A boon for better health; or a bitter pill to swallow?

In January, an article in The Economist caught my eye and I’ve been meaning to front page it as a discussion piece.  The article, entitled “Pills Get Smart: Potential Encapsulated” discusses the new technology being explored in the pharmaceutical industry.  What this entails is the embedding of a “smart chip” which will be ingested with the medication and will become a communication device able to send wireless messages.

While the idea of using such technology to ensure that people are getting the treatment they need is a positive (especially the elderly who may live alone and often fall behind on medication regimens) the potential implications are unsettling.

Will people be penalized with higher medical costs / insurance premiums for failing to take their medication?  I don’t know about you, but I’ve forgotten to take my maintenance prescription a time or two.  And who hasn’t been confused by the schedule of some of these newfangled antibiotics?  Can we be “required,” constructively, to take medications we may object to? What are all of the potential abuses of the already mandated system that this will enable?  As noted in the article:

So, what do you think?  Good idea? or just more bad medicine?

A sign of the apocalypse?

In a move of quiet desperation, it appears that some have declared war on a most prized symbol of hope.  Things really are bad out there.

(from the ad:)

Pâté is passé. Unicorn – the new white meat.

Excellent source of sparkles!

Unicorns, as we all know, frolic all over the world, pooping rainbows and marshmallows wherever they go.
(SNIP)
As the unicorn ages, its meat becomes fatty and marbled and the living bone in the horn loses density in a process much like osteoporosis. The horn’s outer layer of keratin begins to develop a flavor very similar to candied almonds. Blending the crushed unicorn horn into the meat adds delightful, crispy flavor notes in each bite.

What is this world coming to?

In case you’re interested, it’s only $9.99 a can and there is a delicious recipe included. (via http://www.thinkgeek.com)

This is an open thread.