I explored a rather grim topic for the LA Times Health section -- whether suicide might increase as the economy falls. Two recent deaths in Los Angeles were seemingly triggered by large financial losses (in one case) and home foreclosure (in the other). In fact, people rarely, if ever, commit suicide over one bad event. Studies have shown that some 90% of suicides occur in people with mental disorders (which makes them preventable by treating mental illness).

I told a scientist's story on the Nature (subscription only). While studying a factor involved in immunity, Peter Creswell discovered one pathogen -- food-borne Listeria -- that turns the factor into a traitor, benefitting bug over host.

For Skidmore's alumni magazine, I found out why seven alums work in the same office at NYU Langone Medical Center. One of them, boss Andrew Rubin, has found Skidmore grads to be his best source of motivated, ambitious employees. By recruiting at Skidmore, Rubin has also found a way to give back to his alma mater.

My LA Times article this week considered the science behind the claim that energy drinks, packed with caffeine, sugar, and supposedly active botanicals, might lead to substance abuse. The so-called gateway hypothesis says that certain "soft" drugs such as marijuana or alcohol are stepping stones to using harder and more addictive drugs. Energy drinks, such as Red Bull, Wired, Boo-Koo, and Fixx, have been linked to drinking more booze and to abusing prescription stimulants such as Ritalin.

I also have a short article in Parenting magazine about finding math in everyday children's activities, everything from playing tea party and building block towers to singing the ABC’s and putting away toys. Most of us think of math as counting and addition tables -- what educators call "math facts" -- but that’s not all it is. Concepts such as sequencing, categorizing, and patterns lay the groundwork for much of the math that kids will encounter in school.

For the Authors page of Nature this week (by subscription only), I profiled Gerard Evan of the University of California San Francisco who has a research paper in the same issue. Evan shared the story behind the research -- about an anti-cancer mechanism which was too good to be true -- giving credit to a postdoctoral fellow in his lab who had a cool tool and the initiative to apply it.

I wrote several articles for Virginia Commonwealth University's School of Medicine, which included profiles of new faculty members, a patent for screening new vaccines, and a new NIH-funded center for research on allergic diseases. A back-page story featured two researchers who collaborate on campus, but took time off this summer to explore different paths: one hiked across England, the other biked across America.

Tainted Chinese infant formula has sickened thousands of babies and is blamed for four deaths in China. Could it happen here? My article in the LA Times says 'no, but...' Baby formula has been deemed safe, but FDA investigators are scouring the shelves of Asian food markets for illegal imports. New concerns are cropping up about other foods that may contain powdered milk products, such as coffee creamers, baking mixes, and frozen desserts.

The University at Albany has a new slogan and with it a new push to accentuate those areas in which it excels. I wrote a couple articles in the fall issue of the alumni magazine about two of these areas: Modern Vision and Life-Enhancing Research. I profiled the College of Nanoscale Science and Engineering and some of the research being done in the new Life Sciences Building.

I've got an article in today's LA Times about a Supreme Court case that has the potential to radically change the way drug liability is handled in the US. Now, an individual who has been harmed by taking a pharmaceutical product can sue the company who made the product for damages. If the Supreme Court rules that drug makers' liability ends when a drug (and its label) is approved by the Food and Drug Administration, consumers will have no such legal recourse.

I also wrote about mental health research and practice at Binghamton University (not online). The practice side told of a new psychiatric nurse practitioner program at the school to address the rising need for mental health care in today's society. In addition, the State of New York hopes that nurses trained in the rural Southern Tier of the state -- where the need is particularly acute-- will set up practice in the region.

I wrote about medical marijuana for the LA Times last month. I started with those effects that have been touted as good (anti-pain, anti-nausea, muscle relaxant, appetite stimulant) and those that are deemed bad (addiction, risks to mental health, lung damage) and dug up the best scientific studies on each. The advocates are in there as well, with valid points to make on a topic that's been debated for decades. A new delivery system uses a vaporizer rather than smoking joints.

I also wrote an essay for the Washington Post about my experience in adult gymnastics class -- and the memories it inspired of my teenage years as a competitive gymnast.

Two articles out this week had me writing about research in foreign lands and foreign plants in the wilds of the Adirondacks.

I wrote the annual piece about scientific research careers in Europe for Science. The European Union has recommended that member countries strive to invest 3% of their gross domestic products on research and development. My article focused on two giants, Germany and the UK, an up-and-comer, Spain, and a fading glory, Italy. None are at 3% yet. I reported on new funding initiatives, new research centers, and other strategies to attract and keep researchers -- both homegrown and from abroad.

For Plenty magazine's website, I wrote about a program that trains volunteers in the Adirondacks, residents and summer folk alike, to survey lakes and ponds for invasive plants. Writing from the perspective of a participant (I plan to survey three bodies of water this summer), I described the challenge of positively identifying the bad plants from the good -- most of the problem plants have look-alike native cousins. If I can find them early, before they're well established, it increases the chances of eradication.