Headlines: July 29, 2011

by Tony Kikendall

The Institute of Science is releasing a report calling for more restrictive regulations of medical devices. The medical device industry has released a pre-emptive strike against the report, expecting that it will suggest solutions which will be harmful to the industry. The industry claims that the study is biased because the panel which wrote the report contained no people from the device industry and complain that increased regulation would badly affect the speed with which devices can be released and help patients. The panel was composed of doctors, academics, and lawyers.

Medicare's Office of the Actuary released an estimate that healthcare will cost $4.6 trillion in 2020. That number will be $1 out of every $5 in the economy. Such an increase will be due to an aging populace and more expensive medicine and procedures.

The Journal of the National Cancer Institute released a study, reporting that there is no link between cell phone use in children and brain cancer. The scientists found no higher use of cell phones amongst children who had brain tumors than a control group wihtout tumors. This report comes several months after the World Health Organization classified cell phones as "possibly carcinogenic."


Tony Kikendall is a rising second year law student at Boston University. Please feel free to email him with any questions, comments, suggestions, or concerns.