Sorry for the long gap in the blog. I was in East Africa on a development studies trip. I had continually to re-assess my attitude to risk during this time. That's me on the overloaded motorbike with no crash helmet! » read more »

The British Medical Journal has published an article by Danish researchers, criticizing information provided to women about screening for breast cancer. The issue is informed consent. » read more »

It has long fascinated me how experts can often give bad advice. There is increasing evidence that experts actually become 'less expert' simply by talking about it. » read more »

That's me on the left. If you're tempted to call out 'Oh no it isn't!' then you know what I mean by panto. Having spent the last 2 months involved in the panto, it seems appropriate to say something about it from a risk perspective. One person's unacceptable risk is another person's idea of fun. » read more »

So Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. Much has been made of the record amounts of money spent on the presidential campaign. Obama spent nearly twice as much on his campaign as McCain did. But did this really have that much effect on the result? I mean, really? » read more »