As a scientist, past editor, member of editorial boards, and occasional published poet, I found the article on scientific writing timely and to the point, although not surprising (K.S. Brown, The Scientist, Jan. 20, 1997, page 16). The chastening of scientists as members of C.P. Snow's "other culture" is a popular pastime, but editors and publishers bear a share of the blame for substandard scientific writing. I have commented here (E.D. Kilbourne, Proceedings of the American Philosophical Soc

Less than a decade ago in this period of flourishing biomedical science, the contribution of physician-scientists to research was progressively declining to the point where the species seemed endangered. Although recent data from the National Institutes of Health suggest a reversal of this trend, the fact that the decline occurred at all has prompted me to think about the singular and perhaps critical role of the physician in research. The very origin of biomedical science owes much to the cont