The fanfare around Health Minister Nicola Roxon’s announcement that 13 new medicines would go on the PBS is a reminder of the power and influence involved in the selection and reimbursement of prescribed medicines, writes Glenn Salkeld.
Medicine
Not ready to let Roxon off the hook yet
Shakira Hussein was relieved to see her MS drug make the PBS approved list, but she’s not going to break open the metaphorical non-alcoholic champagne until the government reverses its decision to subject drugs recommended for subsidy to cabinet decision-making.
What to do when your eyeball pops out of its socket
Need advice on what to do in case one of your teeth gets punched out or you accidentally cut off a finger? CNN provides a handy (if somewhat gruesome) how-to guide. Tip: don’t put a cut finger directly on ice, it’ll get freezer burn.
The anatomy of a fart
A proctologist explains everything you ever wanted to know about farts (and probably some stuff you really didn’t): what determines the smell? Why are some “squealers” and some “silent but deadly”? And a new one for us: the phenomena of “oops poops”.
weird 
Man without fingerprints confounds US customs
An estimated one in 50 people around the world lack matchable fingerprints. One cancer patient’s fingerprints were so eroded by the medication he was taking that the US authorities couldn’t let him into the country.
Mining Twitter for meaning
Doctors are using it to remove brain tumours. Companies like Starbucks are testing public sentiment for their lattes with it. Twitter is proving handy, if you know how to use it.
WADA is on the verge of losing the plot
The world doping agency seemed like a good idea at the time, but things have gone off the rails, writes John Orchard.
It’s time for better regulation of complementary medicine
complementary medicine is big business and the days of it being dominated by passionate practitioners setting up small family businesses are long gone, writes Jon Wardle.
Regulation of complementary medicine marketing is a joke
Complaints about complementary medicines are more numerous than complaints against conventional medicines, writes Ken Harvey.
