While you were away...

As a new year stretches before us and the holidays are nothing but a nog-scented memory, here are a few of the life science stories you may have missed while you were enjoying your winter vacation. 1) James Goddard died On December 18, we linkurl:lost;http://www.nytimes.com/2010/01/02/health/02goddard.html the James Goddard, former commissioner of the US Food and Drug Administration who toughened up the agency and forced pharmaceutical companies to supply more rigorous scientific evidence for new drug applications. Goddard was FDA commish from 1966 to 1968, and stepped in as the first MD to lead the agency since 1914. Some things you may not have known about Goddard: he was a licensed hot air balloonist and was stepfather to blues musician Bonnie Raitt. 2) Spine journal editor caught with hand in cookie jar A scathing linkurl:piece;http://www.jsonline.com/watchdog/watchdogreports/80036277.html in the __Milwaukee Journal Sentinel__ fingered Thomas Zdeblick, an orthopedic surgeon at the University of Wisconsin...