CONVERGENCE:

Business

• The Marriage Game
  M&A Activity slowed a bit in 2007, but the forces driving it continue.
• Rising in the East
  The United States is still the largest pharmaceutical market, but the biggest sales growth is in Asia.
• Providing a Moral Compass    
  A review of Science Lessons: What the Business of Biotech Taught Me About management by Gordon Binder and Philip Bashe (Harvard Business School Press, 304 pages, $29.95).

Health

• Boom'r Bust
  Aging baby boomers threaten to overwhelm the healthcare system.
• Living in Stereo    
  A deaf man finds out why hearing with two ears is better than one.
• Enough to Make You Sick
  Changing economy leaves nearly three in ten people with problems paying medical bills.

Law

• Thinking Small    
  U.S. patent officials and other regulators must get up to speed on the intricacies of tiny particles to avoid hindering the growth of nanotechnology.
• Untethering Innovation    
  One year before a new president takes office, Congress lies low, but bills on patents, biologics, genetics, and a host of other issues could still affect R&D.
• Medicare Needs to Get with the Times
  Outdated reimbursement policies for state-of-the-art diagnostics tools are hindering innovation.

Policy

• Let Them Have Their Say
  Patients should have access to information from every source including drugmakers.
• Critical Condition
  Trustees warn that new taxes or significant service cuts are needed to make Medicare sustainable.
• Lost Generation
  Harvard University's Kevin Casey talks about how a stagnant NIH budget threatens to send young researchers searching for new careers.

Science

• A Bionic Eye    
  Researchers are racing to perfect an artificial retina that could restore limited sight to the blind.
• In the Gecko Chamber    
  Scientists think they've learned the secret of sticky - and biomedical applications may not be far off.
• The Smiling Heretic    
  Reg Kelly hopes the multidisciplinary institute he leads will help find new ways to improve public health and California's economy. But not everyone is a fan of his efforts to boost collaboration between academia and industry.

Society

• PHOTO ESSAY: When Downward Facing Dog Is For Eternity    
  
• When Downward Dog Is For Eternity    
  German anatomist Gunther von Hagens continues to delight-and disturb-the world with his human cadavers displayed in yoga poses and other recognizable positions from everyday life.
• The Latest Ebola outbreak    
  The deadly virus is turning up across the U.S. - but thankfully only as a pattern in ties, scarves, and other fashions.