The impending end of the world has naturally attracted attention and commentary from many quarters. The event raises questions that nearly everyone is asking themselves: why should I bother with Christmas shopping this year? can I fit in one more Roland Emmerich film festival before the end? And so on.
But the apocalypse affects specialist interests as well. I was reminded of this yesterday when I picked up the most recent edition of the Canadian Medical Association Journal and found an article exploring. . . well, here’s a quote from the abstract:
We discuss how the outcomes of clinical trials may be affected by the extinction of all mankind and recommend appropriate changes to their conduct. In addition, we use computer modelling to show the effect of the apocalypse on a sample clinical trial.
It is an issue that had not occurred to me before, and perhaps the same is true of you. Read the whole thing.
December 11, 2012 at 11:22 pm
I appreciate your bringing this to our attention, because I’d been pretty concerned about it. Important questions remain, of course, but at least I know good minds are working on it.
December 12, 2012 at 12:30 am
I just hope there is time to resolve all the important issues before the end. Luckily, doctors work pretty much all the time, so if anyone can do it, they can.