How Randomized Clinical Trials Came Into Their Own

How randomized clinical trials came into their own.

to enhance recovery and reduce depression in cancer patients. As for survival and mortality, some of the clearest evidence seems to come from cardiovascular research. Patients who reported gaining strength and comfort from religion and who participated in social or community groups had lower mortality during the 6 months after surgery than those who were lacking in these categories. Creagan not...

How Drugs are Evaluated: Patients’ Guide to Randomized Clinical Trials

Randomized clinical trials: how long should they last?

Well-conducted randomized clinical trials (RCT) are essential for the objective assessment of the value of new diagnostic or therapeutic medical interventions. They also will give us information about the effect of the intervention on cost and quality of life. Although the RCT was introduced 50 years ago, the requirements to ensure the best possible quality are continuously scrutinized.1–4 That...

Beer, Bethesda, and biology: how "genomics" came into being.

Over the last decade, molecular genetics has spun off a lexicon of new words that scientists, including cancer researchers, now use to describe their work. One word that has become standard fare at many cancer meetings is "genomics," meaning the study and comparison of genomes across species. Where did the word genomics come from? It is the brainchild of Thomas H. Roderick, Ph.D., a geneticist ...

How Pianists Recognize Their Own Performances

Can skilled performers, such as artists or athletes, recognize the products of their own actions? We recorded 12 pianists playing 12 mostly unfamiliar musical excerpts, half of them on a silent keyboard. Several months later, we played these performances back and asked the pianists to use a 5-point scale to rate whether they thought they were the person playing each excerpt (15 no, 55 yes). The...