about two years since Dr. Ian Tong has seen a patient — in person, that is. But Tong treats patients all the time through a secure video-chatting application on his laptop, from the San Francisco headquarters of Doctor On Demand, the telemedicine company he helps lead as chief medical officer. The same goes for the roughly 150 physicians employed by Doctor On Demand who primarily work from home from all over the United States.
What will 2019 bring for science and medicine?
STATNews
December 31, 3018
It has been a tumultuous year for science and medicine, and also for the business and politics of both. And with CRISPR babies still in the headlines, Donald Trump still in the White House, and the Dow down again, 2019 is shaping up to be just as turbulent.
Why you shouldn’t be afraid of your aging brain
The Boston Globe
December 11, 2018
Yes, our cognition slows as we grow older, but some activities and even attitudes can help.
How do you recover after millions have watched you overdose?
The New York Times
December 11, 2018
The first time Kelmae Hemphill watched herself overdose, she sobbed. There she was in a shaky video filmed by her own heroin dealer, sprawled out on a New Jersey road while a stranger pounded on her chest. “Come on, girl,” someone pleaded.
An Ancient Case of the Plague Could Rewrite History
The Atlantic
December 6, 2018
The troublesome teeth belonged to a woman buried in Sweden. She lived 4,900 years ago, and she died young. Archaeologists found her at the turn of the last millennium, her bones jumbled up with dozens of others in a limestone tomb. Geneticists sequenced her DNA a few years ago, revealing her to be, unsurprisingly, one of the Neolithic farmers who occupied Europe at the time.