(Oregon Health & Science University) Unlike other forms of suicide, physician assisted death does not cause substantial regret, or a sense of rejection among surviving family members. In addition, the prevalence and severity of depression and grief among family members whose loved ones received aid in dying is no different than family members whose loved ones did not pursue physician assisted suicide.

Patient satisfaction surveys weigh responses to requests, courtesy, and more.

Carl Brannen is well known to the regulars of this blog. He is an independent researcher and my favourite non-professional theorist, because he gives me the hope that brilliant minds, who were diverted from the natural path of doing basic research, may return to it for good. And Carl provides us with another important proof: that institutionalized science does sometimes listen to the voice of those who have something to say regardless of who signs their monthly paycheck.
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British fashion designer Paul Smith will be Guest of Honour at Stockholm Furniture Fair next year. (more…)

The practice of having ghost writers pen papers but not appear as authors is down, but the practice of having a prominent name in the list of authors without that person contributing has held steady. Heartwire

These are the summary comments from recent reviews for a manuscript of mine:This is an intriguing and important paper. It will be of great interest and should have a great impact. This is an interesting paper. It got me thinking.Editor decision: RejectThis is one of those cases in which I feel intense hostility for a day or three. I set the reviews and editor letter aside. I take them out again when I am feeling a bit calmer. I re-read everything. I look closely at the reviewer comments for substantive reasons for the rejection.I still feel angry. I wait a few more days, and then I write a calm but forceful letter to the editor who will then tell me that there are lots of excellent papers that can't be published and he has to make some hard decisions and this was one of them and I should take a hike (down the journal food-chain).

I consider myself to be quite fortunate. I enjoy being able to travel and observe different cultures. This has been the case since early in my professional career and doesn't apply to international travel alone. I recall excursions to various locations within the US—rural and

The Great Wall of China was named one of the "New 7 Wonders of the World" in a global voting campaign. See photos and find information for the Great Wall of China.

Miniature version of Tyrannosaurus found in China [Read more]

Although many intricate microfluidic devices have been created in academic laboratories around the world, far fewer have been commercialized for wider use. But several efforts are underway to bridge this divide.

Miniature version of Tyrannosaurus found in China [Read more]

Beaches in Chatham, Mass., have been closed after the sighting of great white sharks in the waters of the area, but scientists in the area are tagging the animals. Greg Skomal, a marine biologist with the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, says the sharks are being drawn by a large grey seal colony. Bill Chaprales, a commercial harpoon fisherman, says they have to get 4 feet from the shark in order to tag it.» E-Mail This     » Add to Del.icio.us

I sort of feel like I ought to have something to say about the recent controversy over creationists on bloggingheads.tv , which has caused Sean Carroll and Carl Zimmer to renounce the whole site. If you're too lazy to click through those links, the basic problem is that bloggingheads has twice ...Cocktail Party Physics found this 25 hours ago on scienceblogs.com Find more top science news, videos, and blogs on ScienceBlips: Physical Science, Discovery