Andrew Holtz

"Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore."

<p>The journalist who wrote two books about the medicine in House, M.D. weighs in on the popular television show's finale.</p>

<p>Normally I would salivate over a workshop titled "Let Me Be Clear: Science Journalism in the Age of the Genome and Twitter." But then my building excitement and anticipation was doused by a real buzz kill in the middle of the sponsor logos.</p>

<p>…or is it losing?</p><p>As I was reading through the journal articles documenting the results of a long-term comparison of low-fat vs. low-carb diets, the results at timepoints along the way reminded me of the play-by-play of a tightly contested horse race. So that's how I presented the story... with the help of an animated graphic. This sort of playful presentation of research results can't be used all the time, but it broke the tedium for me... and I hope for viewers... without sacrificing accuracy or context.</p>

<p>When playing soccer - football to most of the world - it is good to possess the ball. But possession isn't enough. Even children scrimmaging in street games understand that all that really counts is scoring.</p>