Pandemic restrictions are really lifting now, and while I can’t go inside my local library, I can still order books online and pick them up to go. Are you looking for some good reads? It’s time once again for my annual roundup of some of the best books I read this year. As usual, my focus is mostly on nonfiction tales from the world of science, medicine, and technology. A master list of all books that I recommend can be found here, and you can also check out my previous book recommendations on the Previous Op-Ed Articles page on my website. You might be surprised to learn I actually got much less reading done during the pandemic. That’s because I spent so much time on educating people online about the pandemic, and especially about the vaccines. These efforts heavily influenced my reading list this year, as you will see below.

Maybe you’ve finished off all those books you stocked up on before the libraries closed? Looking for some new good reads? It’s time once again for my annual roundup of some of the best books I read this year. As usual, my focus is mostly on nonfiction tales from the world of science, medicine, and technology. A master list of all books that I recommend can be found here, and you can also check out my previous book recommendations from 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015 that can be found by scrolling here.

While the challenge posed by the COVID-19 pandemic is bringing out the best in many of us, it’s brought out the worst in others. It should come as no surprise that the coronavirus pandemic has unleashed a wave of racism and xenophobia. You don’t have to look far to see derogatory comments and slurs directed at many people with an Asian heritage, whether they are Chinese or not. To paraphrase Paul Simon, “They’ve been slandered, libeled, they’ve heard words you never heard in the bible.”

Stem cell purveyors
Most are simply scam artists
Sick, gullible fleeced.

Another tough year
Alzheimer’s trials revealed
More drugs that don’t work.

Tuberculosis
Great new drug combo data
Breakthrough is right word.

Prison time or fines?
Date set for Theranos trial
Get your bets down now.

It’s time once again for my annual roundup of some of the best books I read this year. As usual, my focus is mostly on nonfiction tales from the world of science, medicine, and technology. A master list of all books that I recommend can be found here, and you can also check out my previous book recommendations from 2018, 2017, 2016, and 2015.

I couldn’t wait to read John Carryrou’s detailed expose about biotech shooting star Theranos Bad Blood: Secrets and Lies in a Silicon Valley Startup (2018), and it didn’t disappoint. This book recounts all of the sordid details of the company’s meteoric rise and spectacular flameout amid accusations of fraud, intimidation, and paranoia. It’s as engaging a read as you will find in any contemporary detective story. CEO and founder Elizabeth Holmes and her boyfriend/business partner/company enforcer Ramesh “Sunny” Balwani are the villains eventually toppled by investor lawsuits and federal civil and criminal charges. The book traces the early days of Theranos from an idea of Stanford dropout Holmes as it steadily builds itself into one of Silicon Valley’s most valuable unicorns (startups that are worth more than $1B on paper). However, the company had a fatal flaw: it was a tech company with no solid science behind it. The eventual crash and burn was inevitable, but the lies, intimidation tactics, secrecy, and bullying all add up to a terrible tale of talents wasted and patients harmed. Employee turnover was tremendous. Questioning of the company’s efforts to build a blood analyzer using finger pinpricks (instead of venous draws) were met with dismissal. Tremendous courage is displayed by former employees as well as the author, all of whom faced serious threats of financial and professional ruin at the hands of Theranos’s ultra-aggressive lawyers. What really amazed me was how many of Theranos’s investors failed to demand proof that the company’s technology actually worked. Some of them, including individuals (e.g. Betsy DeVos) and organizations (Safeway and Walgreens) lost tens of millions of dollars when this technological house of cards collapsed. The story also illustrates the danger in having a board of directors (made up almost entirely of political movers and shakers) who knew absolutely nothing about science and biotech. It’s a well-told cautionary tale for entrepreneurs, biotech investors, and those who seek employment at these types of companies.

The biggest lesson I took away from the Theranos scandal was the shocking lack of due diligence from multiple quarters. It’s easy to see why the company’s celebrity Board of Directors didn’t see the scam unfolding. One wouldn’t expect non-scientists like George Schultz and Henry Kissinger to be asking technical questions at quarterly board meetings. But the representatives of Walgreens and Safeway, who entered into multi-million dollar deals with the company, should have exercised more caution. Were they, too, mesmerized by Elizabeth Holmes’s comely blonde hair, black turtleneck, and deeply resonant voice, or did an overzealous “fear of missing out” lead them astray?

A couple of years ago I had coffee with a young woman with a strong interest in bioethics. She was looking at potential future career paths, with a possible focus on biotechnology. I shared with her my observation that I had never heard of a biotech company actually employing a dedicated bioethicist. The lack of these positions in the industry, however, doesn’t negate the fact that a wide variety of ideological dilemmas are currently front-and-center in the halls of biomedicine. These complex issues call out for the wisdom of King Solomon to help point us in the right direction. Here are just some of the challenges we currently face:

I ran into a few problems with my rental car on a recent family vacation. The “low tire air pressure” warning light came on twice in the first three days, and the car had absolutely no windshield washer fluid. Both problems were solved by visits to a gas station. When I got home I called Avis to complain, expecting an apology and perhaps a small adjustment on my bill. I got neither. Instead, I was told the problem was actually my fault. I was told I should have checked the tire pressure and the washer fluid levels before departing the rental car lot. When I explained that I don’t travel with a tire pressure gauge, and that I expected Avis to provide me with a car that had been checked over thoroughly, I was informed that the responsibility was mine. If I had concerns, I should have asked to have them checked before leaving the lot. Seriously? I actually attempted to do this during a subsequent rental, but my request to the lot attendant was simply met with a look of bewilderment.

Today’s blog post is a little different. I wanted to share with you some exciting news about my new website: HPV Cancer Resources. I spent much of the summer putting together this new and very comprehensive website with the following goals in mind:

To spread awareness about HPV, a virus that causes six different types of cancer in people.

To educate parents about, and advocate for, the safe and effective HPV vaccine, which can prevent infection with the virus and thereby block the development of these cancers.

To refute misinformation about the safety and efficacy of the HPV (and other) vaccines by anti-vaccine groups that is, unfortunately, widespread on the Internet.

To share an organized collection of resources specifically curated for HPV cancer patients and their family members.

To provide basic information for all new cancer patients about the different types of scans and cancer treatments, how tumors are staged, how clinical trials work (and how to find one), and much more.

Those were my goals, but who did I design this website for?