Clinical Trials are Failing Women

9th February 2023

A clinical trial allows researchers to compare the effects of different treatments, ensuring that drugs are safe and effective before being marketed. They are split into different phases which each test for specific things. If a medicine passes these phases, it can be giving a marketing licence, which makes it available on prescription, (though the side effects and effectiveness of the drug are still monitored while it is being used). In theory, these trials should be diverse, so that many different people can effectively benefit from the drug’s use, and for researchers to know how medicines affect these different groups of people. But clinical trials are still failing to sufficiently represent one of the largest groups on the planet: women.

Clinical Trials are Failing Women

The Pox Patch Renaissance

3rd February 2023

Over the past year or two, you may have noticed people wearing little stickers on their faces, often in the shape of a star or circle, sometimes yellow, sometimes blue, sometimes clear. These are pimple patches: you stick them over any spots or blemishes on the skin. They contain hydrocolloid (a gel that helps heal wounds), absorb any fluid from the area, prevent one from picking at or popping the pimple, and – unlike similar gels or creams – turn an unsightly zit into a cute and fun accentuated feature. But what if I told you that making blemishes into deliberate features was not a new concept? What if I told you that it goes back thousands of years? Allow me to introduce you to pox patches.

The Pox Patch Renaissance