Insights

<p>Legislators who sit on influential committees wield a lot of power over proposed laws that directly affect special interests. Political players know that legislative committees are the place to affect legislation, often with little public scrutiny.</p>

<p>Looking back at a deceased column: The Healthy Skeptic.</p>

<p>A new hypothesis on autism, more data on the "fat genes," the problem of oral health, rethinking autonomy for the mentally ill and more from our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>Bioethicist Leigh Turner describes how the stem cell company Celltex tried to intimidate him and his university when he asked the FDA to investigate the company.</p>

<p>Although California is the world’s 9th largest economy and a hub of tech innovation, some of the state’s residents live in communities that lack basic services &shy;like clean water and functioning sewage systems.</p>

<p>This week, check out a handful of print openings at publications of various health disciplines. Also, keep an eye on upcoming deadlines for our 2012 fellowships and grants — these opportunities are not to be missed.</p>

<p>Savings from the medical-loss ratio rule, health-industry sprawl, evidence that bad news can cause heart attacks and more from our Daily Briefing.</p>

<p>You can’t inoculate health care policy against the ills of politics. You can, however, evaluate the money-in-politics angle.</p>

<p>Bioethicist Leigh Turner talks about why he sicced the FDA on Celltex and about academic rivalries in the world of bioethics.</p>

Hospitals across the country are using near-total discretion in the way they disclose infections that occur as a result of surgeries, cause over 8,000 deaths annually in the U.S., and cost an additional $10 billion per year to the healthcare system, a new study underscoring the need for public reporting standards has found.