freelance science journalist and author
From Pathway magazine, Autumn 2008:Six months before the 1993 Nobel Prizes were due to be announced, Kary Mullis’ mentor, University of California Berkley biochemist Joe Neilands, suggested to him that “you’d make it easier for the [Nobel] committee to give it to you if you didn’t talk to the press so much”. Not that Mullis’ … Continue reading Chain reaction leads to Nobel Prize
From Pathway, the magazine of the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia, Summer 2007:You’re mowing the lawn on a fine Sunday morning, when suddenly an invisible band wraps around your chest, squeezing tightly and painfully until you can hardly breathe. This is what patients with angina pectoris fear: the ‘elephant sitting on my chest’ sensation … Continue reading Magic bullet theory
From Pathway, Spring 2007.One of the most spectacular errors in pathology history might indirectly be credited with claiming nearly 20 million lives. It’s even more astounding to learn that the pathologist behind it was in fact the founding father of histopathology, Rudolph Virchow.Virchow failed to diagnose German Emperor Friedrich III’s laryngeal cancer until it was … Continue reading Expecting perfection
From PathWay, Spring 2007.Debbie: … How can we all have died at the same time?The Grim Reaper: (pointing with a skeletal finger) The salmon mousse!Geoffrey: Darling, you didn’t use tinned salmon did you?Angela: I’m most dreadfully embarrassed…Monty Python managed to make light of it in this sketch from The Meaning of Life, but in reality, … Continue reading When the bad bugs bite
From Pathway, Winter 2007:On one side of Sydney, lycra and sequins were in, but at Darling Harbour, lab coats were definitely the order of the day. As Sydney’s gay and lesbian community celebrated Mardi Gras, the Royal College of Pathologists of Australasia held their annual Pathology Update conference on March 2–4, hosting nearly 1000 delegates … Continue reading Pathology Update 2007
Bianca Nogrady 