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     by DAVID GOLLAHER
  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     by MICHAEL CHOROST
  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     by LORI ANDREWS AND JULIE BURGER
  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     by BRADFORD PLUMER
  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 by TERESA LEE
  Outdated reimbursement policies for state-of-the-art diagnostics tools are hindering innovation.

Policy

• Let Them Have Their Say by PETER J. PITTS
  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     by ELLEN DURCKEL
  Researchers are racing to perfect an artificial retina that could restore limited sight to the blind.
• In the Gecko Chamber     by ALEX GRONKE
  Scientists think they've learned the secret of sticky - and biomedical applications may not be far off.
• The Smiling Heretic     by DANIEL S. LEVINE
  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     by ERIC WAHLGREN
  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     by JULIE CHAO
  The deadly virus is turning up across the U.S. - but thankfully only as a pattern in ties, scarves, and other fashions.