Media Consumption 1/13/13-1/20/13

Once again just sharing a few things that I read last week that stuck out to me... as always, let me know if you have a favorite story that you want to share!

Pick 1: Cancer/Medicine Coverage
Study Highlights the Risk of Handing Over Your Genome – Susan Young MIT’s Technology Review
With genome sequencing for biomedical research on my mind, I think this is a really interesting story for all of us to be paying some attention. A new study showed that researchers were able to deanonymize genomic data – essentially take genetic information that had been made anonymous and figure out whose data it was using information that was publicly available on the Internet. It raises a lot of questions about regulations, and questions of security for people who allow their genomes to be sequenced for research.

Pick 2: Scientific Study

Ebola virus: PLoS Pathogens
Thomas W. Geisbert, Boston University School of Medicine

Now Where Did I Put That Ebola? – Helen Shen for Nature
“In the first study of its kind, the US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) unveiled statistics on problems related to the handling of hazardous biological agents, such as Ebola, SARS, and anthrax, at hundreds of academic and government research centers.” Forget Outbreak or Contagion, this one will make you want to break out the hazmat suit – unless of course the “inadvertent release” of pathogens isn’t as horrifying to you as it is to me.

Pick 3: Writing Pick
Should You Be a Writer or an Editor? Part One: The Writers and Part Two: The Editors – Christie Aschwanden for The Open Notebook
This was a really great two part article, which tackles an issue that I think all writers face at some point in their careers – is what you are best at and what you should be doing to write or is it to edit? The natural career progression goes from writer to editor, but if you just want to write or just want to edit? How do you tell what fits for you? Some great writers and editors weigh in with their experiences. Also, if you’ve never heard of The Open Notebook, take the time to explore the site a little. I can’t stress enough what a great resource for writers it is. 

Bonus Pick:
Sherlock Holmes and the Infamous Brain Attic – Maria Konnikova on BoingBoing
Partly chosen because I have a recent fascination with Sherlock Holmes, but also chosen because Konnikova is an awesome science/psychology writer (you can normally catch her over at Scientific American writing the Literally Psyched blog) and I’ve really been looking forward to her first book “Mastermind: How to think Like Sherlock Holmes” which is out this month.