Costly life-saving drugs: you have to draw the line somewhere | Ben Goldacre

Barbara Ross, pictured right, who was diagnosed with bowel cancer in 2006 and paid for the drug Avastin out of her own pocket. Photograph: Bowel Cancer UK/PA For simpletons and amateurs, there are good research methods and bad research methods. In reality, different tools are valuable in different situations, and sometimes even very tiny numbers of people can give you a meaningful piece of information: even an anecdote can be informative. For example, if you produced a research paper about just two people who had gone into space,... [Read More]

Tough Guy: Nettle Warrior 2010

Before and after Nettle Warrior. Photograph: John Ashdown I am crouching beside the Torture Tunnels. Groans escape the entrance hole, punctuated by shouts of pain. A wave of panic washes over me, but I’ve come this far; I can’t give up now. I take a deep breath and drop down into the muddy gap. As I start to drag myself through a narrow concrete pipe, in the pitch-black, a woman screams: she’s just been caught by an electric wire, invisible in the darkness. This is Nettle Warrior, the summer version of Tough... [Read More]

Bottoms bring up the rear in suntan time trials Red alert: researchers claim the study discredits much of the current advice about how long to spend in the sun. Photograph: Kip Rano/Rex Features Sun-loving naturists, look away now:... [Read More...] Fatshion victims | Annie Stevens Sophie Dahl has long been a campaigner for changing the way we view body size. Photograph: Linda Nylind The insult “fat” has long been hurled at people; from bus windows,... [Read More...] STDs in England: Breakdown by region, gender and ethnicity Detail from a 2006 NHS safer sex poster. New statistics from the Health Protection Agency show cases of STIs have reached record levels. Photograph: NHS/PA New figures from the Health... [Read More...]

Society daily 28.07.2010 Angela Gordon, the mother of Khyra Ishaq, was allowed to educate her daughter at home. Photograph: West Midlands Police/PA Full coverage: the Khyra Ishaq serious case review Khyra’s... [Read More...] get rid of forehead acne Discover some new and completely natural acne treatments to help you get rid of forehead acne and enjoy clear skin forever [Read More...] TB genetic signature may help predict active cases X-ray showing pulmonary tuberculosis. Photograph: Barts Hospital/Getty Images Scientists have uncovered a molecular fingerprint in the blood of patients with the active form tuberculosis.... [Read More...]